Job Vacancy at Invest Salone – Portfolio Coordinator
About Nathan
Nathan is a leading international development consultancy firm headquartered in Washington DC. Founded in 1946, the company uses economic principles and data to guide policies and operations in a way that improves people's lives. Our employees are motivated by the belief that we can make a difference and over the years the company has expanded its services and geographical reach while remaining small enough to personally ensure the quality of its work. We currently have offices in the United States (Washington DC, California), United Kingdom (London) and India (Delhi, Chennai). Nathan provides services in five areas:
Private sector development: Nathan designs, implements and evaluates pro-poor, inclusive market systems strategies and programmes, supports global value chains and links exporters to new markets. Through challenge funds and grants, we foster private sector innovation and catalyse private investment. Nathan also supports investment and export promotion agencies and designs initiatives to advance women’s economic empowerment.
Trade and logistics: Nathan advises public and private sector clients on trade negotiations, harmonising trade policies to promote economic integration, modernising customs procedures, reduction of tariff barriers and regulations that reduces the cost of trade, as well as help to improve trade facilitation and trade corridor efficiency.
Financial sector development: Nathan uses a systemic approach to understand and work on financial systems to overcome the challenges the poor face in achieving financial literacy and inclusion and businesses, particularly SMEs, face in accessing finance.
Economic policy and governance: Nathan’s services in economic policy and governance include macroeconomic analysis; budget preparation, execution, and evaluation; legal/regulatory reform and anticorruption.
Infrastructure planning and finance: Nathan provides services in economic analysis and environmental impact assessments, competitive and regulatory environment analysis, developing master plans and feasibility studies and financial analysis including structuring PPP transactions.
About Invest Salone
Invest Salone is a six-year initiative managed by Nathan Associates and funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) that aims to catalyse investment in export sectors, thus helping Sierra Leone realise the benefits of international trade and raising the incomes of 370,000 people by 2025. Invest Salone is primarily delivered through technical assistance, knowledge and analytical work, and capacity building. The programme engages in four thematic sectors (agriculture, fisheries, light manufacturing, and tourism), and explores multiple pathways and relationships with change agents within government, and with non-government stakeholders in Sierra Leone and internationally. Invest Salone contributes to its objective through three complementary Pillars or delivery pathways comprising:
Market system development: Focused on local agents and value chains within the four core sectors, designed to catalyse wider transformative change within the larger market system.
Investment and export promotion: Focused on catalysing productivity improvements and investment from domestic and foreign companies in key sectors. Invest Salone will do this by strengthening readiness, productive and export capacities of firms through research on binding constraints, capacity building, efficiency improvements, and helping the private sector to overcome market failures which limit their export competitiveness.
Investment climate reform: Focused on catalysing systemic and behavioural change, working with and through forums for dialogue and advocacy (such as the Public– Private Dialogue initiative), thus building a constituency for reform.
Scope of work
The Portfolio Coordinator will be responsible for the day-to-day coordination of the diverse ISL portfolio, with oversight from the Portfolio Manager. The Portfolio Coordinator ensures delivery across an innovative set of interventions and activities. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring that the work is on-track to achieve the intended results, that the activities are meeting technical requirements or are being adapted. The role will also monitor and manage delivery risks, ensuring that work is done in compliance with FCDO rules and Nathan procedures.
This role is suited for a highly motivated, detail oriented and organised individual who is interested in programme management. The Portfolio Coordinator will play a vital role in ensuring the focus, planning, and delivery of ISL’s complex set of interventions in conjunction with the technical and administrative team and with oversight from the Portfolio Manager. The postholder will coordinate the scheduled work, including ensuring that interventions are spending according to the budget, and that various technical inputs are received and integrated. Core responsibilities include:
Day- to-day monitoring of work plans to ensure that work is delivered on time against agreed schedule and are on track to achieve expected results. Work closely to Identify remedial actions with Intervention Managers and escalate when needed to Portfolio Manager.
Prepare fortnightly reports for FCDO on progress of activities across the portfolio and highlight any bottlenecks to implementation.
Providing support to the Portfolio Manager in overseeing external consultants. This includes liaising with the administrative team to ensure all logistical arrangements are set to day-to-day check-ins with the external consultants to ensure they are meeting their deliverables and milestones.
Ensure that the ISL team’s time and budget continue to be allocated according to workplans. Liaise regularly with the team across technical and administrative functions.
Act as a secretariat for the ISL Sector Review meetings, by drafting the agenda, cross-pillar contributions, and updates, reporting on follow-up to previous Sector Review meetings, and capturing actions and strategic decisions made.
Ensure ongoing monitoring of risk across the portfolio and that mitigation actions are being implemented in an effective and timely manner. Identify and escalate significant risks as they emerge, and design new mitigation measures with intervention managers
Ensure all activities comply with FCDO and Nathan rules and procedures in design and then continue to monitor compliance throughout delivery.
Support ISL team to follow FCDO and Nathan rules and procedures, enabling them to design, seek approval for and implement interventions, including writing terms of reference for expert consultants.
Coordinate the collection of evidence supporting intervention impacts. Coordinate with the Monitoring and Results Measurement team to ensure a good internal and external communication of Invest Salone with its stakeholders.
Act as the in-country Gender and Social Inclusion champion by supporting the team to ensure that all interventions are fully integrated. Capture information and liaise regularly with the Gender and Social Lead based in London to brainstorm how to best highlight programme’s achievements.
Contribute to critical knowledge management activities including training and dissemination workshops. Prepare case studies and articles on the lessons learned from Invest Salone interventions to feed into the Communications team contributing to the delivery of the programme’s communications and engagement strategy.
Candidate Profile
Essential:
Bachelor’s degree, preferably in International Relations, Economics, Administration, or related subjects
Highly motivated, detail oriented, and organised
Strong skills in MS Word and Excel
Capability in stakeholder management and building trust with multidisciplinary and multicultural teams
Experience of working on client-funded programmes, preferably FCDO
An excellent level of written English and strong presentation and analytical skills
Experience planning and delivering activities on time and within budget
Desirable:
Further academic qualifications (e.g. master’s degree, professional certifications)
International experience, preferably in the United Kingdom
Private sector experience
Knowledge and experience of delivering market systems projects
Knowledge and experience of delivering social impact
Experience with developing workplans and budgets under complex projects
Experience overseeing the work of others, including external consultants, service providers or other staff members. Direct line management experience preferred
Experience of monitor and managing delivery risks
Applications
Please submit your CV and a 1-page cover letter explaining why you are interested in the role and how your experience, skills and qualifications meet the specifications above. Please submit your application to:
by 12 September 2021. Incomplete and/or late applications will not be reviewed.
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