Director of Programmes

National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE)

Applications are invited from qualified candidates of Malawi origin to fill the post of Director Programmes at the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) tenable in Lilongwe.

Job Title: Director of Programmes
Grade: NC2
Reporting to : Executive Director
Responsible for:

  • Civic Education and Training Programmes Manager
  • Planning and Business Development Manager
  • Resource Mobilisation Officer

The Organization

The National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) was established in 1999. In 2012, NICE became a Public Trust incorporated under the Public Trustees Act 1968. The overall objective of NICE, as an independent and autonomous Trust, is to “contribute towards strengthening and deepening of democratic process and improved governance in Malawi for accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction.’

General Description of the Job

The Director of Programmes shall be the head of programming at the Nationa Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) and shall deputize the Executive Director. He/she shall play a pivotal role in managing and overseeing civic education programs. He / She shall provide support to the Executive Director in the implementation of NICE’s strategic plans and ensuring the achievement of desired results at various levels . Additionally, the role includes developing work plans, budgets, and facilitating community engagement to support program initiatives.

Key Roles and Responsibilities of the Position

a) Leadership and strategy

  1. Overseeing the development of project plans aligned with strategic objectives and facilitating processes to design and document strategic goals, outcomes and related projects.

b) Program Development and Oversight

  1. Designing and overseeing high quality and effective national civic education programs.
  2. Developing, promoting, and maintaining standards and tools for project management to deliver every project on time, and within budget and scope

c) Capacity Building and Stakeholder Engagement:

  1. Establishing networking, as well as collaboration with relevant key stakeholders.
  2. Lead the process of building the capacity of key stakeholders at national level and volunteers on aspects of democracy and good governance

d) Financial Oversight and Resource Management

  1. Provide support to the Executive Director in ensuring good stewardship of programme related funds and resources, and timely submission of technical reports to the Board, government, and development partners, including full compliance with applicable standards for respective partners.
  2. Managing programme related national-level resources, including budget approvals and expenditure.

d) Governance

  1. Act as Secretary to the Programmes Subcommittee of the Board of Trustees.
  2. Organizing and preparing agenda and papers to facilitate Programmes Subcommittee meetings.

e) Resource Mobilisation

  1. Lead in preparation of compelling grant proposals, concept notes, and funding applications and also collaborate with program managers to ensure alignment between project proposals and NICE strategic plan.

f) People management

  1. Support in hiring and off-hiring of programme staff.
  2. Manage performance of heads of departments and divisions within the programme section.

Minimum Education Qualifications and Experience

  • Masters’s degree in social sciences, Political Studies, sociology, Economic, Project management, strategic management, Governance, Human Rights, or other relevant fields obtained from accredited training institutions.
    At least 7 years of relevant and comparable working experience including proven programme management experience of which 5 should have been in the development and implementation of civic and voter education.
  • Proven knowledge and experience in the use of some of robust project management tools such as Microsoft Project, Open Project etc. and also Dato Analysis Tools, to assess program impact and make data-driven decisions.
  • Good knowledge of Malawi Government’s and development partners’ policies and strategies, especially as they relate to democratic governance, democracy, and decentralization.
  • In-depth knowledge and experience of social accountability tools ano methodologies will be an added advantage.

Key Competencies and Attributes

  • Strong leadership and strategic thinking
  • Extensive management experience at a senior level and capability of leading and managing a team of technical and professional staff.
  • Clear track record in ability to steer an organization in a result orientated manner.
  • Excellent communication networking and negotiation abilities.
  • Computer literacy.

Appointment and Remuneration

The successful candidate shall be offered a negotiable performance related contract for a period of three (3) years, with an attractive salary and benefits commensurate with the seniority of the position and qualifications of the candidate.

Mode of Application
Applications including detailed Curriculum Vitae (CVs) with at least three (3) accessible referees and photocopies of relevant certificates should be sent to the following address not later than 24th June, 2024

The Comptroller of Statutory Corporations
GEMINI House
P.O. Box 30061
LILONGWE 3

Only shortlisted candidates will be acknowledged and invited for interviews.

NICE believe in providing equal opportunities and we welcome applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender.