Malawi has achieved some remarkable results in reducing HIV new infections and deaths. There are however, a number of areas that need greater focus including paediatric HIV, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) programming, and community involvement. Sustaining HIV program gains requires strengthening community health systems, enhancing governance and coordination, and advancing domestic financing mechanisms, including social contracting for greater impact. The position description outlines the role of an embedded advisor to support the Government of Malawi in advancing a country-led, high-impact, and sustainable HIV response.

The HIV Advisor will provide strategic and technical assistance to the National AIDS Commission (NAC) to strengthen community health systems, governance, coordination, and sustainability of the HIV response. The role will advance country ownership, improve efficiency and accountability, and support the transition toward domestically financed, community-driven service delivery models, in alignment with the America First Global Health Strategy. The Advisor will also play a central role in strengthening community engagement, monitoring of community-led resilience initiatives, civil society capacity, and linkages between community and facility-based services to improve HIV prevention, care, and treatment outcomes. The role will also support sustainability, localization, and improved coordination across government, implementing partners, and community structures. The Advisor will support the NAC in carrying out life-saving humanitarian assistance (LHA) service delivery in full alignment with the new Presidential Executive Order (EO) directives.

Responsibilities

Community Systems Strengthening & Sustainability

Support development and implementation of national frameworks for community health systems strengthening (CSS) aligned with Malawi’s HSSP III and the National HIV Strategic Plan and the integrated HIV/TB/malaria Strategic Plan, with the following objectives:

• Strengthen capacity of CSOs, CBOs, and community networks to deliver integrated, cost-effective HIV services.
• Promote decentralized service delivery models and strengthen linkages between community and facility-based care.
• Support transition from donor-supported programs to sustainable, government-led systems.
• Support development of a social contracting framework for financing community-based service delivery.

Community Governance & Coordination

• Strengthen the national multisectoral coordination for integrated health services delivered at community level
• Strengthen community governance structures to improve transparency, accountability, and inclusive decision-making.
• Strengthen capacity of CSOs, CBOs, PLHIV networks, and key population groups
• Establish and operationalize community coordination platforms at national and sub-national levels.
• Facilitate structured engagement between government, civil society, private sector, and faith-based organizations.
• Ensure community input informs planning, budgeting, and program implementation.
• Strengthen coordination between community, district, and national HIV response structures.

Monitoring of Non-Biomedical & Community Response 

• Contribute to design and institutionalize monitoring systems to support attainment of health metrics.
• Integrate data into national M&E systems to inform data-driven decision-making.
• Advise on approaches that establish feedback loops between communities and service providers to improve service quality and access.
• Strengthen transparency and accountability to ensure efficient use of resources and measurable results.
• Facilitate engagement between communities, NAC, MOH, and partners to respond to identified service delivery gaps.

Social Contracting & Community Health Financing

• Lead development of social contracting frameworks and implementation roadmap.
• Conduct readiness assessments and landscape analyses.
• Provide technical support on public contracting, procurement, and performance-based financing for CSOs.
• Promote innovative, impactful and sustainable community health financing models.

Coordination & Partnership Management

• Strengthen NAC’s role in coordinating community HIV interventions nationally
• Facilitate collaboration among government, PEPFAR agencies, Global Fund, CSOs, and implementing partners;
• Establish a list of partners that can be used in the community approach model;
• Support district-level coordination structures and performance monitoring

Key Deliverables

• National Community Systems Strengthening (CSS) and Sustainability Framework/strategy
• Functional community governance and coordination mechanisms
• Operational community accountability and response system integrated into NAC structures
• Social contracting readiness assessment, landscape analysis, and roadmap
• Policy and technical guidance on community health financing
• Strengthened community–facility referral and feedback systems
• Monthly, quarterly, and annual performance reports
• A draft final report that is acceptable to the clients and key stakeholders

Supervision

In addition to your LEAP Global supervisor, the HIV advisor for CSS will report to the NAC Chief Executive Officer and has no formal supervisory responsibility. The HIV Advisor will also report to the USG Health Assistance Coordinator. He or she may also have an onsite manager/supervisor who provide day to day direction defined in the roles and responsibilities above.

Reporting:

The HIV Advisor will provide a detailed monthly report to the NAC, submitted by the 5th day of the following month. Additionally, he or she will submit a weekly progress report to the U.S. Department of State (and participate in weekly calls) to include a short paragraph about main successes for that week. Ad hoc technical briefs and progress updates will be requested, as required. The format for reporting may be adjusted with concurrence from the AOR/COR.

Location:

The HIV Technical Advisor will work 20% of his/her time directly with the Coordinator and/or designated Integrated Health Team member and 80% of his/her time embedded with the Government of Malawi.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in Public Health, Health Economics, Development Studies, Public Policy, or related field
• Some qualifications on community social contracting and accountability will be an added advantage.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in HIV/AIDS, public health, or health systems strengthening
• Demonstrated expertise in:
  • Community systems strengthening (CSS)
  • Civil society engagement
  • Community-based HIV service delivery
  • Social contracting and/or health financing
• Experience working with government and donor-funded programs (USG, Global Fund, World Bank)
• Strong analytical, coordination, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Strong writing and information dissemination.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Chichewa.
• Strategic leadership with focus on efficiency and impact
• Strong understanding of governance, accountability, and country ownership
• Technical expertise in community systems and health financing
• Data-driven decision-making and performance management
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and coordination skills
• Strong policy, strategy, and systems thinking capability

• Support development and implementation of national frameworks for community health systems strengthening (CSS) aligned with Malawi’s HSSP III and the National HIV Strategic Plan and the integrated HIV/TB/malaria Strategic Plan, with the following objectives:
• Strengthen capacity of CSOs, CBOs, and community networks to deliver integrated, cost-effective HIV services.
• Promote decentralized service delivery models and strengthen linkages between community and facility-based care.
• Support transition from donor-supported programs to sustainable, government-led systems.
• Support development of a social contracting framework for financing community-based service delivery.
• Strengthen the national multisectoral coordination for integrated health services delivered at community level
• Strengthen community governance structures to improve transparency, accountability, and inclusive decision-making.
• Strengthen capacity of CSOs, CBOs, PLHIV networks, and key population groups
• Establish and operationalize community coordination platforms at national and sub-national levels.
• Facilitate structured engagement between government, civil society, private sector, and faith-based organizations.
• Ensure community input informs planning, budgeting, and program implementation.
• Strengthen coordination between community, district, and national HIV response structures.
• Contribute to design and institutionalize monitoring systems to support attainment of health metrics.
• Integrate data into national M&E systems to inform data-driven decision-making.
• Advise on approaches that establish feedback loops between communities and service providers to improve service quality and access.
• Strengthen transparency and accountability to ensure efficient use of resources and measurable results.
• Facilitate engagement between communities, NAC, MOH, and partners to respond to identified service delivery gaps.
• Lead development of social contracting frameworks and implementation roadmap.
• Conduct readiness assessments and landscape analyses.
• Provide technical support on public contracting, procurement, and performance-based financing for CSOs.
• Promote innovative, impactful and sustainable community health financing models.
• Strengthen NAC’s role in coordinating community HIV interventions nationally
• Facilitate collaboration among government, PEPFAR agencies, Global Fund, CSOs, and implementing partners;
• Establish a list of partners that can be used in the community approach model;
• Support district-level coordination structures and performance monitoring

• Master’s degree or higher in Public Health, Health Economics, Development Studies, Public Policy, or related field
• Some qualifications on community social contracting and accountability