Palladium

Project Officer, Partnership for Forests (P4F) Congo Basin (Cameroon)

About Palladium

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 50 countries and have a workforce of more than 2,000 talented and motivated staff around the world.

Palladium is part of GISI’s global family of companies, which aims to create solutions for the world’s most complex challenges. With annual revenues of $14 billion, GISI’s approximately 15,000 employees are engaged in projects across 100 countries worldwide providing construction, program/project management, and engineering consulting services.

Background to the Project

The Partnership for Forests (P4F) programme, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), supports the development of capacity and market systems to enable rural communities and national economies to benefit from a sustainable forest and land-use economy. The programme operates in Cameroon, DRC, Republic of Congo, and Gabon.

P4F works closely with local organisations and communities to enable them benefit from investment in sustainable land-use sectors. The programme delivers support to strengthen the capacity of public bodies, financial institutions, companies, business associations, and other actors to support people to benefit from sustainable land-use activities, including community-based forest management.

Purpose of Position

The Project Officer will support the Central Project Management team from Cameroon in identifying, developing and managing investable projects and partnerships in sustainable land use. The role combines strategic project origination with operational and administrative support to ensure effective implementation and reporting. This role requires fluency in French and English.

The Project Officer will be a full-time FXTE employee and will report into the Deputy Team Leader in Cameroon throughout the duration of the Project.

Primary Responsibilities

Project Origination & Technical Support

• Identify and assess high-potential forest partnership business models aligned with programme strategy.
• Support business plan development and capacity building for investees.
• Identify the need for and manage the delivery of technical assistance to pilot and scale sustainable land-use businesses.
• Prepare investment pitches and concept notes for internal and client approval.
• Conduct financial and technical analysis of value chains and business models.

Project Management & Implementation

• Track project milestones and ensure timely delivery of outputs.
• Maintain communication with stakeholders including donors, partners, and beneficiaries.
• Support MEL, communications, and cross-cutting workstreams.
• Conduct regular monitoring visits to project sites.

Finance & Operations

• Manage programme payments, procurement, and contracting processes.
• Support budget tracking and financial reporting.
• Liaise with Palladium corporate functions (Finance, Compliance, HR).
• Maintain documentation and records on SharePoint.

Team & Information Management

• Support recruitment, onboarding, and team coordination.
• Monitor payroll and leave trackers.
• Manage project data systems and portals for idea submission.
• Draft reports, presentations, and meeting documentation.

Key Competencies

• Demonstrable experience in projects/programme development or management
• Relevant experience in sustainability or markets/supply chains for agricultural forest commodities associated with deforestation, such as palm oil, soya, timber products etc
• Proven track record in working on projects or programmes involving local or regional stakeholder engagements and PPPs
• Experience in working with a broad range of stakeholders facilitating and mainstreaming complex processes amongst civil society, private sector and governments
• Demonstrated experience in outreach, networking and partnership building across a range of stakeholders, particularly in regard to the development of new innovative initiatives involving the private sector
• Ability to work effectively with multi-disciplinary team members and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and cultures
• Excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, and planning skills, demonstrated in professional and high-risk settings.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, and ability to research information and present it concisely to a variety of stakeholders. Both French and English required.

Application Information

Please submit your CV and/or cover letter online by Friday 30 January COB to be included in the first set of reviewed applications. Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled so early applicants are encouraged.

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 during the recruitment process (due to disability, neurodiversity, 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.