Program Manager (2 Positions)

Imagine Worldwide is a Non-profit making Organization registered as a company limited by guarantee. We are supporting the Ministry of Education, through the Directorate of Open Distance and Learning (DODeL) and the Directorate of Basic Education (DBE), implement the Building Education Foundations through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) programme to improve primary school children’s acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills. The program distributes android tablets preloaded with specialized literacy and numeracy software to be used by children in primary schools to improve learning outcomes in reading and mathematics. This programme is a national rollout of a tablet-based learning intervention to all pupils in Standards 1-4 in Malawi’s public primary schools, supplementing teacher efforts and ultimately reaching 3.8 million learners in 5,800 schools.

The BEFIT programme will roll out over a period of six years from September 2023 to August 2029 and is implemented through a consortium comprising of the Ministry of Education (MoE), Imagine Worldwide (IW), Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) and One Billion (OB). The MoE is the Lead Implementing Entity, while IW, VSO, and OB (the software developer) provide technical, operational, and coordination support.

As part of this broad work, the programme will be implemented in various primary schools in 34 education Districts across the country.

Therefore, Imagine Worldwide invites suitably qualified candidates to submit applications for the vacant positions indicated below:

Job Title: Program Manager (2 Positions)
Duty Station: Lilongwe
Supervisor Title: Director of Programs Engagement:
Engagement: Full Time
Employment terms: 1 Year Renewable Contract

Key Responsibilities

The Program Manager will work closely with Imagine’s Program Director and local implementing partners to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of project activities in Malawi. The Program Manager’s responsibilities will include – but will not be limited to – the following:

Provide leadership for overall program and stakeholder management

• Manage and build relationships with project stakeholders and implementing partners
• Support program team and partners to develop and manage project plans and financial budgets
• Coordinate and support facilitation of trainings for our implementation partners
• Provide positive and effective communication to all stakeholders Ensure that all project deliverables meet or exceed quality standards and are documented within the project quality control process
• Support dissemination of project outcomes with local stakeholders, including representing the work in relevant meetings and forums
• Support and ensure timely and comprehensive report submissions to donors and partners.

Provide program leadership to ensure high-quality implementation and monitoring

• Engage regularly with implementation partners to track progress and oversee implementation, including check-in meetings, progress reports, site-visits, and any other relevant activities
• Collaborate with program team and scale teams toe improve and tools, systems, processes, and methodologies to support implementation, and monitoring,
• Ensure provision of adequate technical support, capacity building, and guidance to the team and partner staff to implement program plans, tools and strategies.
• Oversee and manage quality data collection to facilitate effective monitoring of program activities against set program quality benchmarks.
• Regularly review monitoring data and share results with relevant stakeholders and teams to identify successes and make decisions about adapting activities and approaches to achieve results.
• Work with the program and research teams to conduct and supervise program assessments, surveys, and impact evaluations.

Provide leadership to ensure accountability and learning

• Manage a knowledge management framework for capturing key lessons and findings to inform evidence-based program design and implementation.
• Oversee implementation of strong accountability and beneficiary / community feedback mechanisms, including quality assurance of established processes.
• Coordinate learning processes and documents, including periodically organizing learning summits for reflections on program performance, dissemination of M&E findings, and driving partnerships and donor engagement.
• Collaborate with program and communications teams to collect, document, and disseminate impact stories.
• Build team and partner staff capacity to enhance program accountability through guidance, training and resources.

Qualifications

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

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field (development or social studies).
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in program management of development programs, including providing technical support to a wide range of stakeholders.
• Experience in managing an implementation with a significant technology component.
• Additional work experience is welcome.

Specific skills (required)

• Exceptional project management skills and proven experience that includes:
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Chichewa
• Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills
• Ability to work effectively in multicultural environments and teams
• Strong organization skills and superior attention to detail
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Ability to proactively manage and resolve conflicts
• Good knowledge of computer hardware and software
• Experience in managing multi-site and multi partner projects
• Ability to positively influence partners decisions and actions
• Proven facilitation and training skills with diverse audiences
• Ability to prioritize and display a high level of adaptability/ flexibility while handling job responsibility
• Ability to design and coordinate implementation of MEAL systems
• Excellent skills in MS Excel and other tools for organizing, performing calculations, analyzing and presenting data
• Proven understanding of systematic knowledge management within development organizations and a capacity to promote organizational learning
• Proven understanding of evaluation methodologies, analysis, and presentation of key findings to inform decision making and facilitate adaptive programming
• Strong communication skills and ability to write clear and concise reports

Qualities

• Passion for Imagine’s mission and vision
• Demonstrated commitment to equity in educational access and outcomes
• Demonstrated competency in project management and desire to manage complex projects
• 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

Compensation & Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Location

The Program Manager must be based in Lilongwe, Malawi, with travel to field sites as required. The Program Manager will frequently collaborate and coordinate with local staff from our Implementation Partner organizations.

How to apply for the position above

The detailed Job Descriptions with person specifications for the above listed positions can be downloaded at:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ueLCjXCTDseswjUzRGy_wucNSqLrOuU_?usp=sharing

Follow the link below to visit the recruitment website and complete your application;

https://ats.hirebee.ai/en/company/jobs/imagine-worldwide

Closing Date: Tuesday 10th September 2025.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted