Technical Director at Palladium Group

Project Overview and Role   

• Propcom Mai-Karfi was originally a six year DFID programme aimed at increasing incomes for the poor in northern Nigeria through enhanced employment opportunities for increased employment and improved productivity in selected agricultural market systems in northern Nigeria.
• The programme is now entered into a three year extension which will concentrate on the DFID Partner States of Kaduna, Jigawa, and Kano as well as the six NE states. The impact of conflict in this Region since 2012-13 has been significant with the major disruption to Livelihoods  and associated markets for millions of civilans in the area.
• The post is located in Abuja with remote working outside Nigeria (if appropriate) , however the TD will be required to travel frequently within Nigeria, particularly to the Northern part of Nigeria.

Responsibilities   

• The TD is responsible for providing strategic technical assistance and management support for successful delivery of Propcom as described in the client Head Contract, Extension Proposal, associated ToRs / Logframe and Budget.
• The TD supports in-country programmatic and management of the project. The TD forms part of the senior leadership team on the project and, as such, ensures that risks are minimised, company policies, processes and procedures are adhered to, and the project is compliant with client policies, rules and regulations. The role ensures that project objectives, outcomes and deliverables are met and that financial, operational and reporting requirements of the client are adhered to.
• The TD position is a part time position with up to 192 days available up to the end of March 2021, approximately 8 days/month.

Primary Responsibilities
Strategic and Operational Planning:

• Supports in the preparation of the annual strategic plans; technical and operational work plans and budgets; staffing plans; performance improvement plans and other plans as required;
• Lead in the preparation of donor reports as required including annual reports and quarterly reports.
• Accountable for the successful implementation of market development activities through the effective leadership and management of the Senior Programme Managers,

Program Management:

• Identify a pipeline of potential new interventions for the project, work with the Team Leader to drive forward innovative ideas in the project
• As delegated by the Team Leader provides technical guidance and quality assurance for selected project activities, outputs and deliverables;
• Coordinate with HR London and  the HR Manager in PM to generate a key contacts list of high quality consultants, with agreed fee rates, to be available to provide technical expert inputs to the project as required
• Monitor implementation progress; maintains up to date logs of issues and risks; works to resolve issues, manages and mitigates risks; and escalates material issues and risks as appropriate;

Project Specific:
Leadership:

• Contribute to the overall leadership of the programme as part of the senior management team.
• As tasked by the Team Leader, represent Propcom to industry stakeholders and development partners.
• Support the Team Leader in providing leadership and guidance to the market group as a whole
• Ensure the ongoing professional development of Senior Programme Managers, particularly in relation to business consulting skills and deal-making

Performance Management, Training and Mentoring:

• Contribute when required to training needs assessment of, Technical Team members  when initiating new interventions and on-the-job-training where appropriate.
• Support the Senior Programme Managers to further develop Technical Team member management skills, and where required work with them to implement training and capacity building
• Support  Palaldium HR  and PMs HR Manager  with  the identification and recruitment of talent by Propcom.
• Quality assure technical deliverables and progress reports.

Monitoring, Evidence and Learning:

• With colleagues from PMs (i) develop evidence of PM impact, (ii) promote learning across the PM team and with wider stakeholders, and (iii) advocate PM’s approach and communicate impact to external stakeholders.

Market Development:

• Oversee and quality assure market development activities to  Senior Managemnet  to maximise impact
• Research new sub-sectors for PM investment as necessary:
  • In close collaboration with the R&M Team and Technical Leads intervention guides are correct and up-to-date
  • New markets are identified and discussed in SMT and peer reviewed in the PSC Meetings.
• Provide Joint leadership along with the NTL  to the Technical Team on new directions for existing/current interventions and identify opportunities for cross fertilization between interventions to maximize impact.
• Provide technical guidance to the Technical Team to facilitae in the attainment of results .
• Where required support Technical Team Members to identify suitable business partnerships and broker deals with business partners.
• As tasked by the Team Leader, manage ad hoc projects (e.g. ad hoc requests for research / advice from DFID or GoN).

Requirements   

• Successful track record in delivery of complex programmes
• Excellent leadership, representation and organizational skills, while working in a diverse Team
• Strong management and people handling skills
• Financial acumen and the ability to interpret and analyse financial reports
• Ability to operate in complex  and fluid contexts
• Ability to foster successful partnership approaches and relationships among a variety of organizations/institutions
• Excellent English language communication skills and ability to work collaboratively across technical disciplines
• Ability to communicate effectively and negotiate persuasively with high level decision makers
• Results oriented