Project Director, Data for Implementation (Data.FI)

About Palladium:

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

This Opportunity:

Our Data, Informatics, and Analytical Solutions (DIAS) group is made of three portfolios that strengthen and harness digital and data ecosystems to accelerate development investments and outcomes: 1- Information Systems (IS), 2- Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Analytics (MELA) and 3- Digital Solutions and Transformation (DST).

Palladium is seeking a Project Director for the Data for Implementation (Data.FI) Project.

Data.FI is a five-year global project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the HIV and COVID-19 response. Data.FI partners with programs to accelerate and sustain access to and use of high-quality data to expedite HIV and COVID-19 epidemic control and maintenance. By improving global, regional, national, and community/local in-depth analyses of HIV and COVID-19 epidemiologic and programmatic data, Data.FI expedites program achievements to improve client services and attain and sustain control of the epidemics. Data.FI supports host country governments to enhance existing health information systems (HIS), informing management responses to gaps in programming and sustaining impact by supporting local partner transition.

Data.FI is led by Palladium and implemented in partnership with the JSI Research & Training Institute, the Johns Hopkins University Department of Epidemiology, Right to Care, Cooper/Smith, DT Global, Jembi Health Systems, and Macro-Eyes. Data.FI operates activities in more than 20 countries, has eight country offices, and engages over 150 staff.

Location:

This position is based in Palladium’s Washington, D.C. office

You and Your Career:

If you are a strong and empathetic leader with significant experience managing complex PEPFAR programs, strong interpersonal skills, and a proven problem-solver, and you have expertise in health information systems and data analytics, we are interested in hearing from you.

We are a learning organization and provide growth opportunities from the start. We pride ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a fulfilling career!

Reporting and Supervision:

• 
  The Project Director reports to the Portfolio Lead, Information Systems
  
• The Project Director supervises several project and corporate staff
  
• This is a key staff position; candidacy is subject to USAID approval

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• 
  Provide overall vision, direction, and programmatic, financial, and administrative leadership for the implementation of the
• Project, ensuring full alignment with USAID and Palladium policies and procedures, as well as national and international standards
  
• Act as the primary point of contact for the USAID project management team, and the Palladium corporate leadership team, on award implementation matters, ensuring consistent and effective communication
  
• Responsible for project financial management and meeting project cost share requirements, in collaboration with the
• Director of Finance and Administration
  
• Ensure the project is adequately and appropriately staffed to deliver high quality work and protect staff wellbeing, while balancing costs; manage HR issues as needed
  
• Cultivate and manage relationships with Data.FI partners, effectively communicating project policies, project updates, and ensuring quality implementation of activities; responsible for allocating work across partners
  
• Responsible for enhancing and implementing the project’s sustainable business plan, including components for safeguarding and diversity, equity and inclusion
  
• Responsible for all USAID and Palladium reporting requirements
  
• Responsible for mitigating and communicating risks to Palladium and USAID related to project operations
  
• Hold final responsibility for technical delivery across all project workplans and achievement of goals and targets laid out in the project performance management plan
  
• Create and/or enhance project policies, guidelines and workflows, as needed
  
• Work to create a project community across partners and staff across countries
  
• Cultivates relationships with other Palladium projects to identify synergies in operations, share best practices and transferable approaches, and leverage corporate resources in countries with multiple Palladium projects
  
• Builds relationships with external partners – Missions, PEPFAR implementing partners, other donors, private sector partners – with a view to identifying synergies and opportunities for joint working that will extend the impact of Data.FI
  
• Mentor and support a talented team of professionals to ensure a common technical and operational vision for the project that aligns with USAID strategic priorities and Palladium policy; supervise project leadership staff
  
• Engage with Palladium shared services (contracts and compliance, financial management, legal, human resources, recruitment, ICT) to ensure high-quality and timely delivery of technical activities, and the effective management of risks
  
• Showcase the impact of the project and presents best practices through presentations to USAID, at key meetings, technical working groups, and production of printed communication material
  
• Work with the Director, Information Systems to support business development as needed.
  
• Any other tasks required by Palladium or USAID to support project implementation
  
  

Key Competencies Required:

• 
  A senior manager with an advanced degree and at least 10 years of experience leading, managing and implementing large international or national HIV and AIDS data systems, HIS, strategic information, and data use. An additional 10 years of experience may be substituted for an advanced degree
  
• Significant experience working in a leadership capacity on a USAID award of comparable size and complexity
  
• Proven leader with senior level client relationship management skills
  
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple partners and work effectively on collaborative activities
  
• Proven track record in building successful, collaborative relationships and partnerships governments and other stakeholders across the following technical sectors: HIV, global health security, digital health, analytics, data use, and information security
  
• Proven experience in building and managing dynamic, flexible, diverse and decentralized teams; senior level staff management skills with ability to plan and prioritize staff resources across a complex project; ability to build a cohesive and productive staff group
  
• Considerable experience with both USAID and PEPFAR policies, regulations, and reporting requirements
  
• Senior level communication and presentation skills – ability to set and communicate a vision as well as project impact and best practices, to different types of audiences
  
• Senior level diplomacy and negotiation skills – ability to set workplans and build consensus between clients, partners and colleagues
  
• Strong knowledge of financial management, human resources, procurement, logistics and other administrative functions.
  
• Strong problem solving and negotiation skills to handle sensitive and urgent project situations as they occur
  
• Prior experience of working in a fast-paced, dynamic workplace and is delivery-focused, and expert skills in multi-tasking
  
• Ability to work cross-culturally with flexibility to work across time zones, accommodating meeting times beyond the regular workday
  
• Professional-level communication skills in English (reading, writing, speaking)
  
• Ability to travel internationally up to 25%

Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:

• 
  Experience in consortium management
  
• Language proficiency in Spanish, French, Portuguese

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.