Project Manager - Malawi

About Imagine Worldwide 

All children have immense potential, but hundreds of millions don’t have access to the learning they need. Imagine Worldwide’s mission is to empower millions of children across Sub-Saharan Africa with the literacy and numeracy skills they need to reach their full potential. We provide a tablet-based, personalized learning solution designed for the most challenging environments. Nine Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) across multiple countries and settings have shown dramatic learning gains, increased school attendance, and gender parity, all for less than $7 per child per year.

Imagine Worldwide partners with governments, organizations, and communities to provide child-directed, tablet-based learning that is accessible, effective, and affordable. We are a California-based (United States) nonprofit organization operating across seven Sub-Saharan African countries. 

In Malawi, under the BEFIT program, Imagine works with the Malawi Ministry of Education and partners onebillion and VSO, among others, to eventually serve 3.8 million children per year in Standards 1-4 across all 6,000 public primary schools in Malawi. The BEFIT program began rolling out in September 2023 and served 500 schools in Year 1 across 18 districts. Year 2 will serve an additional 460 schools across the remaining 16 education districts in Malawi.

About the Role

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Project Manager will play an instrumental role in coordinating and delivering key projects that enable Imagine's mission to test and scale tablet-based learning solutions. This role manages project implementation across multiple locations, ensures alignment with organizational priorities, and coordinates with government agencies, implementing partners, and internal teams to drive results.

 

Key Responsibilities

The Project Manager will work closely with Imagine Malawi’s Executive Director and the management team to provide project and operational support. The Project Managers responsibilities will include - but will not be limited to the  following: 

Strategic Project Management

• Support planning, implementation, and monitoring of project activities across assigned districts and partners, ensuring alignment with Imagine’s strategy and government priorities.
• Develop detailed project implementation plans with clear timelines, deliverables, budgets, and M&E indicators.
• Track progress against work plans, budgets, and performance targets, proactively identifying risks and bottlenecks and proposing mitigation actions.
• Coordinate with government education offices, implementing partners, and internal teams to ensure smooth execution of activities at both central and district levels.

Operational Support

• Lead in the development of tools, manuals and training resources needed to ensure successful project implementation. 
• Coordinate and supervise the implementation of all program activities to achieve their outputs
• Conduct relevant research to inform program implementation and disseminate relevant information to relevant stakeholders. 
• Convene, document and follow-up on the outcome of monthly project accountability meetings.

Team Support

• Manage information flow in a timely and accurate manner to maximize productivity of the teams
• Schedule team and/or departmental meetings; assist in the preparation and distribution of meeting agendas and materials
• Lead and coach team members on the use of online collaboration and productivity tools to enable as much asynchronous work as possible to maximise working hours
• Perform a variety of administrative and document preparation tasks to support the management team

Donor Support

• Prepare comprehensive quarterly reports for management information and decisions. 
• Actively participate in donor review and reflection meetings, and highlight project successes, challenges, and mitigating measures to overcome challenges. 
• Track and monitor compliance with donor requirements and reporting deadlines
• Support board meeting preparation, including agenda development, materials preparation, and follow-up on action items

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

The successful candidate will possess the following competencies, experiences, and qualities: 

• Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Development Studies, Public Policy, or related field. Project Management Certification  is an added advantage.
• Minimum of 6-8 years of progressive experience in project management, program coordination, operations, or strategy roles within education, international development, or nonprofit sectors
• Strong digital literacy and proficiency with project management tools and methodologies

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Proven track record of managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects from initiation through completion
• Experience working in Malawi or similar contexts, with deep understanding of the education sector and government systems
• A track record of managing large, multi-stakeholder initiatives across community, district, and national levels.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills 
• Results-oriented with strong execution capabilities
• Strategic thinker with ability to translate vision into actionable plans
• Natural coordinator who thrives managing multiple priorities
• Excellent working knowledge of MS Office
• Ability to prioritize and display a high level of adaptability/flexibility while handling job responsibility

Qualities

•  Passion for Imagine’s mission and vision 
•  Demonstrated commitment to equity in educational access and outcomes
• Passion for project management
• Demonstrated ability to think independently and solve problems
• Collaborative team player; clear and proactive communicator
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to work in a fast-paced, changing environment

 

Location

The Project Manager must be based in Lilongwe, Malawi, with travel to field sites as required. The Project Manager will frequently collaborate and coordinate with the local team and Imagine Global. 

 

Compensation & Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

 

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Imagine Worldwide is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.