Asia Regional Associate

Asia Regional Associate

Programme Overview:

Palladium is recruiting for a project management and staffing professional with a passion for building networks of experts and regional linkages in Southeast Asia to enable accelerated carbon reductions to join our UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) team.

UK PACT is a complex, multi-country and multi-sector programme, which delivers impact through a combination of grant funding for longer-term capacity-building projects and the rapid mobilisation of short-term expertise for targeted skills and knowledge transfer.

The UK PACT programme aims to improve the effectiveness of key institutions (public, private and civil society) in partner countries so that they can deliver accelerated emission reductions and raise the ambition of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets.

• An increase in the capacity and capability of partner institutions (regional, national, sub-national and civil society) to deliver enhanced and accelerated climate actions; and
• An increase in regional and in-country buy-in to urgently facilitate low-carbon development.

Purpose of the position:

Work specifically on the “Expert Deployments” mechanism within UK PACT, which deploys technical assistance via individual experts and organisations through consulting agreements and commercial subcontracts.

This new role will be supporting the design, procurement and delivery of technical assistance across UK PACT funds in Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It will also provide support wider ASEAN member states under the ASEAN Green Transition Fund.

This will involve supporting the development of new projects, administering selection processes for suppliers and providing back-stopping and trouble-shooting to the UK PACT fund teams for projects during implementation.

We are open to applicants based in Jakarta, Indonesia or Manila, Philippines.

Reporting Lines:

The position will report to the UK PACT Contracts Manager, and will work in close coordination with UK PACT Asia Regional Lead

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Duties will include, but not be limited to:

Project Design and Planning:

• Provide advice and input during the development of Concept Notes and Terms of Reference for projects, improving their feasibility, potential for impact and value for money
• Support regional teams in the planning of new activities within their country funds and contribute to regional resource plans to ensure that new and ongoing projects are appropriately resourced
• Contribute to the development the network of organisations and experts in Asia ensure that the programme has access to the highest quality of experts for the delivery of technical assistance.

Expert and Supplier Selection:

• Responsible for designing “go-to-market” plans and materials alongside fund teams and FCDO and facilitating the procurement of experts or organisations.
• Support country fund teams in the sifting, interviewing and due diligence of suppliers
• Support negotiations with chosen suppliers, issue offers and support with contractual queries and the development of milestone or performance-based payment schedules.

Project Launch and Management:

• Responsible for overseeing the contracting of suppliers and reviewing the due diligence conducted by fund teams.
• Support country fund teams in the onboarding of suppliers during kick-off meetings and providing hands-on support during project mobilisation.
• Support to the quality review and processing of monthly reports and invoices
• Liaise with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning teams to ensure that project reporting is accurate and adds to UK PACT’s learning agenda
• Support in arranging travel for deployed experts (e.g. flights, visas, hotels), where required

Cross-cutting:

• Be the point of contact for regional teams on all Expert Deployment queries.
• In coordination with country teams, lead the further development of network of suppliers in the region
• Support in providing information sessions to FCDO and local government representatives
• Support in providing updates to FCDO, including attending monthly client meetings.
• Ongoing review and refinement of processes, seeking continuous improvement and innovative use of technology where possible.

Person Specification:

• Strong understanding of project management principles with a good track record of taking projects from design, through implementation and close-out.
• Strong supplier management with the ability to develop trusted and collaborative relationships with individuals and organisations to support programme delivery
• Good networking skills and willingness to be proactive in identifying talent for the programme
• Strong understanding of contract management principles, ability to support with the negotiation of contract terms
• Ability to manage own time and resources effectively, knowing when to escalate issues and ask for support
• Experience in the climate change space, and/or an interest in learning more about the sectors UK PACT covers, would be advantageous

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.