Senior Manager - Governance & Stability (Expression of Interest)

The hiring for this role is contingent on anticipated projects wins.

Location: London, UK, with travel and willingness to be based overseas in due course.

Background

Adam Smith International is a global advisory company that works locally to transform lives by making economies stronger, societies safer, and governments more effective. We work on behalf of governments, foundations and companies that share our ambition to take on the big challenges facing the world. They come to us to develop strategies and to design, deliver and evaluate programmes that, in turn, stimulate economic growth, stability and good governance. For nearly three decades in almost 100 countries, we have been working in partnership with governments, the private sector and civil society in countries at all stages of development. Our core team of staff and technical experts, in multiple offices around the world, ensures the quality of delivery and high ethical standards that we and our clients require. We bring together a global network of specialist experts, who contribute their experience and know-how, where and when it is needed. Company-wide, both our pipeline of business opportunities and portfolio of programmes are growing. We want to recruit high calibre candidates to support the continued growth and delivery of our global portfolio against the quality and high ethical standards that we and our clients require. This is an exciting time to join Adam Smith International and become part of a team of bright, dynamic and committed people, determined to transform lives for the better. ASI is owned and operated by its employees. We are committed to corporate integrity and a triple bottom line of social, environmental and financial performance. ASI is a registered B Corp, one of the highest-ranking B Corps in the UK on its measure of positive social and environmental impact.

The Government Reform Team

ASI’s Governance Reform team is responsible for the design and delivery of our work focused on strengthening governance and accountability systems around the world. The practice covers centre of government reform, civil service reform, public financial management, local governance reform, parliamentary strengthening, anti-corruption and illicit financial flows, and civil society development under the rubric of governance. We place a strong emphasis on gender and social inclusion in all of our programming and have a particular focus on using adaptive and politically informed approaches to programme design. We run some of the most exciting and impactful projects around including a flexible governance facility in Iraq working with the Prime Minister’s office, a number of important programmes in Palestine, an anti-corruption programme in Malawi, two programmes focused on Illicit Financial Flows in Panama, Cyprus, Latvia and Malta, as well as a major humanitarian programme in Syria. In the last 18 months, the Governance and Stability practice has grown significantly, cementing ASI’s position as one of the leading providers of impactful programming to the FCDO’s Conflict Stability and Security Fund and the new GDD Framework Governance and Conflict High Value Lot. Our work takes place in a range of fragile and conflict-affected states as well as more economically advanced countries. We work in places ranging from Pakistan & Nepal to Georgia, Ukraine and Latvia, to Iraq, Syria and Palestine, to Somalia, Nigeria and Mali.

About the Role

We are currently looking to fill Senior Manager roles to oversee the delivery of our growing portfolio of programmes and help support business development activities. Our Senior Managers typically oversee the day-to-day running of major projects, with responsibilities including:

• Running the project management unit, including line managing more junior project managers and overseeing their management of budgets, invoices, contracts and recruitment processes.
• Quality assurance of project deliverables.
• Working closely with Technical Team Leaders on work and resource planning.
• Supporting evaluations and client reporting.
• Client relationship management: maintaining relationships with donors on a day-to-day basis, helping to manage reporting and deliverable flows, anticipating issues and problems.
• Strategic quality assurance: working with the Team Leader and Project Director assessing programme direction and providing guidance, managing risks and issues.

In addition, our Senior Managers play a key role in new programme and funding development: either by delivering existing projects to high standards or by preparing for and leading our responses to complex competitive public tenders.

About You

This role requires a high level of responsibility and would suit someone in their mid-career with leadership experience:

• 5+ years of relevant sector experience.
• Extensive experience as a project director or senior project manager overseeing large scale (£10m plus) development programming, including FCDO-funded and EU-funded programmes.
• Exceptional organisation skills.
• Good networks in relevant programmes.
• Native standard written English and fluent spoken English.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.

Desirable:

• Experience in managing large governance, PFM, public service delivery, stabilisation, conflict, security and justice reform programmes.
• Experience of FCDO and ISF procurement process and tenders.
• Relevant experience in the MENA, Africa and South Asia.
• Language skills (e.g. Arabic, French, Turkish, Ukrainian).

What We Offer You

Our people are at the heart of our strategy and our decisions. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, a dynamic and friendly team environment, the opportunity to support a highly successful portfolio of programmes, and support to develop your skills and progress in your career. The diversity of our workforce makes ASI a great place to work, more creative and resourceful, and underpins strong partnerships. We keep a sharp focus on diversity and inclusion, including through our Equality Action Plan and our Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and through leadership from our Executive Team and oversight by our Board. We recognise the importance of your life outside of work. We are proud to support flexible working arrangements and commit to make a success of flexible working arrangements wherever possible. We’ve built a culture to reflect our values, full of likeminded professionals who are smart, passionate and great at what they do. This is an exciting role managing a number of interesting and innovative programmes and with considerable growth potential within ASI. ASI is committed to continually improving the diversity of our workforce through the attraction, retention and development of a diverse range of talented people. We want people to be comfortable bringing their whole self to work and recognise that inclusion brings further opportunities for innovation and creativity.

Deadline for applications is COB 14th June 2024. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and early submissions are strongly encouraged. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.