Manager

Focus of the Role

Are you excited by the prospect of supporting government to deliver on its promises to citizens by improving service delivery? Do you have experience in consulting and/or working in the public sector to drive systemic change? If so, we would like to hear from you.  

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is scaling up its support to multiple governments in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia to accelerate reforms and progress through better delivery support, technology, and private sector engagement. With programmes growing across Eastern Europe, TBI is combining strategy, policy and delivery expertise to help progressive governments formulate and implement their reform agenda.   

The Institute is looking to hire an exceptional Manager to work with the country team on driving forward an ambitious transformation agenda set out by the client. The Advisor will provide support to the country leadership and related ministries and agencies on public Manager reform, by working across public policy areas.

The role will be based in Chisinau.

Key Responsibilities

We are looking for a Manager to work in close collaboration with the Country Director and the Strategic Communications Manager. The focus of this role will be to identify, detail and implement strategic initiatives that are vital for the government’s delivery. As such, we are looking for a strategic thinker who is also hands on and has a drive to get his or her work implemented and deliver tangible results. Responsibilities will include:

1. Based on the strategic priorities of the government, identifying and defining underpinning initiatives that can drive the reform agenda forward. This will require reviewing a broad range of policy areas (e.g. education, healthcare, infrastructure financing, digitalization, EU accession, demographic policy, etc…), defining programs / initiatives in the areas most relevant to the government, and drafting charters for each retained program / initiative (identifying action plans, dependencies, stakeholder accountability, budget, risks, etc...
2. Developing an initiative prioritization mechanism, accounting for estimated budget, expected impact, and time / complexity to implement. The mechanism will play a critical role in determining short-term and long-term initiatives to be pursued.
3. Identifying and establishing rapport with government stakeholders who hold accountability or responsibility in the delivery of the retained initiatives. This will entail regular interaction and follow-up, with the need to nudge counterparts while remaining aware of the sensitivities of each stakeholder. In particular, the Advisor would be expected to at times engage with government stakeholders to gather and synthesize progress in preparation for high-level coordination meetings.
4. Supporting in the customization of a progress-tracking and monitoring dashboard for the initiatives.
5. Advise on improving organizational management within the government, project management methods, reporting procedures, communications and PR methods to promote project successes to the public, etc.
6. Engage with the client frequently face-to-face and participate in meetings and discussions regarding workstreams to ensure client’s needs are being met as accurately as possible.

Person Specification

• At least 4 years of experience in an implementation delivery function. This could include management consulting background with experience in delivery (“PMO” type) or government administration, with a track record of effective project delivery.
• A graduate degree in public policy, economics, or political science; under-graduate degrees and graduate degrees in other areas can be considered with relevant equivalent experience.  
• An ability to work independently, think strategically and produce deliverables with attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal and presentational skills; able to quickly establish his or her credibility with stakeholders.
• A proven ability to collaborate with others, including people from different backgrounds and cultures.
• Ability to operate within sometimes sensitive political contexts and be attuned to potential areas of conflict or tension. Apply sound judgement in all external engagements on behalf of TBI.
• A proactive, self-motivated individual with a passion for achieving social impact.
• Prior experience working in a Delivery Unit or a Centre of Government highly preferred
• An awareness of Eastern Europe politics and the broader economic and security context will be considered favourably.
• Fluency in English is required. Fluency in Romanian will be considered favourably.

About The Institute

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is a mission-driven not for profit organisation. We exist to equip political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies. We work hard, every day, to make a difference. When governments work well, they are able to create economic and social change in a way that promotes fairness, social justice and opportunity. We work relentlessly to support leader and governments with the challenges they face. Giving them practical solutions and actionable insights, that once implemented, can be transformative for their people.

We do this within two connected divisions:

Government Advisory

Our Government Advisory teams work directly with political leaders and governments around the world to implement reforms that improve the lives of their citizens. It works with a variety of partners and its outputs cover a range of disciplines and projects across countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Asia. We serve governments at the political level with Policy, Strategy, and Delivery support, working hand-in-hand to execute priority initiatives at scale.

Policy Futures

Our Policy Futures work encompasses three broad areas:

• Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics;
• Tech and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution; and
• Extremism Policy Unit: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world.

As an organisation the core beliefs we all embrace are:

• Open and Progressive: you’ll believe in the value of teamwork
• Bold and Pragmatic: you’ll approach everything you do with integrity and authenticity
• Optimistic Changemakers: you’ll be focused on results

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