Australia Awards Malaysia Semester Program Manager

Uniglobalcareers; Australia; Hybrid; AUD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Palladium invites applications for the Australia Awards Malaysia Semester Program Manager. The role focuses on delivering high-quality, scalable supplementary support services for the pilot program, coordinating with DFAT and university partners, and ensuring policy alignment and robust grant administration.

Location is Australia or Malaysia with flexible pilot delivery, and opportunities to expand to other countries.

Qualifications

• Significant experience managing DFAT-funded programs, preferably including program start up and/or pilot program delivery.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and client management across diverse groups.
• Experience in Australian higher education sector and/or Australia Awards programs.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality supplementary support services for the Australia Awards Malaysia Semester Program (AAMSP) in line with DFAT requirements and program objectives.
• Develop and deliver work plans, risk registers and monitor progress.
• Update policies, procedures, guidelines and grant agreements in line with DFAT requirements.
• Oversee monitoring and welfare processes for scholars and reporting to DFAT.
• Support management information systems for grant administration and scholar monitoring.

Skills

Stakeholder mgmt

DFAT program mgmt

Grant lifecycle

MEL frameworks

Policy writing

Education

Degree in international development

Tools

SmartyGrants

Job description

Australia — International Student Market

822K inbound students (2024) +10%

1. China 168K

2. India 128K

3. Nepal 57K

4. Vietnam 33K

5. Malaysia 26K

3 international branch campuses in Australia

Australia Awards Malaysia Semester Program Manager

Description_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

- Location: Australia or Malaysia.

This role is open to candidates who are currently located, and hold existing work rights in, either Australia or Malaysia. Relocation support to either country, including visa sponsorship and relocation-rented allowances, is not available for this position

- Employment type & Contract term: Full-time, fixed-term 18-month role, with the possibility of extension.

About the Program

The Australia Awards Malaysia Semester Program (AAMSP), delivered under the Southeast Asia Leadership Program (SEALP), is a pilot program reintroducing Australia Awards to Malaysia through a targeted, partnership-based mobility model. It supports one to two semesters of study in Australia for Malaysian students enrolled in Australian transnational education (TNE) pathways via direct grants to Australian universities with Malaysia campuses.

The program strengthens education links, builds human capital, and advances priorities under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, DFAT's Southeast Asia Strategy, and Invested. The Program creates a pathway for those who may not otherwise have the opportunity to study in Australia. It supports the empowerment of women as well as the inclusion of people with disability; those from ethnic minorities; and individuals from disadvantaged social groups. The Program's three key outcomes are:

• Alumni leaders apply their knowledge skills and networks to contribute to defined areas of shared interest.
• Australia has strong and enduring networks of influence in Malaysia.
• Alumni leaders actively engage and contribute to cooperation with Australia.

Palladium provides supplementary support services including specialist coordination, core program framework establishment, targeted support to the end-to-end grant workflow including grant monitoring, scholar welfare escalation support, communications expertise and monitoring, evaluation and learning services. Subject to pilot performance and approvals, the new grants‑based scholarship delivery model may be extended to additional countries.

The Opportunity

The Australia Awards Malaysia Semester Program Manager will lead the initiation and delivery of high-quality, flexible and scalable supplementary support services for the pilot program including agreed support to the end-to-end grant workflow.

Working closely with DFAT and Australian university partners, you will establish the guiding frameworks for scalable program delivery, facilitate identification of the roles and responsibilities of delivery partners and deliver the associated supplementary services and resourcing support.

The role is responsible for embedding a flexible, continuous learning approach across pilot delivery, responding to lessons learned, priorities and requirements as they emerge, and ensuring delivery is adaptable and scalable to support potential expansion to other countries.

Working with children

Is this position likely to come into contact with children? No

Responsibilities _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What you will do

• Deliver high-quality supplementary support services for the Australia Awards Malaysia Semester Program (AAMSP), ensuring activities are implemented in line with DFAT requirements, program objectives and agreed timeframes.
• Develop and deliver Early Implementation Plans, Annual Work Plans and Risk Registers, monitoring progress and managing risks throughout implementation.
• Develop and continuously improve program policies, procedures, guidelines and grant agreements, ensuring alignment with Australia Awards policies and DFAT requirements.
• Drive ongoing review and refinement of the partner Ways of Working (WoW) Framework to support effective collaboration and decision-making across stakeholders.
• Oversee scholar monitoring and welfare processes, including critical incident escalation, risk management and reporting to DFAT where required.
• Support the establishment of management information systems for grant administration and scholar monitoring, providing ongoing systems support.
• Manage delivery of supplementary services across the grant lifecycle, ensuring high-quality support to DFAT and university partners.
• Provide leadership and oversight to technical advisory inputs across monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), communications, compliance and program quality.
• Oversee the delivery of program reflection and learning activities, including annual and quarterly reflection workshops, and development of annual program reporting.
• Coordinating closely with the SEALP Team Leader, manage shared resources across programs to deliver supplementary support services.
• Support the SEALP Team Leader in resourcing reviews, strategic planning, program adaptation and potential expansion opportunities, including acting as Team Leader when required.

The work in practice

This role is likely to suit someone who is comfortable with:

• Building and maintaining strong relationships in a complex stakeholder environment including DFAT, Australian university partners and shared program delivery teams.
• Balancing strategic program management with hands-on operational delivery.
• Working consultatively to establish guiding frameworks and identify and deliver the required support services for successful program delivery across multiple workstreams.
• Working in a dynamic pilot program environment where priorities, approaches and service requirements need to be defined and will evolve, requiring ongoing flexibility and adaptive management approaches.

The role may be challenging due to its flexible nature. It is expected that specific responsibilities will be subject to ongoing review and may include duties that fall outside the original Terms of Reference as reasonably required to ensure the successful delivery of the Program.

Qualifications ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What you will bring

Please apply if you can show evidence of:

• Tertiary qualifications in international development, international relations, education, or a related field.
• Significant experience managing DFAT-funded programs, preferably including program start up and/or pilot program delivery.
• Demonstrated experience working in the Australian higher education sector and/or on Australia Awards programs.
• Substantial experience managing grants across the full lifecycle, including compliance, probity, systems and operational processes.
• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity, solve complex problems and adapt program delivery in response to emerging priorities and stakeholder feedback.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and client management skills, with a demonstrated ability to build and maintain productive relationships across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Excellent professional writing skills, including experience researching, drafting and publishing operational guidelines, procedures, policies and other program documentation for diverse audiences.
• Proficiency in using information management systems to support grants administration, records management and program delivery. Experience with SmartyGrants is desirable.
• Strong practical knowledge of monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) frameworks and systems to support program learning, adaptation and assessment of program performance.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively in a dynamic and evolving program environment.
• Experience and/or understanding of the Southeast Asia context, particularly Malaysia.

How we work here

At Palladium, you'll be part of a collaborative and inclusive workplace where your contribution matters. We offer opportunities for professional growth through diverse projects, mentoring and development pathways, alongside flexible ways of working that support wellbeing and work-life integration. Employees benefit from a values-driven culture that promotes diversity, inclusion, integrity and recognition, while working alongside talented colleagues committed to creating meaningful impact.

To be considered for this position, you must be currently located, and have valid work rights in, either Australia or Malaysia. Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Salary and benefits: Competitive locally engaged salary and benefits.

Please note: While this role does not involve direct work with children, the successful candidate will still be required to complete a police check and relevant due diligence checks as part of Palladium's commitment to being a child-safe organisation.

About Palladium

Palladium is a global development and consulting firm, part of the GISI Consulting Group, working alongside some of the world's leading project management and engineering organisations. We partner with governments, businesses, investors and communities to design and deliver complex programs that create lasting impact. With a presence across more than 90 countries, Palladium offers the opportunity to work on meaningful challenges, alongside talented colleagues, in environments where your work can truly make a difference.

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 [e-mail] and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding

We define Safeguarding as all the actions taken by Palladium to protect our people, communities where we work and our clients from harm, including Sexual Exploitation, Abuse or Sexual Harassment; Child Abuse in any form; Trafficking for sexual exploitation of adults or children and any form of Trafficking of children. We have zero tolerance for all forms of child abuse as well as sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment and zero-tolerance for inaction to prevent, protect against, respond to and report 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 Code of Conduct and Child Safeguarding and Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Guidelines have additional details.