Chief Operating Officer

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

About Palladium:

Palladium is in the business of making the world a better place, and we believe that collaborative models and systemic approaches are the way to achieve progress and success. It's no longer enough to pursue social progress or commercial growth. In fact, we don't believe you can have one without the other and when you have both, that's what we call "Positive Impact". For nearly 60 years, we've been helping our clients to see the world as interconnected - by formulating strategies, building partnerships, mobilizing capital, and implementing programs that have a lasting social and financial impact.

In June 2022, Palladium merged with Global Infrastructure Solutions Inc. (GISI) of the United States to become the Global Sustainability and & Impact platform in its workforce now exceeding 14,000 professionals. In addition to the Construction Services, Engineering & Consulting platforms, Palladium will deliver its services to a market that recognizes that physical infrastructure must be supported by meaningful social infrastructure. www.gisi.com

Palladium selected GISI as a merger partner because as one of its core values, it embraces a partnership approach to transition ownership, enabling its merger partner companies to grow and diversify without compromising their legacies and brands. The Company Management team shares its expertise and provides broader market reach through its industry relationships and networking. The employee ownership concept provides management and key employees the opportunity of ownership in a global enterprise that is well positioned to serve the needs of its partnering companies.

This Opportunity:

Palladium is seeking a Chief Operating Officer (COO), a role that will assume responsibility for the general operations and day-to-day functions of the global Palladium business. The COO will engage and support the Office of the CEO in developing long-term strategies and communicating the vision of the company to employees and the public, as well as concentrating on executing related short-term plans.

Location and Compensation:

The position is based in Palladium's Washington D.C. office.

Please be advised that a final salary offer will be based on various factors, including but not limited to your qualifications, education, experience, skills, seniority, performance, and Palladium's business or organizational needs.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the compensation for this position, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We value your interest in our company and appreciate the opportunity to discuss this opportunity with you.

You and Your Career:

If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and you have expertise in international relations, managing global operations and global strategy, 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 Lines:

The role will report directly to the Office of the CEO

Primary Roles and Responsibilities:

Operations and Stakeholder Management

• Lead and manage the global operations team, fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and data-driven decision-making

• Oversee the implementation and management of all programs, ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards

• Develop and implement a program of continuous improvement for both business capture and business execution

• Monitor financial performance, develop and implement effective cost management strategies, and ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and standards

Identify and manage risks, develop and implement risk mitigation strategies, and ensure that the company is prepared for potential challenges

• Establish goals for company growth

• Oversee and manage the overall business development pursuit process.

• Communicate the results of operations to the appropriate levels of management including the CEOs and any external stakeholders as directed by the CEOs

• Oversee overall operating management including project execution, project reporting, direct and indirect cost management

• Support, either directly or through designees Senior Managing Partners and Regional Business Partners in implementing the strategy, including the efforts to improve, operating efficiency, service quality and customer satisfaction

• Develop, advise on, implement, and monitor appropriate systems of internal operational controls pertaining to all aspects of the operations excluding, accounting and financial reporting

• Review organization structure and operating processes to identify strengths and weaknesses, including bottlenecks, and to the extent required, modify processes to streamline workflow and maximize efficiency in close collaboration with the Senior Managing Partners and Regional Business Partners

• Cultivate and provide opportunities for rising talent within the organization

• Lead and perform key employee performance reviews and development

• Ensure appropriate expectations, KPIs and performance standards are defined for leaders and managers across the business

Forecasting and Reporting

• Established and oversees the implementation of robust processes for forecasting and reporting on project profitability

• Providing finance with timely and accurate job level "Estimates to Complete"

• Producing Booking and Backlog Reports

• Sales Pipeline and Forecasting

• Ensure continuous monitoring of job and utilization performance against forecast for each region to identify areas of concern and recommend appropriate mitigating measures

• Implement processes to track progress against short- and long-term operating strategy, Operating Plans and other key metrics

• Ensure quality assurance over monthly forecast variance analysis

Reporting

• Ensure continuous monitoring of financial performance against forecasts for the regions to identify areas of concern and to recommend appropriate mitigating measures

• Working in conjunction with the CFO, ensure financial reports are in compliance with relevant legislation and free of material misstatements

Planning

• Provides leadership for the preparation of operating and strategic plans.

• Works with leaders to assure that Business Development and Sales to function to achieve and exceed goals

• Collaborate with Palladium Corporate Finance to provide the operational information necessary for the planning and budgeting processes

Compliance

• Ensure operational compliance with legal, regulatory and client contracting regulations

• Maintain awareness of changes in obligations and markets shifts

• Directly or through subordinates, develop, implement and maintain operational policies, systems, processes, procedures and controls covering all areas of the business, except for the finance function, so that all relevant procedures and/or legal requirements are fulfilled and activities are carried out in an efficient and controlled manner

• Ensure that appropriate business processes are in place and functioning to identify and mitigate project risk and to track realised risks

• Ensure provision of uniform guidance and expert technical advice on practices, procedures, reporting requirements, and status of activities relating to the Partnership's operational management and accounting

People

• Support and improve a culture of safety, environmental health, diversity and inclusion.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including government agencies, aid organizations, and partners.

• Provide leadership to the Senior and Regional Partners including setting individual KRAs, reviewing performance and providing ongoing feedback on a formal and informal basis so that all direct reports and dotted line reports are aware of what they are required to achieve and how they are performing against their objectives.

• Set and promote a healthy culture within the organization.

• Develop and maintain healthy relationships with business partners.

• Develop internal staff to assume greater responsibilities within the organization.

• Forecast and fulfil operational staffing requirements.

• Oversee HR functions and structure

Systems

• Contribute to the development and implementation of systems to ensure adequate operation of the organization's project processing, forecasting, management and other reporting requirements as directed by the CEOs

• Oversee global Information Technology and Cybersecurity functions

• Participate in GISI wide initiatives for business data system strategy and integration

Essential Criteria:

• Proven experience in leading and managing complex global operations, preferably in the international development sector

• People management experience, including setting clear performance objectives, managing for results, giving and receiving feedback, performance evaluation and mentoring/coaching staff

• Strong understanding of ODA principles and practices, as well as experience with project management, financial management, and risk management

• Knowledge of U.S. government accounting, U.S. government contracting rules and regulations

• Familiarity with current Information Technology and Cybersecurity operational and risk environments

• Demonstrated personal and situational awareness to build stakeholder confidence and positive relationships with individuals across all levels and areas of the firm

• Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to motivate and inspire teams across different cultures and geographies

• Demonstrated respect for diversity and inclusion and works to actively promote an inclusive work environment and good working relationships amongst other people

• High standard of written, verbal, and presentation communication skills including public speaking

• Proven ability to convey the financial concepts of operations to non-financial managers (training, coaching, tool development)

• Commitment to Palladium's vision, mission and values

Desirable Criteria:

These competencies are the Palladium core competencies for senior management and executive leadership roles.

• Client/Customer relationship - focus on providing results and outcomes for our clients, customers and communities

• Financial and Commercial numeracy and literacy (including M&A)

• Project & Change Management skills/tools - including internal projects

• Building and leading effective teams (including SMEs)

• Market & Business Development - either leading or supporting through relevant contribution

• Strategy agility

• Complex/challenging project delivery - external and/or internal.

• Embedding institutional capabilities (process and technology).

• Developing and managing people

• Communicating - in all environments

• Embracing digital opportunities

• EQ and IQ in balance

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.