VACANCY
Habitat for Humanity Malawi (HFHM is a nonprofit Christian organization with the vision of “a Malawi where everyone has a decent place to live.” Since its establishment in 1986, HFHM has supported over 135,000 families with various housing solutions and access to essential services such as water and sanitation.
HFHM is currently implementing the Home Equals Challenge, a project aimed at improving access to adequate housing for households in selected informal settlements in Mzuzu City. The project combines direct community interventions—such as securing land tenure and enhancing basic services—with policy advocacy to influence reforms.
To support the successful delivery of this initiative, Habitat for Humanity Malawi is inviting applications for the position of Project Officer as follows:
| POSITION | 1. Project Officer, Home Equals Challenge Project |
| Department: | Programs |
| Location | Mzuzu |
| Job Summary | The Project Officer will lead the implementation of the Home Equals Challenge project in Mzuzu City, focusing on improving access to adequate housing in informal settlements through participatory land-use planning, tenure security, basic services, and climate resilience. The role requires a technically skilled professional with a strong background in urban development and a deep understanding of disaster risk reduction (DRR), informal settlement upgrading, and community-based resilience building. |
| Reports To: | Construction Specialist |
| Main Responsibilities | - Project Implementation and Coordination
- Lead the rollout of project activities in Mzuzu City, ensuring alignment with the Home Equals Challenge objectives and HFHM’s strategic priorities.
- Coordinate inception meetings with city councils, community leaders, and stakeholders to launch project activities.
- Facilitate the identification and prioritization of informal settlements in Mzuzu for upgrading, with a focus on climate vulnerability and exposure to disaster risks.
- Support the formation and training of Housing Savings and Loans Groups and Land Regularization Committees.
- Project and Technical Oversight
- Provide technical leadership in participatory land-use planning, layout development, and informal settlement upgrading.
- In collaboration with the Construction team, oversee the design and implementation of basic services infrastructure, including drainage systems, water supply, sanitation, and waste management, with a focus on climate resilience and disaster preparedness.
- Ensure that layout plans incorporate flood mitigation, safe shelter design, and climate-resilient infrastructure.
- Assist in supervision of consultants and technical teams involved in land surveying, infrastructure design, and DRR interventions.
- Promote the use of climate-resilient building materials and construction techniques in housing improvements.
- Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Resilience
- Lead community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) initiatives, including the rehabilitation of drainage systems and solid waste management to reduce flood risks.
- Facilitate training and awareness sessions on Participatory Approach in Safe Shelter Awareness (PASSA, climate adaptation, and emergency preparedness for community members and local structures.
- Stakeholder Engagement and Advocacy Support
- Serve as the primary liaison between HFHM and Mzuzu City Council, the Urban Development Department, and other key stakeholders.
- Facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue meetings to assess the implementation and impact of housing and DRR-related policies.
- Support community-led advocacy efforts and ensure that community voices are reflected in policy discussions and planning processes.
- Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Accountability
- Contribute to the development and implementation of the project’s MEAL framework, with indicators related to resilience, tenure security, and access to services.
- Collect and analyze data on climate vulnerability, infrastructure improvements, and community resilience outcomes.
- Prepare technical and narrative reports for internal and donor reporting.
- Document lessons learned and contribute to knowledge sharing and replication strategies.
- Enforce the project’s accountability mechanism (Feedback mechanism) in all project locations.
- Financial and Administrative Management
- Collaborate with the finance team to monitor project expenditures and ensure compliance with budgetary guidelines.
- Support procurement and logistics for project activities.
- Maintain accurate records of project activities, technical outputs, and stakeholder engagements.
|
| Experience Required: | - Minimum of 6 years of progressive experience in urban development and informal settlement upgrading.
- Proven experience in managing infrastructure or basic services projects in urban or peri-urban settings.
- Demonstrated ability to work with local governments, planning authorities, and community-based organizations.
|
| Educational Qualifications: | - Bachelor’s degree or higher in Urban and Regional Planning, Physical Planning, Urban Development, or a closely related field. Additional training in Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Resilience, or Environmental Planning is a strong asset.
|
Safeguarding covenant:
Habitat Malawi in affiliation to Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) work towards safeguarding the right of its stakeholders, as such any unwelcome sexual advances, comments, expressed & implied unnecessary demand for a Service, unnecessary touch, joke, gesture are strictly not tolerated in any form.
Applications with detailed Curriculum Vitae, Cover letter and names of three traceable referees should be sent to the following addresses:
The Human Resources and Administration Specialist
Habitat for Humanity Malawi
P.O. Box 1638
LILONGWE
Email to: recruitment@habitat.mw;
Closing Date for receiving the applications is 18th July 2025
