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 2,100 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.
This Opportunity
Palladium’s UKEA Partnership is seeking a Practice Lead, Economic Growth for its Economic Growth Practice, building on its long‑standing leadership in economic growth, private sector development and market systems. The practice’s mission is to support governments and partners to build resilient, productive and inclusive economies that can withstand shocks, adapt to structural change and deliver sustainable livelihoods. This includes strengthening the policies, institutions and markets that underpin economic opportunity, productive employment and private sector‑led growth.
Practice Offer Includes
* Economic policy and institutional reform: Supporting governments to design and implement policies that promote productivity, resilience and inclusive growth
* Market systems and private sector development: Strengthening key sectors and value chains, improving market functioning and addressing constraints to enterprise growth
* Jobs, livelihoods and inclusion: Creating better income and employment opportunities, particularly for women, young people and marginalised groups
* Economic resilience and security: Supporting countries to manage economic shocks, structural risks and vulnerabilities
* Large‑scale economic programmes: Designing and delivering complex, multi‑country or multi‑sector programmes that translate reform into tangible economic outcomes
The Practice Lead, Economic Growth will help shape and provide strategic leadership, market direction, commercial and delivery oversight for the practice. The role is responsible for shaping a compelling market‑facing offer, growing a high‑quality pipeline of work, and ensuring excellence in delivery across complex programmes commissioned by donors, governments or private sector clients.
Location: The position will be based in Palladium’s London office. Please note that applicants must have the right to work in the UK, as visa sponsorship is not available for this role.
Palladium follows a hybrid working model, with three days in the office and two days remote.
Reporting Lines
* The Practice Lead, Economic Growth will report to the Regional Director, UKEA
* This role will have supervisory responsibilities
* This role will work closely with Palladium’s other teams, particularly Climate & Environment, Finance & Investment and Health to ensure integrated and coherent client solutions
Primary Responsibilities
Practice strategy and leadership
* Define and lead a clear strategic vision for the Economic Growth Practice aligned with Palladium UKEA’s regional strategy and global priorities
* Evolve Palladium’s legacy economic growth offer into a contemporary proposition that includes resilience, security and inclusion
* Position Palladium as a partner of choice for economic reform, private sector development and resilience building, building on its global track record and delivery credibility
* Contribute as a senior member of the UKEA team to wider organisational transformation and growth
* Own and grow a strategic, diversified pipeline of new business opportunities
* Lead bid strategies for major tenders, including opportunity shaping and positioning; commercial and pricing strategies; partnering strategies and leadership in pitching or bidding processes
* Build and maintain senior‑level client relationships with key government departments in the UK (e.g. FCDO, DBT) and overseas, DFIs and MDBs, Foundations, and other relevant organisations
* Maintain a strong understanding of evolving priorities related to economic resilience, fragility and economic security
Delivery oversight and quality assurance
* Provide senior oversight of the Economic Growth portfolio to ensure technical excellence and impact, strong delivery and financial performance, and high client satisfaction
* Act as programme director for selected programmes
Team leadership and management
* Build and lead a high‑performing, multidisciplinary team, drawing on Palladium’s global expertise and external partners
* Clarify roles and accountabilities within the team; provide regular feedback to team members
* Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, delivery excellence and wellbeing
Market positioning and thought leadership
* Represent Palladium at senior external forums, such as conferences and events
* Drive the development of thought leadership within practice focus areas
* Contribute to Palladium’s global teams in relevant areas
* Senior leadership experience in economic growth, private sector development, market systems or economic reform
* Demonstrated track record in delivering economic development programmes at scale
* Proven success winning work
* Experience overseeing large, complex delivery portfolios with multiple stakeholders
Core skills
* Strategic, systems‑level thinker with strong commercial judgement
* Able to communicate complex finance concepts clearly to technical and non‑technical audience
* Comfortable building new practice areas and operating in ambiguity
* Strong people leader committed to performance and accountability
* Experience integrating economic resilience considerations into growth, jobs or private sector programmes
* Existing relationships with DFIs, MDBs, climate and nature initiatives
* Familiarity with UK Government priorities related to economic resilience and economic security
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. We encourage you to apply early as the position may close once a suitable candidate is found.
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 during the recruitment process (due to disability, neurodiversity, 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.
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