This role:

• A core part of a fast-growing and diverse team, and reporting to a practice partner, you will steer the processes and operations of the human development practice, support our growth, support implementation of firm and practice-wide strategies, systems and procedures. You will assist to maintain the culture of the practice as it grows (in staff, geography, and complexity). You will line manage the practice administrator, potentially oversee staffing of analysts and interns to projects in line with the professional development plans and project needs, ensure team coherence, as well as the smooth running of the human development practice by ensuring day to day issues are managed where required.
• As the Practice takes on bigger projects across multiple clients and with teams working increasingly remotely, it is envisaged that you could have a compliance and oversight role on those large projects too.

We offer you a steep learning curve while providing an opportunity to make a difference. We offer meaningful work with professional, talented and supportive teams; mentoring and regular feedback from partners. You will learn:

• How to work effectively in diverse, lean, agile and professional teams.
• How to communicate effectively with colleagues.
• About your own work and leadership styles and preferences.

Our expectation is that this role grows in complexity and responsibility together with the practice, offering a potentially steep career ladder.

Working with the Practice Partners and service line leads to implement Firm wide initiatives, the Human Development Practice strategy, and service line and specialism strategies.

• Ensure that the Practice is implementing firm wide initiatives including but not exclusive to G+ problem solving
• Ensure that the Human Development practice strategy is updated and reviewed regularly
• Ensure that the strategies of service lines (social sector financing; early childhood education; school; school to work transitions; and social protection) are updated and reviewed regularly
• Ensure that the list of commitments by managers in the practice is monitored and updated
• Ensure the development and implementation of strategies to maintain team/practice coherence to support healthy and productive teams (especially during remote working)

Ensuring the smooth running of the Human Development Practice, by coordinating and leading routine systems, including: practice/project management, marketing efforts, as well as financial management and HR management systems.

Oversee and support the practice administrator(s)’ work on the following areas:

Practice/ Project management:

• Supporting the development and adherence to the existing standard operational procedures (SOPs) and systems
• Develop and oversee that standard project management practices are applied across all projects
• Acting as the ‘go to person’ for all aspects of compliance with Genesis processes – central repository for company knowledge
• Ensuring compliance with travel policies, including travel booking, insurance and Duty of Care
• Ensure project life-cycle compliance and alignment with G+ principles.

Lead marketing of the Human Development practice, working with the Genesis Marketing Communications Manager

• Maintain project descriptions and capacity statements for use in marketing materials
• Development of marketing materials
• Oversight of the Practice sections of the Genesis website
• Ensure projects are documented and regularly updated within Genesis systems, and relevant registries/resource sites

Lead Financial and HR initiatives within the Human Development practice:

• Ensure effective coordination between the practice and Group Service Team (finance, HR & recruitment colleagues)
• Oversee the practice administrator’s work with project managers on the monthly project reconciliations and forecasts and update the monthly financial dashboard
• Responsible for the operational management of short term project staff:
  • Independent consultant (IC) contracting
  • IC operational liaison
  • IC invoicing etc
• Prepare post-completion financial reports for projects
• Work with HR to develop job descriptions where required
• Work with hiring managers to develop /review case studies
• Support interview and onboarding processes
• Support with coordination of other HR functions in the practice
• Update and implement the practice induction process for all new starters
• Coordinate practice wide trainings

Manage the practice administrator(s) 

• Line manage practice administrator(s), ensuring the smooth delivery of project and practice related tasks to standards agreed with practice leadership
• If necessary, agree with practice leadership the need for additional administrators, and recruit and manage them
• Be a go-to person for areas of uncertainty

Knowledge management

Supporting the Human development practice with knowledge management including (but not limited to) supporting and coordination of:

• The Human Development practice’s external ecosystem of partners and consultants
• The Human Development practice’s project database
• The Human Development practice’s shared drive
• The Human Development practice’s databases on human development issues across our geographies
• Human development practice development sessions
• Human development Brown Bags
• Our participation in conferences (abstracts submission etc)

And potentially:

Organise project staffing of junior consulting staff

• Working with the practice leadership, manage practice-wide junior consulting staff so that they are allocated to roles on external and internal projects that meet practice needs and their professional development objectives.
• Organise feedback on the performance of junior staff from project colleagues.
• Organise feedback from junior staff on their staffing arrangements
• Participate, together with their line manager/mentor, in evaluations of junior staff to help improve their performance.