Job Description

Manager, Gender and Social Inclusion

About MCA

The Government of Malawi signed a five-year agreement (“Compact”) with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (“MCC”) to fund specific programs targeted at reducing poverty and stimulating economic growth. MCC is a U.S. government agency focused on assisting countries dedicated to good governance, economic freedom, and investing in people. An Accountable Entity called the Millennium Challenge Account-Malawi II (“MCA-Malawi II”) has been created and designated by the Government of Malawi to implement the Compact.

Malawi compact

The Compact consists of three projects, namely;

1. The Accelerated Growth Corridors Project (AGC) will focus on reducing transport costs in targeted rural areas. Under the AGC Project, the Road Corridor Improvement (RCI) Activity will target investment in physical upgrades and improvements across different classes of roads within four selected Accelerated Growth Corridors (AGCs) to improve rural access by addressing road conditions and reducing transport costs. The Policy and Institutional Reform and Capacity Building (PIR) Activity will focus on assisting the Government to address policy, legislative, institutional, and funding issues to ensure that road transport in AGC areas is well-maintained and managed.
2. The Increased Land Productivity Project will focus on improving land services, strengthening conditions for increased investment in land and better-functioning land markets through two main activities: the Land Administration Resourcing and Institutions Activity – which will support development, adoption, and implementation of reforms to expand national land-based revenues and address institutional change – and the City Council Land-Based Revenue Modernization Activity, which will expand coverage and collection of land-based revenues, to increase resources for key services and increase investment in land and finally.
3. The American Catalyst Facility for Development Project will focus on facilitating U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) investment in Malawi to catalyze increased private investment consistent with Compact objectives and increase the scale and impact of the Compact.

Manager, Gender and Social Inclusion

Position Objective

The Manager, Gender and Social Inclusion (GSI), under the direction of the Chief Operating Officer (COO), provides technical leadership to the MCA-Malawi II, implementing Partners, and Project stakeholders to ensure social and gender integration across all program functions. Given the integrated nature of the compact, the GSI Manager will work in close coordination with other Project Directors and Managers to ensure timely, effective, and efficient delivery of actions. The GSI Manager achieves this objective by providing technical guidance for GSI-specific activities to GSI team members to fulfill their respective roles and advising the COO on the performance of Project Directors and their respective teams on GSI-related activities.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as the main counterpart and technical lead for all MCA staff, implementing entities, and project stakeholders on all gender and social inclusion issues for the Compact.;.
• Monitor, manage and oversee technical analysis and review on gender, social and poverty issues in project due diligence, design, procurement, contract documents, and consultant deliverables. Provide actionable, concise, strategic inputs in these documents.
• Monitor, manage and oversee the operational integration of gender, social and poverty issues in budgets, procurements and procurement plans, contracts, project management documents and systems, and consultant deliverables to ensure appropriate planning, budget, staff resources, task descriptions, and other administrative details to support GSI program objectives. Manage GSI planning and budgeting exercises. Provide actionable, concise, strategic interventions in operational documents, discussions, and debates.
• Collaborate closely with colleagues to identify workable solutions to operational, administrative, and technical challenges. This will include regular engagement of procurement, finance, legal, infrastructure/ engineering, and environment/social protection professionals and savvy, technically informed identification of ways to advance GSI program objectives within and across Compact administrative and technical areas.
• Monitor, manage and oversee the quality of integration of gender, social inclusion and poverty considerations in all project activities and identify areas where integration can be strengthened or project benefits maximized. This will include enhancing women’s employment in contract works, gender integration in resettlement, reviewing road and infrastructure designs for gender/social sensitivity, and development of appropriate social and gender administrative capacities in land reform proposals and activities. Provide technical guidance to MCA colleagues, implementing entities, and project stakeholders to support this aim. Review deliverables for all projects to ensure appropriate and sufficient GSI integration.
• Manage and oversee stakeholder engagement strategy for GSI and serve as lead point of contact for relationships with government, civil society, and other GSI stakeholders. Provide input into stakeholder engagement plans on project design and implementation to strengthen social and gender integration in all projects. This should include, but not be limited to engagement with women, vulnerable groups, civil society (NGOs, Community Based Organizations), and private sector.
• Lead project management for GSI: manage consultants, identify and resolve implementation challenges, lead the development and implementation of the Social and Gender Integration Plan (SGIP), which serves as a project management roadmap for GSI across all Compact activities; develop TORs and PDs, and develop and manage program budgets and workplans; directly supervise staff and consultants providing social and gender integration services for Compact activities; coordinate with MCA staff, as well as the staff of relevant contractors and consultants, to enable productive ongoing communication and problem solving. This will include special attention to managing the social risks of civil works, particularly Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
• Lead the development and implementation of equity-focused components of the compact’s policy and institutional reform activities including but not limited to supporting development of land sector institutional reform work which amplifies protections for smallholders and women in emerging land markets.
• Build and maintain a GSI team (which includes GSI direct reports as well as project staff working on GSI-influenced activities) through recruitment, mentoring, training and development, supervision, and performance management of staff to ensure a capacity to deliver the Compact’s objectives.
• Ensure that Compact activities and administrative procedures are aligned with MCC’s policies and procedures, particularly MCC’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons policy. Ensure that appropriate policy language and related clauses are is included in all bidding and contract documents.

Required Competencies

• Bachelors Degree in social sciences or a related discipline (e.g. anthropology, sociology, public policy, community development, developmental economics, etc.)
• A Masters’ degree in the above fields is an added advantage
• Experience in project management, including development of TORs, management of contractors and/or staff, development and management of budgets and/or procurement plans, and identifying/resolving implementation challenges.
• Extended experience (minimum 10 years) leading the integration of social inclusion, gender, and poverty reduction efforts in programs of a similar nature, in an international development context.
• Experience in working closely with civil society, government, and other stakeholders active on gender and social inclusion in Southern Africa required.
• Experience in integrating gender and social inclusion analysis into infrastructure projects is a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Strong computer skills with office productivity applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project).

How to apply

To access positions’ profile requirements and submit applications, please visit https://malawi-jobs.tenderwell.app/. Applications should be accompanied by the following documents:

1. Curriculum vitae containing detailed work experience;
2. Cover letter confirming interest and availability; 
3. Soft copies of higher education and professional certificates (if available).

If you meet challenges in applying online, please contact 098 923 5904 for assistance. The closing date for receiving applications is 2 October 2023. Please note that only applications received through the online (Tenderwell) portal will be considered. Any applications received through other channels will not be considered. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interviews.