Projects Administrative Officer

The African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) is a regional non-profit research and policy Institute established in 2010 to help bridge the gaps between research, policy and practice in development efforts in Africa. Our primary purpose is to contribute to sustainable development through the use of evidence and advocacy to strengthen political commitment and resource allocation for development issues; informing the design and implementation of effective interventions; and strengthening governance and accountability structures for tracking development challenges in Africa. AFIDEP is registered as a Non-Governmental Organisation in both Kenya and Malawi (where it has offices) and as a non-profit institution in the USA with 501(c)3 status. For further details about AFIDEP and its work, please refer to www.afidep.org.

AFIDEP is looking to recruit an experienced professional to fill in the position of Projects Administrative Officer, based in AFIDEP’s Malawi office.

Job purpose: Reporting to the Deputy Executive Director, the role entails providing support including administration, monitoring project budgets and tracking project implementation, and coordination of project team meetings, under the office of the Deputy Executive Director to enhance efficiency and service delivery to the Director, as well as internal and external clients. The role will also support the offices of two Program Directors reporting to the Deputy Executive Director.  The holder of this role will be effective at planning, coordination, communication, and monitoring in their work, and should be able to work well under pressure.

Key Accountabilities

Projects Management and Administration

• Track the implementation of all projects under the Directors’ leadership and provide early alerts on implementation challenges.
• Identify synergies between projects to maximise efficiencies in time and cost.
• Create and maintain a database of all project documents.
• Liaise with Finance to monitor project budgets and provide quarterly reports of burn rate.
• Maintain project calendars, coordinate meetings, and follow-up on actions points.
• In consultation with project managers and project coordinators, prepare consolidated monthly reports on the projects and PowerPoint presentations as required.

Administrative support to the Director’s office

• Work closely and effectively with the Directors to keep them well informed of upcoming commitments and responsibilities, following up appropriately.
• Manage an extremely active calendar of appointments; assist in composing correspondence.
• Make project travel arrangements as and when required; compile documents for meetings; complete travel expense reports.
• Provide technical and administrative support for the Deputy Director’s effective contribution to Board functions and meetings, as well as, to the Senior Management Team functions and meetings.

Technical support and contribution

• Contribute to implementation of specific projects including research, capacity development, and policy advocacy projects. Tasks may include literature reviews, preparing project presentations, preparing project activity reports, taking part in delivering training programmes, etc.
• Contribute to proposal development for proposals led by the directors being supported. Tasks may include conducting online scoping of issues of focus for proposal and preparing quality summaries, preparing proposal workplans, etc.
• Contribute to project monitoring, learning and evaluation (MEL) aspects, including supporting tracking of project delivery data, documentation of lessons from project activities, among others.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Masters’ degree in social sciences or development studies with at least 3 years’ work experience in a project officer role, or project management.
• Project management training, with hands-on skills and experience in using project management software.
• Practical hands-on experience in project management in an international organization implementing multiple projects.
• Budget tracking ability.
• Proficient user of MS Office (particularly Excel and PowerPoint).
• Knowledge of best practices and industry standards for project management.
• Knowledge of international development or a demonstrated interest in poverty-related issues.
• Added advantage: Training and experience in research, proposal writing, and/or finance or accounting knowledge.

Core Competencies and Skills

• Advanced communication and writing skills in English (skills in French desirable).
• Excellent organizational skills, multi-tasking, and administration.
• Meticulous and effective at planning and monitoring work, and be able to work well under pressure.
• Excellent interpersonal and effective team management skills, and collaboration across multiple functions and teams.
• The ability to understand and support the needs of diverse projects across the organization.
• Technological and digital skills are requisite for optimizing project management, communication, and collaboration, are critical.

TO APPLY: Please submit a detailed CV and cover letter to recruitment@afidep.org including the position title as the subject of the email by 3^rd October 2025. In your cover letter, please highlight your relevant experience and qualifications, and explain why you are interested in this position. Your CV should include three relevant referees. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Click here to download job description

AFIDEP is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.