JOB DETAILS
Job title: Country Director, Malawi
Line Manager title: Chief Operating Officer
Grade: JG4 (starting monthly gross salary – US$9,683)
Direct reports: Programme Manager, Malawi
Department: Malawi Country Programme
Location: Lilongwe, Malawi
JOB SUMMARY
The Country Director (CD) leads the country programme with overall responsibility for delivering quality and results of this portfolio, in line with TMEA’s Strategy and Project Cycle Management (PCM) Guidelines.
S/he manages and maintains strategic relationships with Government, the private sector, civil society and the donor community. In addition, the CD is responsible for managing the new country team to ensure good design and delivery of the programme, and ensuring best practice is followed with TMEA corporate guidelines, procedures and systems.
The CD has overall responsibility for establishing the Malawi Country Programme and developing, managing and monitoring its strategy and programme delivery. This will include the design, implementation and delivery of programme activities in infrastructure development, trade facilitation, support to Government institutions and the private sector. S/he will develop and maintain an effective programme in line with TMEA’s strategic plan, results framework and its management information and monitoring systems. The CD will identify opportunities for additional investments into TMEA’s Malawian Programme through fundraising from donors and other agencies.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategy development and programme delivery
1. Lead the development, implementation and updating of the country strategy to ensure it is aligned with the TMEA Corporate Strategy II and Results Framework;
2. Lead on the formation of the TMEA National Oversight Committee (NOC) for the Malawi country programme (MaCP);
3. Act as Secretary to the Country National Oversight Committee (NOC) composed of TMEA’s key partners which oversees implementation of MaCP. In this capacity, CD will prepare annual business plans and quarterly progress reports and updates for the NOC and ensure the smooth operation of this Committee;
4. Work at a strategic portfolio level with the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Strategic Objective Leaders (SOLs) and Technical Advisors to ensure coherence of the country portfolio and its alignment to national development plans and TMEA’s Theory of Change;
5. Deliver successful projects within MaCP and ensure portfolio outcomes are in line with TMEA’s Theory of Change and Programme Cycle Management (PCM) guidelines. This includes programme and project level formulation, mobilisation, outcome/output-based planning, reporting and financial management, risk management, results-oriented monitoring, learning and evaluation, procurement & contract management and closure;
6. Promote bilateral and regional cooperation by fostering close linkages with other TMEA national and regional programmes for sustainable trade growth, economies of scale and value for money;
7. Develop and maintain detailed TMEA Malawi annual activity schedules, work plans and expenditure forecasts for each of the output areas of TMEA Malawi projects;
8. Ensure compliance with grant management procedures and guidelines including appraisal, selection, implementation, reporting and closure;
9. Define terms of reference and oversee the sourcing and procuring of experts to conduct technical assistance, expert missions, feasibility, scoping and design studies and other activities for TMEA Malawi projects in line with TMEA’s procurement guidelines and procedures;
10. As the budget and risk holder, ensure programme budgets are in line with expenditure forecasts and results targets, as outlined in the results framework and that risks are being effectively managed;
11. Manage assigned matrix teams comprised of Project Leaders (PLs) and Technical Co-ordinators (TCs), and convene regular meetings to ensure effective PCM is taking place in all the projects of the portfolio, particularly in terms of delivery of outputs/outcomes and expenditure against work plans and effective management of risk;
12. Identify opportunities to leverage new investments into TMEA and co-ordinate the scale up of support to trade development in Malawi;
13. Support Senior Leadership Team in country resource mobilisation, including monitoring donor priorities and drafting concept notes and proposals to realise additional funds from existing and new donors; and
14. Explore new areas for support in line with the TMEA Strategic plan.
15. Liaise regularly with the COO and the other two Southern State TMEA Country Directors and their teams, to ensure synergistic cross-border and corridor programmes across all three states.
Strategic partnerships/relationships
1. Develop and maintain strong working relationships with Malawian and EAC partners, the TMEA donors, government, private sector, civil society, research organisations and other development partners as well as other relevant projects and initiatives supported by TMEA;
2. Lead on high-level political and diplomatic matters representing TMEA at high level events and act as the primary TMEA interlocutor at all high-level stakeholders in priority projects. Ensure that all TMEA projects have steering committees chaired at a senior level by implementing partners;
3. Liaise with the local donor community to ensure smooth relationships with the investors and to support additional fund raising from new and existing donors. Together with country colleagues and Senior Management Team, develop proposals for new country projects; and
4. Develop and implement a communications and visibility strategy for TMEA in the country in liaison with the TMEA Communications Team and ensure good public relations around TMEA projects and TMEA related issues, including case studies and impact stories.
Monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting
1. Ensure good practice monitoring, evaluation and learning is used throughout the programme cycle from design and throughout implementation;
2. Liaise with the Results team to develop and maintain the MaCP Results Framework and other monitoring systems for TMEA projects in Malawi in line with the TMEA corporate strategy;
3. Oversee preparation of regular project and financial progress reports and provide, as required, updates for the COO, SLT, and other TMEA oversight bodies including the NOC, Board of Directors and its committees;
4. Develop and maintain an accessible database of project and programme information for all TMEA Malawi projects and adhere to best practice in results-based PCM;
5. Contribute to the preparation of TMEA annual reports and annual work plans;
6. Develop and implement a communications and visibility strategy for TMEA in Malawi in liaison with the TMEA Communications Director and Results team;
7. Oversee and participate in media and communications activities to ensure visibility of TMEA at national level;
8. Contribute to the development/revision of tools and procedures to document and share knowledge, incentivise staff/teams and enforce compliance and standards, and advice on appropriate response action;
9. Participate in regular informal and formal reflection, knowledge sharing and learning events;
10. Document lessons learned and best practices for knowledge sharing and learning, including in adaptive programming suited to conflict or fragile country environments; and
11. Actively contribute and participate in annual reviews, formative and or summative project and programme evaluations as required.
Compliance with TMEA Corporate Systems
Ensure that all TMEA’s corporate systems and procedures are followed in the country office including:
1. Establish, mentor and manage the TMEA Malawi team to the highest professional standards;
2. Apply the highest standards of controls and risk management practices and behaviours and embed a positive risk and control culture;
3. Demonstrate prudence, sound judgement and appropriate and timely escalations in management of all types of risk (including political and fraud risk) applicable to the role;
4. Understand and comply with the relevant end-to-end processes including applicable risks and controls;
5. Seek to identify, understand and escalate risk events/incidents/ issues on a timely basis focusing on fixing root-causes and taking ownership of identified mitigating actions;
6. Complete all relevant mandatory trainings within the stipulated timelines;
7. Promote and adhere to TMEA’s core values and ensure compliance with organisational policies and procedures;
8. Maintain zero tolerance to bribery, fraud and corruption, and ensure the immediate reporting of any corruption or suspect behaviour that threatens TMEA’s reputation;
9. Adhere to the safeguarding policies and procedures and immediately report any safeguarding concerns;
10. Act with political impartiality and do not engage with partisan politics and political movements or express strongly statements that are political in nature as they can be misconstrued within the politically charged country context; and
11. Any other related responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager from time to time.
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ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
1. An undergraduate degree or postgraduate degree preferably in Economics, Development Studies, International Trade, Planning, Finance or Management.
2. Qualifications in project planning and management are an added advantage.
WORK EXPERIENCE
1. Undergraduate degree holders will have at least 12 years of relevant working experience in programme management (at least 10 years of relevant working experience will be required for postgraduate degree holders).
2. Five years of leadership and management experience.
3. Three years of the working experience should have been gained in Malawi or the other countries in which TMEA operates, primarily in managing economic development co-operation programmes related to regional integration, trade facilitation, trade and investment climate reform, transport sector development, and/or institutional reform.
4. Experience of working with donor agencies such as the Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission (EC), the World Bank group and/or other development partners is required.
5. Strong programme cycle management skills, proven ability in preparing terms of reference and project documents and monitoring and evaluation skills are essential.
6. The role requires practical experience in project financial and risk management and monitoring and evaluation skills.
Technical skills and behavioural competencies
1. Excellent leadership and people management skills. Demonstrate personal qualities and credibility to lead, develop and motivate staff.
2. Strong strategic thinking, formulation and implementation skills including the ability to communicate strategy and impact concisely and simply.
3. Ability to establish, influence and maintain strong collaborative partnerships/relationships with development partners, high ranking government officials, civil society and private sector organisations.
4. Strong diplomatic skills and knowledge of the political landscape in Malawi.
5. Fluent (writing, reading and speaking) in both English and French, with excellent report writing skills and the ability to effectively communicate and articulate key issues in both languages.
6. Excellent presentation, oral and written communication skills, with the ability to influence others to achieve objectives and gain consensus and collaboration.
7. Good understanding of the development sector and key national contexts as relating to regional trade and integration.
8. Strong analytical and advocacy skills.
9. A self-motivated individual with excellent personal effectiveness skills who can work both independently as well as part of a team.
10. Solid programme and financial management skills.
11. Sound decision-making and judgement capabilities, as well as good problem solving and analytical skills.
12. The ability to handle competing priorities and a challenging workload.
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English 
FRENCH
