Primary Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of the Team Leader can be broadly described as follows:

Effective strategic leadership and relationship management

• Provide strategic and operational management of all aspects of the program
• Provide strategic and technical direction to staff, and strategic and technical advice to DFAT as required, including on the selection, design and implementation of all program modalities
• Participate in, or lead (when directed to do so) strategic engagement with partners
• Participate in all key discussions with DFAT and respond to all requests for information in a timely fashion
• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with DFAT, program stakeholders, and within the contractor team

Effective Program Management

• Ensure successful delivery of services, and ensure those services are consistently of high quality
• Oversee the ongoing development and implementation of program planning and management systems, monitoring and evaluation, alumni engagement and communication and stakeholder relationships
• Ensure on-time delivery of all required program outputs to a high quality standard
• Oversee the establishment and operation of all program offices with all necessary staff and operational resources

Effective team leadership and development

• Lead all program staff in the active pursuit of social inclusion, equity and ethical standards including attention to gender, disability, child protection, anti-corruption and participation
• Take responsibility for the performance and management of all program staff, providing particular mentoring and support to Country Program Managers to enhance and develop their skills by implementing, development, coaching and mentoring practices and by assigning each Country Program Manager senior responsibility as program-wide practice leader in a designated area

Effective team performance

• Promote of a positive program and AASAM team culture
• Contribute to continuous improvement in service delivery and program performance
• Maintain a general understanding of other Programs and Projects at Palladium and identify areas for networking and collaboration
• Work with a collaborative and team based approach

Quality and Legislative Compliance

• Comply with DFAT and Palladium policies, procedures, practices and quality systems
• Comply with role specific policies and procedures
• Ensure role specific procedures and all relevant documentation are kept current and available on SharePoint

Other

• Travel locally and internationally, as required.
• Advocate for Palladium and Australian development priorities
• Comply with, and advocate for, DFAT’s policies in all aspects of implementation, including gender, disability, fraud and anti-corruption, PSEAH, child protection and environmental and social safeguards. This includes incorporating policy principles into planning and everyday work, promoting process improvements, and reporting concerns to your Line Manager or Palladium’s Integrity Hotline (details on Palladium website).
• Operate with high levels of integrity, consistent with the intent of DFAT’s Ethics, Integrity and Professional Standards Policy Manual.

Required Qualifications:

Minimum Education and Experience Required

• 10 years or more experience in strategic leadership and senior management of international development programs, ideally relating to scholarships, capacity building or training;
• Demonstrated skills in effective communication and collaboration with stakeholders from many different perspectives, including DFAT and partner governments.
• Demonstrated capacity to manage staff and build teams across multiple locations, cultures and language groups, working respectfully and in a way that builds staff capacity, commitment, ownership and performance;
• Proven capacity to develop, manage and oversee significant budgets;
• Ability to adapt and respond to changing circumstances;
• Demonstrated understanding of development and developing country contexts;
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to negotiate with a variety of different people and to communicate complex issues in plain language;
• Proven ability to live and work effectively in cross-cultural contexts;
• High ethical standards and a commitment to demonstrating integrity and professionalism;
• Relevant tertiary qualifications.

Desired 
1. Experience living and working in South Asia 
2. Relevant language skill

Closing date: Saturday 24 January 2026, 11.59pm AEDT

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.