About Palladium

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development, and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social, climate and economic value.  We work with governments, businesses, and investors to help solve the world's most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 4,000 employees operating in 90-plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies, the environment, and, most importantly, people's lives.

Background – Australia Awards Fellowships 

Australia Awards are prestigious, transformational Scholarships, Fellowships and short courses offered to emerging leaders from across the Indo-Pacific region. Australia Awards are a feature of nearly all of Australia’s bilateral aid programs, targeting the development of human resource capacity of partner countries within mutually agreed sectors and development priorities. 

The Australia Awards Fellowships (AAF) program aims to build economic and human development and foster links between Australian and countries in our region. The program contributes to this aim by providing grant funding on an annual basis to Australian organisations, to host Fellows from developing countries for short-term study and professional development.  By providing opportunities for senior and mid-career officials and professionals, AAF aims to:  

• strengthen partnerships and links between Australian organisations and partner organisations in developing countries, in support of Australia’s strategic development objectives; and
• increasing the capability and professional development of selected Fellows to advance priority development issues bilaterally, sub-regionally and/or regionally. 

Australia Awards Global Support Unit 

Beginning Round 21, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) will manage the implementation of AAF through the Australia Awards Global Support Unit (GSU), under the managing contractor Palladium. DFAT maintains the policy direction while the GSU administers the Fellowships program. The GSU will lead the grant application selection, agreement management process, and enter into agreements directly with Australia Host Organisations (AHOs). The GSU has a provision of assessment and moderation services to support the AAF Program Round 21 assessment of 199 applications that have progressed through the initial screening process and are now recommended to proceed to assessment.  

Scope of Services

The Service Provider, being an incorporated entity or sole trader holding a valid ABN, will be engaged to deliver independent moderation services for AAF Round 21 application scores and to report to the Australia Awards Fellowships Selection Panel (AAFSP) on the moderation process and any matters arising for consideration. 

The objective of the independent moderation is to support a consistent, transparent, and equitable assessment of proposals by identifying, analysing, and resolving any issues in the assessment process, including but not limited to:

• Significant variance between assessment against criteria by posts and thematic areas 
• Variances between the scores given by posts for multi-country proposals which are assessed by multiple posts  
• Variances in scoring that adversely affect the global ranking, especially at the upper end of the list and around the cut-off line for successful proposals  
• Variances in the ranking of proposals against the different selection criteria.   

The Moderator will also provide an overview of moderation results including analysis such as: 

• Eligible application pool
• Thematic coverage
• Country and Regional coverage
• Institutional representation
• Overall observations and recommendations
• Comparisons to previous AAF Rounds. 

Primary responsibilities

• Independently moderate and quality‑assure assessment outcomes, ensuring the consistent and objective application of assessment criteria across all applications. Provide clear oversight of the moderation process to uphold rigorous quality standards aligned with DFAT’s Australia Awards objectives.
• Identify and resolve inconsistencies in assessor scoring by analysing variations in judgement, addressing discrepancies promptly, and applying moderation adjustments to maintain fairness, comparability, and integrity across the assessment cohort.
• Strengthen assessor capability through targeted, evidence‑based feedback, supporting consistent interpretation of criteria, reinforcing best‑practice assessment standards, and contributing to continuous capability development across the assessor pool.
• Act impartially and independently in all duties, uphold probity, proactively identify, manage and disclose conflicts of interest, maintain strict confidentiality, and ensure transparency and consistency throughout all processes.
   

Essential Selection Criteria

• Organisational capability demonstrating access to appropriate tertiary‑qualified personnel in relevant disciplines and/or the capacity to provide equivalent expertise through demonstrated professional knowledge and experience.
• Demonstrated experience and expertise in international scholarship or grants programs, or closely related sectors such as education, development, research, or capacity‑building, relevant to DFAT’s Australia Awards portfolio and the broader Australia Awards delivery network.
• Established analytical capability to assess applications against defined eligibility and selection criteria, ensuring assessments are aligned with DFAT policy priorities, including gender equality, disability inclusion, and social inclusion principles.
• Strong organisational communication capability, including the ability to produce clear, high‑quality written reports and provide verbal advice, interpret and convey complex information, justify assessment outcomes.
• Proven organisational systems and processes for interpreting and working with formal and technical documentation, including DFAT policies, Fellowships guidelines, and relevant legislation, ensuring all assessments are compliant, consistent, and defensible.   
• Demonstrated organisational commitment to integrity and quality assurance, including robust conflict‑of‑interest management arrangements and quality control mechanisms that uphold the integrity of the assessment process and support.

To Apply

Please submit your application online, including your CV and brief cover letter (maximum 2 pages), outlining your suitability in line with the requirements of the position.

Established working rights required for suitable candidates, there is no visa sponsorship or relocation support available.  

For further information please email hr.aagsm@thepalladiumgroup.com  

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 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.