Senior Associate, Project Communications, Catalyze

Senior Associate, Project Communications, CATALYZE

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 3,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

This Opportunity:

The CATALYZE Portfolio based out of Palladium's Washington, D.C. office is currently seeking a Senior Associate, Project Communications to develop high-quality, internally and externally facing communications materials for the CATALYZE program.

CATALYZE is a $250 million 8-year program, designed to mobilize $2 billion in private capital, especially to underfinanced social sectors and higher risk countries (especially low-income and post-conflict countries) around the globe, complemented by a cross-cutting inclusion of gender-lens investing. CATALYZE provides services to many missions and bureaus that "buy in" to tap the CATALYZE investment and pay-for-results project management expertise. Our aim is for investors to explore and find commercially viable opportunities and approaches to creating jobs, developing sustainable social services, tightening, and rationalizing supply chains, and advancing inclusive growth - ultimately, reducing the need for development institutions to provide donor funding.

Global CATALYZE teams and USAID missions work in 39 countries across multiple sectors, such as green finance, education finance, agriculture/food security, information and communications technology, tourism, health care, apparel, social protection, infrastructure, WASH, workforce development, and early childhood education and care. We partner with local financial facilitators and financial institutions to increase financing to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

The Senior Associate will oversee all social media and promote internal and external events while also supporting the overall CATALYZE Comms team with internal and external project communications materials, including quarterly and annual reports, newsletters, graphics, and website content for USAID, CATALYZE teams and stakeholders in the U.S. and abroad, working in close collaboration with CATALYZE Activity teams and CATALYZE's core program management unit (PMU). This is a project position on CATALYZE, based out of the Palladium offices in Washington, D.C. Remote work options on Eastern Standard Time hours may be considered for exceptional candidates.

You and Your Career:

If you are looking to be part of a dynamic, growing team, are looking to make immediate, measurable contributions; and you have expertise as a communications manager within international development, 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 role is part of a four-person CATALYZE Communications Team and will work in coordination with CATALYZE leadership and activity management staff across CATALYZE.

• The role directly reports to the Director of Communications.

• As delegated, the role liaises closely with CATALYZE clients (USAID) and CATALYZE Activity Management Units (AMUs) and field teams in Washington, D.C., and abroad, technical area specialists, professional service providers, and others.

• As required, the role collaborates with the broader Palladium Communications teams for global or North America-specific initiatives, as well as other USAID Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Hub implementing partners, service providers and subcontractors.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Oversee all development and scheduling of social media content, (reviews and edits social media content provided to relevant missions for CATALYZE Activities).

• Support the production and distribution of contractually-required communications deliverables, including quarterly and annual reports; liaises with CATALYZE Activity teams and the CATALYZE Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Director to obtain all inputs for reports (content, photos, graphics), liaises with graphic designers, and copy editors to ensure timely production of quality deliverables.

• Lead the development of a monthly communications updates, drafting all inputs from relevant Activity teams.

• Support CATALYZE Activity Teams to upload content to Palladium's Yammer site and Catalyst newsletter, to share CATALYZE learnings across the company.

• Facilitate discussions with project staff to conceptualize, design and develop infographics, charts, maps, and other visual content to translate technical findings into user-friendly products for non-technical audiences.

• Develop and update content for the USAID CATALYZE website (USAID.gov) in line with requirements from the PSE hub.

• Serve as a CATALYZE Branding and Marking expert, providing guidance and internal reviews/approvals to Activity teams to ensure compliance.

• Support CATALYZE Activities to develop and implement Activity-level communications strategies, with guidance from Communications Director.

• Support CATALYZE teams to finalize content, graphics and the process by which updates are made into Smartsheets software, to facilitate CATALYZE project management for both Palladium and USAID

• Manage CATALYZE editorial calendar to ensure regular production of quality external communication pieces and organization of and participation in industry events.

• Identify, develop, and support external webinars and events to analyze and present thought leadership/learnings from CATALYZE Activities; supports CATALYZE staff to conduct speaking engagements and helps develop content for these (e.g., presentations, talking points).

• Lead the placement and/or development of regular, externally facing stories, including feature articles, blog posts, videos, interviews, and op-eds, by obtaining inputs from CATALYZE Activity teams, stakeholders in the U.S. and abroad, editors, and others, and drafting high-quality content with compelling graphics and visuals for publication

• Support CATALYZE Activities to plan and implement high-quality events as needed (with occasional travel to support events in person, as required); this may include supporting Activity teams to conceptualize and design events, preparing event communications materials, talking points, generating social media content, helping develop event plans for logistics, audio/visual needs, formatting and branding of presentations, and coordinating with event planners and local USAID missions

• Develop and disseminate press releases for CATALYZE Activities, liaising with Activity teams to obtain and develop content, ensure quality control and proper client approvals.

Key Competencies Required:

• 3-5 years' experience in communications, marketing and/or public relations

• Experience coordinating with USAID Missions to produce high quality communications content, such as Fact Sheets.

• Experience supporting report production on USAID or donor-funded programs a plus

• Experience planning and implementing high-visibility events, including developing event materials, press releases, and coordinating logistics

• Experience in producing high-quality communications materials (e.g. reports, blogs, articles, success stories, fact sheets, tweets, website content) in English on tight deadlines in a dynamic environment

• Experience supporting communications on USAID-funded programs and with private sector actors a plus, including developing high-quality stories, blog posts, web content, talking points, speeches

• Experience in communications, marketing and/or public relations

• Demonstrated understanding of development finance and investment and experience developing communications materials for economic growth-related activities a plus

• Strong writing and editing skills with an ability to tailor the tone, content, and form of written output in line with a range of different audiences and to suit a variety of formats; ability to synthesize and simplify information and communicate it in a lively, accurate and understandable manner

• Detail-oriented and deadline-driven with strong organizational skills, and ability to work in a dynamic and agile environment with changing requirements and priorities

• Knowledge and understanding of USAID programs, branding, communications style, and learning frameworks

• Strong cross-cultural, interpersonal, management and collaboration skills in highly complex structures involving multiple teams and stakeholders

• Demonstrated competency in PowerPoint, Word, and graphic design

• Sound problem solving and decision-making skills

• Highly self-motivated and able to work independently as well as in team settings

• Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills in English

Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:

• Competency in other languages (French, Spanish) preferred

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• 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, 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 any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com

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.