Technical Lead – Agriculture Economic Opportunities, USAID/Malawi, Youth Prosperity Through Agriculture Pathways

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 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.  

This Proposal Opportunity:

Palladium is seeking a Technical Lead – Agriculture Economic Opportunities for an anticipated USAID-funded agriculture higher education strengthening program expected to begin in 2024. The USAID/Malawi Youth Prosperity Through Agriculture Pathways Activity aims to increase Malawian youth’s contribution to the country’s economic growth. The activity will increase access to higher education with a specific focus on agriculture training, improve the quality, governance, and relevance of agriculture training institutions’ systems, and increase economic growth opportunities for graduates.

Under the supervision of the Chief of Party (COP) or Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP), the Technical Lead – Agriculture Economic Opportunities will manage project objectives and activities related to increasing economic growth opportunities for secondary school graduates in the agriculture sector. The Technical Lead will guide activities that scale youth agri-business incubation and acceleration and link students to formal employment in agriculture value chains. The Technical Lead will ensure the project remains on schedule with the approved workplan and meets project milestones and deliverables. They will liaise with key stakeholders, including youth, private sector employers, business accelerators, public and private higher education institutions, TVETs, and others. The Technical Lead will develop and compile quarterly and annual reports on relevant activities. This role requires previous experience working in workforce development, preferably in the agriculture sector in Malawi.

*This is a proposal position and is contingent upon award from USAID.*   

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide technical leadership and oversight for Intermediate Result 3 activities. Intermediate Result 3 focuses on increasing economic growth opportunities for secondary school graduates in the agriculture sector
Design, develop, and implement sustainable initiatives with local partners to scale and support youth business incubation and acceleration
Design, develop, and implement sustainable initiatives with businesses to support students’ transition from education to employment
Ensure interventions reflect high technical quality and international best practices
Direct and coordinate technical team to ensure that economic opportunities goals and objectives are met
Ensure the sustainability of program activities
Ensure strong collaboration with other government institutions, educational institutions, donor activities, private sector, and other implementing partners
Support the development and review of project work plans and reports

Key Competencies Required:

Experience engaging private sector businesses and business incubators in Malawi
Demonstrated understanding of the variety of employment opportunities in agriculture value chains and the opportunities and challenges youth face entering the job market
Demonstrated creativity and willingness to test new innovative approaches
Demonstrated commitment to working with and through local stakeholders to ensure sustainability
Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in the implementation of projects with a focus on youth, education, and/or agriculture workforce development
Strong leadership and communication skills
Demonstrated ability to be flexible and respond to emerging opportunities and overcome barriers
Attention to detail and ability to effectively and efficiently perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities often within a required timeframe

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 accommodation 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.