Team Leader - CASA 3 in London

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 2,100 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

The Climate Ambition Support Alliance (CASA) is a UK-funded programme dedicated to enhancing the capacity and capability of ambitious, low-income, and climate-vulnerable countries in international climate negotiations. Overseen by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), CASA currently provides support to the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group, the Alliance of Small Island Developing States (AOSIS), the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) and the Independent Alliance of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC).

This role will act as the central point of leadership for programme delivery. The Team Leader is responsible for representing the programme with a range of external organisations and individuals, including regularly reporting to the client, maintaining strong working relationships with relevant local entities, other programmes, as well as with corporate Palladium staff. This is an excellent opportunity for experienced project leaders to play a critical role in the fight against climate change and provision of support to climate-vulnerable countries. Should the project be awarded, the Team Leader would be expected to start full-time in January 2027. This is a multi-year programme running until March 2030.

Location: The position is hybrid based in Palladium’s London office.

Primary Roles and Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership and overall accountability for the successful delivery of the programme, ensuring achievement of objectives, outcomes and contractual commitments.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between the Client, consortium partners and technical delivery teams, ensuring effective coordination and communication across all programme activities.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with the client, negotiating groups, technical experts and consortium partners, ensuring partnerships contribute effectively to programme delivery and impact.
• Represent the programme in governance forums, steering committees and external events as required.
• Lead end-to-end programme management, ensuring delivery remains robust, adaptive, effective and responsive to emerging priorities and stakeholder needs.
• Provide strategic guidance, oversight and quality assurance for all programme activities, outputs and deliverables, drawing on specialist expertise from across the team where required.
• Establish and maintain effective programme governance structures, delivery systems and reporting mechanisms.
• Proactively identify, assess and manage programme risks and opportunities, advising both Palladium and the Client on emerging issues and adaptive responses.
• Lead, alongside the Project Manager and Project Director the preparation of annual workplans, delivery plans and budgets.
• Oversee management of consortium partners and subcontractors, ensuring compliance with contractual requirements and delivery against agreed workplans.
• Promote the integration of MEL and GEDSI considerations throughout programme delivery.
• Oversee programme communications and knowledge-sharing activities to maximise the visibility and uptake of programme achievements, lessons and best practice.
• Provide leadership, direction and support to the programme team, fostering a collaborative, inclusive and high-performing culture.
• Establish and maintain effective management systems, processes and ways of working across the programme.
• Lead staff performance management processes, including objective setting, performance reviews and individual development planning.
• Provide overall oversight of programme finances, ensuring sound financial management and stewardship of programme resources.
• Alongside the Project Director and Manager, lead budget management, forecasting and financial planning processes, ensuring expenditure remains aligned with programme objectives and approved budgets.
• Monitor and demonstrate VfM across programme activities.
• Ensure compliance with ODA requirements, contractual obligations and relevant programme policies and procedures.

Required Qualifications:

• Strong academic background, or commensurate experience, in fields related to climate change, international development, climate negotiations, climate governance or related disciplines.
• Proven experience in a leadership role on projects of similar complexity designing and delivering technical assistance in the climate space.
• Demonstrated experience leading and managing complex donor-funded programmes, preferably DESNZ or FCDO-funded programmes.
• Strong programme and financial management experience, including budgeting, forecasting, risk management, VfM and compliance oversight.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation and relationship management skills, with the ability to build trust and influence senior decision-makers.
• Direct experience supporting climate negotiations and strengthening the engagement and influence of climate-vulnerable countries in international processes would be particularly advantageous.
• Strong analytical, communication and report-writing skills, with the ability to produce timely, concise and high-quality reports and briefings.
• Collaborative and adaptive leadership style, with strong interpersonal skills, resilience, self-motivation and the ability to respond effectively to changing priorities.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

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.

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.

Our company provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.