Practical Action
Global Distributors Collective
(GDC)
GDC Project Manager
About the role
We are seeking a dynamic and
motivated individual with exceptional attention to detail, and skills in
project management to join our award-winning team!
Practical Action is an
international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so
people in poverty can change their world.
For the past four years,
Practical Action has been hosting and building the Global Distributors
Collective (GDC): a collective of over 160 last-mile distribution companies
that cumulatively reach millions of the poorest consumers in the world with
beneficial products like solar lanterns, water filters and improved cookstoves.
The GDC provides a collective
voice for distributors to ensure their priorities are heard; drives research
and innovation across the sector; facilitates the exchange of information,
insight, and expertise; and provides critical services that leverage economies
of scale.
The GDC has recently finalised
its 2022-25 strategy and will be focusing on six key areas for the next three
years:
Accelerating innovation, e.g., through our
Innovation Challenges
Building capacity, e.g., through information
exchange, formal training for managers and agents, and mentoring programmes
Helping members access products, suppliers, and
services at affordable prices
Helping members access finance and become
investment-ready
Undertaking market intelligence and research, e.g.,
by creating a performance benchmark for the last-mile distribution sector
Engaging with members and advocating for their
interests
As the GDC Project Manager you
will play an important role in the GDC team, focused on overseeing one of the
GDC’s flagship projects, a technical assistance facility that supports leading
last-mile distribution companies to strengthen their businesses and increase
their impact.
About You
You will be expected to have
excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to multitask,
work independently and adapt in a fast-paced environment.
To succeed as the GDC Project
Manager you should be creative, organised and self-motivated with a keen
interest in the development sector.
Why join us?
Highly respected in the
development world, Practical Action has been at the forefront of development
thinking and practice for over 50 years.
Our work regularly receives
awards and recognition for innovation, collaboration and, most importantly,
results – as measured by lasting change in people’s lives and livelihoods.
Put simply, to join Practical
Action is to join one of the world’s most innovative and influential
development teams. Go for it!
This role will work alongside
the GDC Operations Manager in the day-to-day operations of the Global
Distributors Collective, with a specific focus on overseeing of one of the
GDC’s flagship projects, a technical assistance facility that supports leading
last mile distribution companies to strengthen their businesses and increase
their impact.
SCOPE
Title: GDC Project Manager
Reports to: Operations Manager GDC
Direct reports: N/A
Relationships: Head of the GDC, GDC Operations Manager, GDC Communications and Impact Manager, GDC Communications and Membership Officer, GDC consortium members, donors.
Budget scope: £450k annually
Grade: The salary for this role is dependent on the
country of base
Location: Kenya, Nepal, Senegal, Zimbabwe. Note that the
post holder is required to have the pre-existing right to work in the country
in which they apply
Duration: One year initial contract with the expectation
that this will be extended
Travel Expected: approximately 2-3 week per year
ACCOUNTABILITIES
Project management (90%)
Project Responsibilities
Work with and support the GDC
Operations Manager to ensure robust programme management and project delivery.
This will include:
Co-creating programme activities, including managing
stakeholder negotiation and leading detailed project design processes, in
partnership with the wider GDC team, donor, and consortium partners.
Leading in creating and updating project plans and
timelines to monitor programme progress (using GAANT charts and/or Asana
project management platform) and ensuring accurate allocation of project
resources for the projects assigned by the GDC Operations Manager.
Managing high-profile external relationships (e.g.,
with donors), and liaising closely with key internal and external stakeholders
(project teams, consortium members, etc.). This includes coordinating and
chairing regular multistakeholder meetings, developing agendas, capturing the
inputs and actions from meetings, and following up on actions in a timely
manner.
Managing all knowledge relating to the project,
including ensuring project documentation is up-to-date and appropriately
stored/tagged in our document libraries.
Working with the GDC communications team to develop
project-related communications, as needed e.g., presentations, stakeholder
surveys, marketing materials, etc.
Tracking project deliverables and leading on all
day-to-day administrative support across the assigned projects including
proactive risk and issue management.
Supporting the development of practices, templates
and tools related to project management across the programme.
Budget Responsibilities
Responsibility and accountability for certain
budgets, up to £0.5m annually. Includes accurate budgeting, monitoring budgets
against actual expenditures, approving spend in line with budget, ensuring
accurate recording of expenditure and income, ensuring timely and quality
financial reporting in line with internal and donor regulations
Updating budgets, forecasts, and partner tracking
schedules to ensure an accurate oversight of the project expenditure.
Inputting into the design of any new activities and
budgets.
Raising invoices on the internal system, and consulting
with the Practical Action Finance Team as needed.
Obtaining timesheets and expenses claims from
outsourced suppliers, reviewing them for their accuracy, and processing them
accordingly.
Reporting
Leading on developing and/or presenting weekly,
monthly and/or quarterly update reports for projects, as requested by the
donor. This includes obtaining input from the technical assistance teams on
e.g., progress against agreed deliverables and KPIs, changes to project
schedule/scope, risks and opportunities, etc.
Monitoring Learning, Evaluation
and Gender
Working with the GDC team, donor, and consortium
partners to embed MEL activities throughout the project in a way that is
consistent with the wider GDC programme; supporting consortium partners to
enable participating companies to embed MEL considerations throughout TA
projects in a sustainable way.
Working closely with the GDC gender focal point to
ensure that gender analysis and considerations are integrated meaningfully
within TA projects, internal processes, and knowledge outputs relating to the
projects.
Keeping an updated log of all monitoring, learning
and evaluation requirements for all GDC projects, and coordinating the required
MEL activities e.g., monitoring when MEL activities are due, setting surveys
and analysing results.
Other (10%)
Work with the GDC Operations Manager to provide ad
hoc support to other projects in the GDC’s portfolio of work.
As a core member of the GDC team, participate in a
range of regular and ad hoc team-related activities; for example, GDC team
meetings, management meetings, strategy discussions/workshops, etc.
PERSON PROFILE
To be successful in the role,
the ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following experience and
knowledge:
Essential
Meticulous attention to detail
Organised, detail oriented, and able to track and
work on multiple workstreams / projects at once
Financial literacy and strong quantitative analysis
skills
Ability to work independently, prioritise tasks, and
work well under pressure
An aptitude for problem solving and interpersonal
communication
Excellent oral and written communications skills
Exceptional relationship management skills
Proficient in using Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word,
Excel and PowerPoint)
An understanding of monitoring, learning and
evaluation in a development setting
Familiarity with project management approaches,
tools, and phases of the project lifecycle
Experience in collaborating with donor contracts and
reporting to donors
Initiative-taker and able to work remotely with
limited supervision
Experience in last mile distribution
Experience working with networks, membership
organisations or communities of practice
Desirable
Proficient in using Asana / MS Project
Experience in business development and donor
management
Understanding of, or a willingness to learn about,
gender dynamics within inclusive business
Additional information
Practical Action believes that
having a diverse and inclusive workplace culture based on respect will enable
us to be an effective organisation. We seek to create an inclusive workplace in
which people are accepted as individuals, regardless of their differences and
where they feel their contribution is valued. We treat all applications for
employment on their merits and do not take into consideration any factors that
are not relevant to the job such as disability, race, age, religion, gender,
gender reassignment or sexual orientation.
Practical Action is committed
to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such
candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks including criminal checks
and terrorist financing.
Please note that should we
recruit a suitable candidate before the closing date, we will close
applications earlier than the specified date.
We are seeking candidates based
in Kenya, Nepal, Senegal and Zimbabwe.
The successful applicant must
have the pre-existing right to both live and work in the country from which
they will be based.
Closing date for applications: 9th June 2023
Interview Process:
The first round of interviews will be held the week
commencing 12th June 2023
If needed, the second round of interviews will be
held the week commencing 19th June 2023
How to Apply
If you want to work for a
charity with significant people ambitions, then we would like to hear from you.
To apply go to Practicalaction.org/jobs to view the full
recruitment pack.
Please include your salary
expectations in your supporting statement.
Please submit a copy of your CV
and a supporting statement that describes your suitability for the role to
recruitment@practicalaction.org.uk
