About the Program

The Samoa Tautua – Human Development for All Program assists in the delivery of Australia’s human development commitments in support of Samoa’s development priorities. The program is supporting the human development foundations required for Samoa’s health security, economic recovery, and continued stability thereafter. Tautua prioritises five interconnected pillars of human development: Education, Health, Gender Equality, Disability and Social Protection. Guided by the Government of Samoa, Tautua is creating transformative change in human development by addressing complex development needs though multi-sectoral, innovative approaches that identify and focus on the underlying issues. Simultaneously, Tautua intends to be able to respond to emergency, short-term needs, build capacity and through research, monitoring and evaluation apply lessons learned and evidence-based decision making to continuously improve delivery. The goal for Tautua is 'improved health, education, gender equality and social outcomes, and social harmony for all Samoans'.

Duration of contract: 2 years, November 2025 - November 2027 (with possibility of a 2-year extension to November 2029)

Location: Apia, Samoa

Reporting into: Palladium Contractor Representative

The Opportunity

The role

As the Team Leader you will oversee all aspects of the Tautua – Human Development for All Program to ensure that it is self-reflective, innovative and adaptive – producing high-quality, value-for-money development outcomes that advance human development in Samoa and the enhance the partnership between the Governments of Australia and Samoa.

Key responsibilities include:

• Work closely with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and government and community partners in Samoa. As Team Leader, you will have overall accountability for leading the program team in developing and implementing the program’s strategy, achieving results, reporting on progress and performance, whilst maintaining technical rigor in activity design
• Manage the evolving organisational structure, developing a team culture that promotes teamwork, critical enquiry and creativity to generate innovative development solutions
• Accountable for budget oversight, monitoring and communicating results
• Responsible for identifying and managing risks to program performance
• Ensuring strong and productive relationships are maintained between Tautua and DFAT, continuously maintaining Tautua’s relevance to emerging priorities and agendas within the Human Development and Social Inclusion landscape in Samoa
• Drive methodological innovation and adaptation, providing strategy, technical and organisational leadership, guidance, and performance management to an interdisciplinary team based both in Samoa and internationally
• Oversee the delivery of Tautua’s knowledge sharing, learning and communications agenda, which will inform the trajectory of programming
• Help engage relevant stakeholder groups, including DFAT and the development community in a way that enhances the reputation of the Program

About you

You will have a comprehensive understanding of development program implementation including the design, implementation, and evaluative stages of a project life cycle. As a Team Leader, you will also have a proven track record of supporting complex reform agendas and working across stakeholders in the pursuit of lasting change, preferably in the Pacific Islands region.

Additional key requirements include:

• Demonstrated success in using political economy analysis and brokering skills to establish and strengthen effective partnerships, influence change and enhance program implementation.
• A deep understanding of Samoa, including skills and knowledge to navigate formal and informal protocols in a culturally sensitive manner.
• Possess high-level leadership, management skills and experience, which will enable them to guide a large team of national and international advisers and program staff, set the program direction and coordinate various specialist program components toward the high-level objectives of the investment.
• High level communication, interpersonal and mediation skills which will enable them to manage the competing demands of stakeholders and partners and develop effective relationships with senior government officials, civil society organisations and the private sector.
• Relevant experience with DFAT or other major donors in Samoa an/or the Pacific.

How to Apply

We welcome your interest in leading the Tautua team in this key role. Please apply via the online job advertisement by clicking on the “apply” button. Your application must include:

 A written response (maximum 500 words) to the following question:

As a potential Team Leader, please summarise: 

(1) what are some of the challenges and opportunities that a multi-sector program like Tautua presents; and 

(2) how your skills and expertise could help the program achieve its outcomes.

A copy of your up-to-date Curriculum Vitae.

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.