Project Background

Through the Malawi Governance for Solutions (GfS) Activity, USAID seeks to build on the incremental gains in decentralization and associated service delivery improvements, with the understanding that to make the significant leaps now required for Malawi to meet its own development goals—in the face of a fast-growing, young population—a bold, adaptive, and sustainable approach is required. To successfully remove critical bottlenecks and diffuse effective governance practices, DAI will deploy a locally driven approach—Facilitate, Catalyze, and Scale—drawing on Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) as a core methodology. Through the Facilitate, Catalyze, and Scale approach, DAI will help local stakeholders to tackle the root causes of service delivery failures through best-fit solutions and offer demonstrative models based on positive deviance. Through both process-oriented facilitation and the provisions of technical support and grants, GfS will foster stable, resilient, and more self-reliant partnerships that best position local communities to address their own challenges and contribute to the trajectory of Malawi Vision 2063.

Objectives of the assignment

Reporting to the Senior CLA Director and with dotted lines to the MEL Director, the Learning Specialist will play a critical role in facilitating the generation, documentation, and dissemination of knowledge and learning within the Malawi Governance for Solutions Activity. Working closely with project teams, partners, and stakeholders, the Learning Specialist will design and implement strategies to strengthen internal and external collaboration, adaptive management, capacity building, and knowledge management, with the goal of removing critical governance bottlenecks in service delivery. The Learning Specialist will lead efforts to capture, analyze, and apply lessons learned, best practices, and innovations emerging from project implementation.

Tasks & Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development, refinement, and implementation of the GfS learning agenda.
• Conduct and/or supervise research to answer GfS learning questions, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and analysis of project-generated and secondary data.
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative data, using tools such as statistical software as appropriate.
• Contribute to the documentation and dissemination of learning products, including case studies, best practices, and lessons learned, to inform program design, policy dialogue, and advocacy efforts.
• Develop and deliver written materials and briefings on CLA-related findings, recommendations, methods, tools, and approaches.
• Collaborate with USAID/Malawi to identify key CLA priorities and plan and develop relevant CLA activities.
• Develop and facilitate workshops, learning conversations, and other knowledge-sharing opportunities for project staff and external stakeholders.
• Provide technical assistance and capacity building to project teams and partners on CLA approaches, tools, and methodologies, including participatory approaches to learning and adaptation.
• Collaborate with internal partners, external partners, and consultants to leverage expertise and resources for learning initiatives.
• Support project teams in applying adaptive management principles to respond to emerging challenges, test assumptions, and adjust strategies in real time based on evidence and learning.
• Provide guidance to project teams to design and adapt interventions based on evidence, including existing literature, secondary and project-generated data, and lessons learned from within GfS or other relevant activities.
• Stay informed about emerging trends and best practices in learning and development and incorporate innovative approaches into organizational learning initiatives.

Qualifications

This role is contingent on donor funding.

• Master’s degree in international development, social sciences, implementation science, monitoring and evaluation, or a related field.
• Minimum of five years’ work experience in strategic learning, knowledge management, qualitative and/or quantitative research, communications, and/or M&E in an international development context.
• Strong understanding of Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) principles and approaches, with experience integrating CLA into project design and implementation.
• Strong statistical and data analysis skills. Proficiency in statistical software (such as R, STATA, SPSS) preferred.
• Experience conducting qualitative research and analysis. Knowledge of methods such as process tracing, outcome harvesting, and most significant change preferred.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders and facilitate collaborative learning processes.
• Excellent English writing skills required.