Nickol Global Solutions (NGS) is seeking to recruit a Project Director to provide overall leadership and management for an anticipated multi-country cooperative agreement supporting the implementation of Forced Labor Import Prohibitions (FLIP), across Malaysia and Bangladesh, as well as any additional countries in the region added during implementation of the three-year project. The Project Director will be responsible for technical direction, day-to-day project management, and USDOL/ILAB relationship management, and will serve as the primary point of contact with USDOL/ILAB's Grant Officer's Representative (GOR). The Project Director will supervise the Senior M&E Officer and in-country project leads.

This position must be based in Bangladesh or Malaysia, with regular travel to the other country and at least one annual trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with ILAB officials. This is a full-time position. 

Duties:

The Project Director will have overall responsibility for:

• Serving as the sole authorized point of contact with USDOL for all inquiries, communications, and orders under the project.
• Leading all interactions with USDOL/ILAB's GOR, including semi-annual progress reporting, quarterly financial coordination with NGS, and the required annual in-person meeting with ILAB officials.
• Maintaining relationships with host-country government counterparts, customs and labor enforcement agencies, and other key stakeholders.
• Ensuring the project maintains ongoing compliance with federal policy, efficiency standards, and transparency requirements throughout the award period.
• Managing project revisions, amendments, and Project Document requests in coordination with NGS and ILAB.
• Directing the country-specific baseline gap assessments (legal/regulatory, institutional capacity, and enforcement-readiness) in both Bangladesh and Malaysia.
• Overseeing design and execution of the pilot risk-assessment/targeting tools developed with counterpart customs officials.
• Leading the transition from Phase 1 diagnostic findings into Phase 2 training curricula and technical assistance delivery.
• Ensuring technical consistency and quality across all project work streams and partner organizations.
• Supervising the in-country lead in each of Bangladesh and Malaysia, providing direct, on-the-ground technical and management engagement in the Project Director's base country while maintaining regular, active oversight of the second country's lead.
• Leading the required in-country Stakeholder Engagement and Strategy Validation process in the base country, and co-leading or overseeing the process in the second country, ensuring both feed into the final USDOL presentation of results.
• Supervising project staff and coordinating across all partner organizations, including administrative, technical, and substantive leads.
• Ensuring the Senior M&E Officer and project team meet all monitoring, evaluation, and reporting obligations in a timely manner.
• Approving and coordinating any subrecipient or contractual work streams.
• Overseeing the project's response to single audits, project-specific audits, and attestation engagements required under the award, ensuring the Senior M&E Officer and project team meet applicable auditing standards and reporting obligations.
• Ensuring project activities and expenditures align with 2 CFR 200/2900, ILAB's Management Procedures and Guidelines (MPG), and all applicable Executive Orders and USDOL policy.
• Leading project closeout, including final technical and financial reporting.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• Minimum of ten (10) years of professional experience in project management and managing operational and administrative duties for USG-funded projects or other donor-funded projects of similar complexity.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in economics, public policy, labor law, international development, education, or related field is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing federal cooperative agreements, including familiarity with USDOL/ILAB reporting, compliance, and M&E requirements.
• Proven experience establishing and maintaining systems for managing project operations, including deliverable submission, stakeholder and risk management, cost and schedule controls, and sustainability planning.
• Demonstrated experience using adaptive management, evidence-based, and innovative approaches to lead USG-funded or other donor-funded projects of similar complexity.
• Prior experience building institutional or enforcement capacity within foreign government counterpart agencies (customs, trade, or labor enforcement).
• Proven success in building and maintaining working relationships with all project stakeholders, engaging in coalition building, and empowering stakeholders to take ownership of key project outcomes for post-project sustainability.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multi-country teams and coordinate across in-country leads.
• Availability for full-time, field-based relocation to Bangladesh or Malaysia for the duration of the award.
• Oral and written proficiency in English required.
• Experience working in or supporting projects in Malaysia and/or Bangladesh is preferred.
• Familiarity with international labor standards and forced labor, child labor, or human trafficking is preferred.
• Familiarity with Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ARTs) and/or Section 301 forced labor enforcement mechanisms is preferred.
• Familiarity with U.S. import enforcement mechanisms (e.g., CBP Withhold Release Orders and Findings) is preferred.
• Prior USDOL/ILAB programmatic experience is preferred.
• Oral and written proficiency in Bangla and/or Bahasa Malaysia is an advantage, but not required.

About NGS:

Nickol Global Solutions (NGS) provides a wide range of management consulting and advisory services designed to fortify stakeholder capacity and effectiveness, including in public institutions, civil society organizations, and private sector firms. In the U.S. and overseas, NGS helps public and private sector clients assess and develop capacity; optimize performance and quality objectives; enhance transparency and accountability; measure success; and communicate about their work—all with the aim of advancing development objectives even in the most complex operating environments. For more information, please visit https://www.nickolglobal.com/

NGS is an equal opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, age, or other legally protected characteristics. Military veterans, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service alumni are encouraged to apply.