HSOT Director (Team Leader) (Maternity Cover)

Palladium; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working model

Job summary

Palladium is seeking an HSOT Director (Team Leader) for maternity cover to lead the Humanitarian and Stabilisation Operations Team (HSOT) in the UK. Based in Palladium’s London office with hybrid working, you will steward senior client relationships, guide strategic direction, and ensure high-quality delivery of complex humanitarian programmes.

You will manage a leadership team, oversee governance and risk, and ensure value for money while supporting staff wellbeing and performance in dynamic

Qualifications

• Extensive humanitarian and stabilisation leadership experience.
• Experience leading large, complex programmes with multiple donors, especially FCDO.
• Proven ability to manage senior client relationships and governance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior FCDO relationship lead and provide strategic advice on humanitarian and stabilisation issues.
• Lead HSOT with overall direction aligned to client priorities and humanitarian needs.
• Deliver high-quality, integrated services and ensure value for money through continuous improvement.
• Set expectations, ensure accountability, and support staff wellbeing.
• Oversee programme performance, governance, risk and financial accountability.

Skills

Senior leadership

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Program governance

People leadership

Job description

HSOT Director (Team Leader) (Maternity Cover)

HSOT Director (TeamLeader) (Maternity Cover)

About Palladium:

Operating in over 50countries,Palladium is a global consulting and implementation companyworking in partnership with governments, businesses, investors, and communitiesto design and deliver solutions that create lasting positive impact. We addresssome of the world’s most complex challenges across infrastructure, economicgrowth and natural capital, health, energy, climate and environment, anddigital transformation—strengthening systems, institutions, and markets tosupport inclusive and sustainable development. Our more than 2,200 staffworldwide work as trusted advisors across diverse contexts, combining deeptechnical expertise, implementation techniques, and innovative technology todeliver locally informed, client-focused solutions that help organisationsachieve measurable, sustainable impact.

Palladium is part ofGISI’s global family of companies, which aims to create solutions for theworld’s most complex challenges. With annual revenues of $14 billion, GISI’sapproximately 15,000 employees are engaged in projects across 100 countriesworldwide providing construction, program/project management, and engineeringconsulting services.

This Opportunity:

The Humanitarian andStabilisation Operations Team (HSOT) delivers the Humanitarian EmergencyResponse Operations and Stabilisation (HEROS) programme on behalf of the UKForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). HSOT provides theoperational expertise, technical advice and deployable expertise needed tosupport the UK's response to humanitarian crises, conflict and instability.

Palladium is seeking a HSOTDirector (Team Leader)toprovide overall leadership of HSOT, ensuring the delivery of high-quality andresponsive humanitarian and stabilisation services that meet client needs andcontractual commitments. The Director serves as the senior representative toFCDO and is accountable for programme performance, strategic direction,emergency response leadership, people leadership, governance and continuousimprovement. The role ensures HSOT remains a trusted, effective and innovativepartner to FCDO, delivering value for money and high-quality humanitarianoutcomes.

Please note this roleis a full-time 12-month maternity cover and is expected to commence in February2027. Appointment to this role will also require client approval.

Location:

The position will bebased in Palladium’s London office withregular engagement at client offices. Please note that applicants must have the right to work in the UK, asvisa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Palladium follows a hybrid working model, with three days in the officeand two days remote.

Reporting and Supervision:

• The HSOT Director (Team Leader) will report to the HSOT Programme Director
• This role will directly supervise 5 direct reports, plus indirect oversight over all programme staff

Primary Responsibilities:

Client &Stakeholder Management

• Serveas the senior FCDO relationship lead, building trusted partnerships,anticipating priorities, and providing strategic advice on humanitarianand stabilisation issues
• Maintainclient confidence, manage sensitive issues, and represent HSOT with seniorgovernment, multilateral, and humanitarian stakeholders

Strategic Leadership

• Provideoverall leadership and direction for HSOT, ensuring alignment with clientpriorities and humanitarian needs
• Driveprogramme evolution, innovation, impact, and value for money

Service Delivery &Performance

• Leaddelivery of high-quality, integrated services across HSOT
• Strengthenperformance, collaboration, and service quality through continuousimprovement, learning, and innovation
• Providesenior oversight of humanitarian responses, ensuring rapid, effective, andscalable delivery
• Supportdecision-making, maintain response readiness, and strengthen capabilitythrough lessons learned
• Leadand develop a high-performing leadership team and programme culture
• Setclear expectations, ensure accountability, address performance issues, andsupport staff wellbeing
• Holdaccountability for contract performance, KPIs, governance, compliance, andrisk management
• Overseefinancial performance, resource utilisation, operational controls, andservice continuity
• Significant experience leading large, complex humanitarian, stabilisation or international development programmes
• Extensive humanitarian experience, including leadership roles in crisis-affected and complex operating environments, with substantial experience in the field
• Extensive experience leading humanitarian response operations and crisis-management activities
• Significant experience working with, or on behalf of, major institutional donors, particularly FCDO and/or the wider UK Government system, including the management of senior client relationships
• Demonstrated experience leading large and complex teams, including Senior Leadership Teams, through periods of operational pressure, uncertainty and change
• Strong track record of performance management, organisational leadership and fostering high-performing teams
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary and geographically dispersed teams and deliver integrated services across multiple functions and capabilities
• Strong experience managing programme performance, governance, risk and financial accountability
• Excellent strategic leadership, judgement and decision-making skills
• Experience operating effectively in complex, rapidly changing and high-pressure environments
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder-management skills
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain the security clearance required for the role. As a minimum, candidates must be eligible for Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance; eligibility for Security Check (SC) clearance is desirable
• Experience overseeing large-scale deployment, surge or technical assistance mechanisms
• Experience working in multilateral organisations, including UN agencies and international humanitarian partners
• Experience driving innovation and the practical application of technology, data or digital tools within humanitarian, stabilisation or emergency response programmes

Equity, Diversity &Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion intoeverything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society andactively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and goodpractice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in ourworkforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fairtreatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. Theseinclude: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, genderidentity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability,nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require anyadjustments or accommodations to be made during the recruitment process (duedisability, neurodiversity, or for any other circumstance), please email ourteam atand we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding - We defineSafeguarding as "the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect ourpeople, clients and the communities we work with from harm". We are committedto ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladiumare treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject toan enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and arigorous due diligence process.