ABOUT THE ROLE
This role is pivotal as we scale the FCAP model across rural Malawi. You will ensure the country program has robust, real-time data to make informed decisions, optimize impact, and deliver accountability to communities, partners, and donors. This role requires a dynamic leader with both technical M&E expertise and strong stakeholder engagement skills to coordinate across internal teams and local implementing partners.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strengthen and Lead Country M&E Systems
- Oversee the development and implementation of the Malawi-specific MEL strategy, aligned with the organization’s global MEL framework.
- Ensure M&E tools are contextualized to Malawi’s rural development landscape and capture Spark’s and implementing partners’ needs.
2. Data Quality, Reporting, and Analytics
- Design and oversee implementation of data quality assurance protocols, including field audits, data verification, and cleaning processes.
- Generate insights from MEL data, and communicate key findings to Spark’s program team and implementing partners in Malawi.
- Maintain updated country-level indicator tracking tables, including progress toward log frame and Theory of Change indicators.
3. Partner and Field Support
- Provide hands-on technical support and capacity building to the M&E focal points of our implementing partners in Malawi.
- Lead quarterly data review meetings with partners to review programmatic performance, learning, and adaptations.
- Support partners to co-design survey instruments (baseline, midline, endline), participatory data collection methods, and community validation sessions.
4. Manage and Mentor Malawi M&E Team
- Supervise and mentor in-country M&E team, ensuring they have clear responsibilities, deliverables, and growth pathways.
- Conduct regular coaching, performance reviews, and capacity-building workshops focused on evaluation design, data analysis (Excel, Kobo/ODK, Stata/R), and use of digital tools.
5. Learning and Adaptive Management
- Work closely with the Learning Officer and Country Director to ensure data is translated into program improvements.
- Facilitate program reflection sessions with communities and field teams to validate findings and co-create solutions.
- Contribute to internal and external evaluations and special studies intended to generate evidence of FCAP impact and also generating programmatic recommendations for model improvement.
- Work with the Knowledge management officer to ensure documentation of success stories and lessons learned on a regular basis.
6. External Engagement and Representation
- Represent the organization’s MEL work at relevant Malawi-based technical working groups.
- Work closely with external consultants undertaking evaluation/research studies to ensure that they deliver on their obligations with quality.
Requirements:
- A masters degree degree in a quantitative discipline from a recognized university
- Strong quantitative and qualitative analysis skills
- A minimum of six years’ of work experience in leading the design of M&E systems, data analysis and reporting.
- Proven track record in developing viable M&E approaches and methodologies and demonstrable knowledge of major M&E conceptual frameworks
- Strong knowledge of data analysis in R.
- Minimum of 2 years of experience in leading teams and in a managerial position
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
- High level of attention to detail
- Flexible and able to adapt to change
WHY WORK WITH US?
- You will be joining a dynamic team that hails from ten countries around the world and is committed to our vision
- You will have the freedom and autonomy to make your role your own. We want to hear your innovative ideas, your vision for the future, and your critical questions.
- We respect and value work-life balance and your need for downtime, vacation, and reflection.
- You will join a dynamic and growing organization with a clear pathway to learning and career advancement.
OTHER INFORMATION:
- Location will be Lilongwe with ~ 20% travel within Malawi.
- We will agree on learning and performance objectives for an initial probation period lasting three months from on-boarding.
- Application end date: on a rolling basis.
- Expected Start Date: 1st July 2025
- All applications should come through the link: https://sparkmicrogrants.bamboohr.com/careers/137
Safeguarding
Our safeguarding follows a do no harm principle. All Spark staff are expected to respect and uphold the safeguarding procedures and principles to minimise harm to stakeholders, program participants, and the environment, in compliance with the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework and Rwandan Legislation.
Equal Opportunity
Spark Microgrants provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals. Employment decisions at Spark are based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. Spark does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by the law. Spark will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in undue hardship to daily operations.
