Director of Government Partnerships

Director of Government Partnerships – Malawi

About Imagine Worldwide

Imagine Worldwide Ltd is a subsidiary of Imagine Worldwide, is a California-based (United States) nonprofit organization. Imagine exists to demonstrate that children with personalized technology in their hands can become literate and numerate with little or no adult instruction. More than 250 million children and youth worldwide do not have access to school. And hundreds of millions more go to school but never learn to read or write. We believe in working with schools and communities to address these seemingly intractable problems.

We are partnering with organizations across the globe to implement tablet-based learning solutions. We are continuously building evidence on what works, why, and under what conditions. We use data to improve content, approach, and implementation. Then we provide too expertise, capital, and a network to enhance the ability to scale. We envision a world where all children have access to opportunity. Through rigorous implementation of tablet-based learning solutions in areas with few alternatives, we continue to open up limitless possibilities for all children.

Imagine Worldwide Ltd has partnered with the Ministry of Education, Government of Malawi, and other partners to scale up nationally an innovative Edtech program that is focused on improving literacy and numeracy skills among learners in standards 1-4 in all public primary schools in Malawi. To support this ambitious program, Imagine Worldwide Ltd seeks to engage a Program Manager to join a team to support the Ministry of Education and other implementation partners in the successful roll out of the program.

Candidate Profile

The Director of Government Partnerships will play an instrumental role in  carrying out Imagine’s mission, to design, deliver, and scale tablet-based learning solutions that enable children to become literate and numerate in Malawi, and secondly institutionalizing the program within the government for long-term sustainability. The Director will join a highly committed and collaborative team that is working together to empower every child, everywhere to achieve their full potential. They will work directly with the Executive Director of Imagine Malawi and Imagine’s Head of Government Partnerships, to manage Imagine’s path to the national adoption of our edtech program in Malawi.

Mission and Objectives

The Director of Government Partnerships will take overall leadership and responsibility for engagements with government stakeholders nationwide adoption of our tablet learning program in Malawi and the institutionalization of the program into the Ministry’s core education programming in the country.

Mission and Objectives

Mission:Lead and manage all interactions with government entities to ensure alignment, compliance, and strategic collaboration for program implementation, policy influence, and institutionalization.

Key Responsibilities

The responsibilities of this role include, but will not be limited to, the following:

• Collaboration between Imagine Malawi and Government Stakeholders
  • Develop government engagement plans, setting clear objectives and defining activities;
  • Setup regular meetings with different government stakeholders – Ministry of Education, Directorate of Basic Education, DQAS, ICT, Planning to discuss program progress and resolve any challenges with implementation;
  • Support and facilitate functional teams or working groups between IM and Government stakeholders to ensure effective joint planning and delivery of activities between the Imagine, and government personnel to build government capacity;
  • Oversee workstreams, assess resource requirements, and plan adequately to support government engagement activities;
  • Support the Executive Director’s engagements with the Government officers at different levels to ensure capacity building and ownership of the program;
  • Support program implementation governance arrangements and ensure they operate efficiently between the program and the government;
  • Collaborate with the Government to implement the program with a clear goal of devolving power and ownership to government actors over time.
• Institutionalization of the Program:
  • Uphold principles of system strengthening where Imagine plays a temporary role in program implementation with a clear goal of driving governments tull ownership of the program;
  • Lead in-country government engagement strategies in liaison with Imagine Worldwide to ensure continued alignment with Government on key program-related matters;
  • Liaise with the governments policy and planning units to drive integration of program activities in the Ministry’s primary operating systems for enhanced support;
  • Contribute to designing metrics and criteria to measure, monitor and report on progress towards institutionalization goals;
  • Explore critical partnerships within the government education delivery system and secure their alignment and support for the program.
  • Develop, negotiate, and manage MOUs and partnership agreements with government entities and relevant stakeholders.

• Stakeholder Management:
  • Collaborate closely with Imagine Worldwide global office on government engagements and efforts to manage stakeholders;
  • Develop and manage detailed stakeholder mapping of all relevant government stakeholders and categorise each stakeholder’s potential influence and impact on our programs and the institutionalization thereof;
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with key government stakeholders, including the Ministry of Finance, to support funding coordination and program sustainability.
  • Contribute to and maintain systems (equivalent to a customer relationship management system) to manage stakeholder contact information and track engagements and required actions to enable proactive and considered engagements and mitigate against disruptions in relationships with key government stakeholders;
  • Develop and implement engagement plans with prioritized stakeholders to solicit support and secure buy-in through meetings, school visits, special events, hosting workshops, making financial and non-financial contributions to government projects, supporting local edtech hubs etc.
• Advocacy and Policy Alignment:
  • Develop networks and relationships with key stakeholders in government and other relevant ministries whose decisions or influence has a bearing on the government’s buy-in to the program, such as technology and energy;
  • Organise and coordinate itineraries of school tours for government stakeholders, donor visits and special guests;
  • Build and maintain local political and industry relationships to support the program;
  • Raise Imagine Worldwide’s local profile and stature with government bodies and other key education stakeholders through thought leadership and proactive engagement;
  • Keep abreast of relevant policy developments in Malawi and conduct research as required to guide country office program rollout activities;
  • Lead advocacy for new policies or policy changes required to enable long-term sustainability of our programs;
  • Support local engagements with bilateral and multilateral organizations such as GPE and World Bank;
  • Support the dissemination of project outcomes and learnings to stakeholders.
• Program Implementation:
  • Lead collaboration with government stakeholders to achieve alignment on the program implementation, management, and governance processes;
  • Leverage government relationships to manage project risks with creative problem-solving and escalations as required
  • Oversee ISP compliance with government engagement requirements and systems strengthening activities, ensuring alignment within district and national level.

Education and Work Experience

Successful candidate will possess the following competencies, experiences, and qualities:

• Advanced degree in political science, education, or social science;
• A minimum of ten (10) years of working experience in government affairs, preferably in a leadership role within international multicultural organisations (commercial or non-profit).

Role-Specific Skills Required Proven experience that includes:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Chichewa
• Significant experience in government relations, extensive knowledge of federal politics, legislative process, and administrative actions in education, climate and/or energy;
• Ability to take knowledge and link governments and policy influencers with the technical resources and messaging required;
• Able to identify viable administrative pathways for implementation priorities as well as major challenges, and develop effective, creative strategies to influence government stakeholders;
• Ability to listen, communicate, and develop trusting relationships with internal colleagues and external stakeholders to bring together multiple perspectives into a cohesive effort;
• A skilled government relationships builder, with the ability to construct and maintain strong networks of policy influence within the industry and governing institutions;
• Experience in a global environment working with governments and government agencies in the policymaking process, with a strong record of leading and delivering effective results;
• Sincere commitment to work collaboratively with all constituent groups, including staff, board members, stakeholders, and other supporters;
• High energy, maturity, and leadership with the ability to serve as a unifying force and to position communications discussions at both the strategic and tactical levels.

Qualities

• Passion for Imagine’s mission and vision
• Demonstrated commitment to equity in educational access and outcomes
• Strong writing and spoken communication skills
• Relationship builder with the flexibility and finesse to ‘manage by influence’
• Team-oriented, collaborative, flexible, adaptable, and comfortable working in an inclusive, low-ego, matrix-management environment
• Self-starter, able to work independently, and enjoys creating and implementing new initiatives.
• Collaborative team player; clear and proactive communicator
• High integrity, conscientious, and willing to take responsibility

Compensation & Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Location

The Director of Government Partnerships must be based in Lilongwe, Malawi

Application Process

Details on Imagine’s operations, countries reached, leadership and funders can be found at imagineworldwide.org

Please submit a resume and your personal details via this link – https://jobboards.greenhouse.io/imagineworldwide

Application Deadline : January 5th, 2026

Imagine Worldwide is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.