Yamba Malawi is a 501(c)(3) organization with offices in Brooklyn New York and Lilongwe, Malawi, that transforms children’s lives by empowering communities to break the cycle of poverty.
Their vision is to create a world where strong, self-reliant communities build brighter futures for children; as they acknowledge that strained resources, poor safety nets, and limited caregiver capacity lead to poor childhood development outcomes, particularly during children’s first five years, and have lifelong effects.
Yamba Malawi’s signature Childhoods and Livelihoods program focuses on three core areas to address these complex and interrelated sets of challenges: 1) Childhood Wellbeing, 2) Sustainable Business, and 3) Financial Management; and includes a planned, time-bound sequence of activities that pairs the transfer of business assets with training, savings promotion, short-term income stabilization, and critical ECD and childhood wellbeing coaching, which enables caregivers to plan beyond immediate needs and build foundations to improve their children’s future.
About the role
Yamba Malawi seeks a Chief Programs Officer who is visionary and an operational guru to drive the development, implementation, and evaluation of its programs and projects. The role holder will play a pivotal role in advancing the organization’s impact and effectiveness in addressing the needs of the communities it serves. They will be involved in program delivery, quality control and evaluation, strategy development, budgeting, resource mobilization (proposal development), policy development and implementation; and oversee organizational learning and program growth, playing a key role in Yamba Malawi’s results-based approach.
Key dimensions of the role
Leadership and Management
- Collaborate with leadership to develop strategic plans and budgets for all Yamba Malawi programs.
- Lead the program team to achieve strategic objectives.
- Align program priorities with the strategic plan.
- Manage, hire, and train program staff.
- Evaluate staff skills and professional development needs.
- Develop performance measurements for program staff.
- Ensure accountability and high-performance standards within the team.
Program Design and Implementation
- Oversee the implementation, management, and supervision of all program activities.
- Establish robust program management systems.
- Design innovative programs in collaboration with relevant departments.
- Ensure programs are aligned with Yamba Malawi’s strategic plan.
- Submit quality and timely performance reports.
- Develop and disseminate key knowledge management products.
- Maintain effective communication with stakeholders.
- Build networks with academia and private sector for program support.
- Review and support partnerships.
Grants Management and MERL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning)
- Manage the grant life cycle, ensuring compliance and effective budget management.
- Develop and monitor program budgets.
- Improve grant-making systems for team learning and evaluation.
- Report grant impacts to stakeholders.
- Oversee MEAL plans and systematic documentation of achievements and lessons learned.
- Promote evidence-based learning and organizational documentation.
- Ensure compliance with annual plans and track development programming trends.
Partnerships and Fundraising
- Strengthen networks at all levels of Yamba Malawi programs.
- Represent Yamba Malawi in national and international forums.
- Maintain effective communication with stakeholders.
- Build and nurture partnerships with academia, institutions, and the private sector.
- Support partnership reviews and promote engagement with strategic networks
Skills and Qualification
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
- A minimum of ten years of experience working in development programs in a reputable NGO at a senior/ management level, with a minimum of 3 years in a leadership position.
- Skilled at creating, analyzing, and managing budgets.
- Proficient at using technology in project management processes.
- Extensive end-to-end program management experience.
- A firm understanding of the sector in which Yamba Malawi operates.
- Thorough understanding of project/program management techniques and methods.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Forward-thinking mindset, strategic experience, and planning skills.
- Leadership potential and excellent relationship-building abilities.
- Strong presentation and public speaking skills.
- Goal-driven, organized, and efficient in their work.
- Excellent Knowledge of performance evaluation techniques and key metrics.
- Excellent organizational and leadership skills.
- An analytical mindset with great problem-solving abilities.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Ability to work independently.
- Ability to coordinate with partners, program participants, policy makers, and field staff.
- Ability to motivate team.
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Millar Cameron, we are dedicated to supporting our Clients in building and supporting diverse and inclusive workplaces and culture, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Since 2007 Millar Cameron has specialised in sourcing leadership and keyperson talent across a number of industries, including agribusiness, international development, industrial, consumer, financial and professional services, private equity, and technology, media and telecommunications. Our mission and purpose is to positively contribute to the development of Africa, and other emerging markets, through the provision of people.