Background

The role will deepen field-level monitoring, strengthen grantee performance, and accelerate youth-in-work outcomes in Malawi by providing technical leadership, market-systems informed grant design support and operational troubleshooting. The role will reduce delays in grant execution and disbursement, improve partner delivery quality and ensure timely monthly youth in work (YiW) reporting.

S/he will be responsible for hands-on field engagements, partner performance management, grant design inputs, and strengthening linkages between country implementation and continental results/ Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems. Works closely with Country Programs Lead (CPL) and Program Management Unit (PMU) to drive country acceleration plans.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead and coordinate in-country implementation of the Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food and Agriculture (YEFFA) acceleration plan together with CPL and partners.
• Translate the country Theory of Change into operational interventions that deliver YiW outcomes.
• Plan and conduct regular field monitoring visits and prepare concise RAG status reports for Country Program Lead (CPL) and Program Management Unit (PMU).
• Implement quality assurance processes to ensure partner activities meet YEFFA standards, safeguarding and environmental compliance.
• Provide training and capacity strengthening to partners on gender-sensitive and youth-intentional program approaches and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) data collection protocols.
• Validate partner-reported data and ensure consistency with YEFFA MEL protocols.
• Provide technical inputs for grant design and pre-approval concept notes, ensuring market-systems orientation and inclusion considerations.
• Track grant performance, expenditure against deliverables, and collaborate with Grants & Finance to address disbursement or compliance issues.
• Consolidate field insights into programmatic recommendations and feed into country and continental learning products.
• Identify implementation bottlenecks early through field presence; propose and implement corrective actions and escalate major issues to CPL/PMU.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with implementing partners, local government authorities, private sector actors, consortiums, youth groups, women’s groups, and community-based organizations to enable scalable youth-in-work (YiW) pathways.
• Facilitate linkages between country delivery and continental pillar initiatives to maximize learning, harmonize approaches, and ensure alignment with AGRA’s YEFFA results framework.
• Act as a technical liaison between CPL, PMU, and grantees to address bottlenecks and provide real-time guidance for program execution.
• Promote knowledge-sharing and cross-country learning by facilitating field visits, peer-to-peer exchanges, and virtual learning sessions.
• Advocate for youth inclusion, gender responsiveness, and market systems approaches in program implementation.

Key Qualifications and Experience required:

• Bachelor’s degree in development studies, Agricultural Economics, Business Administration, or related field.
• Project management or monitoring & evaluation certification
• Master degree will be added advantage
• Technical program management experience, ideally within youth employment, agribusiness or market systems programs at country level.
• Demonstrated experience in field monitoring, partner performance management and grant implementation support.
• Experience working with donors and multi-stakeholder consortia preferred.
• Strong understanding of market-systems, value chain development, and workforce pathways for youth.
• Competence in MEL procedures, data verification and results reporting (YiW/YDnF indicators).
• Ability to design practical, context-appropriate technical assistance for implementing partners.

Behavioral Competencies

• Ability to drive collaboration through inclusive and agile teaming, breaking siloes, sharing information celebrating joint successes.
• Ability to execute excellently by delivering high-quality work at speed, committing to decisions and plans, and increasing accountability to deliver impact at scale.
• Ability to be sincerely constructive in interactions with others by demonstrating trust, sincerity, and care, in recognition of our joint purpose.
• Ability be increasingly entrepreneurial by breaking hierarchies, embracing learning and innovation to unlock the potential of diversity and ideas.

• Lead and coordinate in-country implementation of the Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food and Agriculture (YEFFA) acceleration plan together with CPL and partners.
• Translate the country Theory of Change into operational interventions that deliver YiW outcomes.
• Plan and conduct regular field monitoring visits and prepare concise RAG status reports for Country Program Lead (CPL) and Program Management Unit (PMU).
• Implement quality assurance processes to ensure partner activities meet YEFFA standards, safeguarding and environmental compliance.
• Provide training and capacity strengthening to partners on gender-sensitive and youth-intentional program approaches and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) data collection protocols.
• Validate partner-reported data and ensure consistency with YEFFA MEL protocols.
• Provide technical inputs for grant design and pre-approval concept notes, ensuring market-systems orientation and inclusion considerations.
• Track grant performance, expenditure against deliverables, and collaborate with Grants & Finance to address disbursement or compliance issues.
• Consolidate field insights into programmatic recommendations and feed into country and continental learning products.
• Identify implementation bottlenecks early through field presence; propose and implement corrective actions and escalate major issues to CPL/PMU.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with implementing partners, local government authorities, private sector actors, consortiums, youth groups, women’s groups, and community-based organizations to enable scalable youth-in-work (YiW) pathways.
• Facilitate linkages between country delivery and continental pillar initiatives to maximize learning, harmonize approaches, and ensure alignment with AGRA’s YEFFA results framework.
• Act as a technical liaison between CPL, PMU, and grantees to address bottlenecks and provide real-time guidance for program execution.
• Promote knowledge-sharing and cross-country learning by facilitating field visits, peer-to-peer exchanges, and virtual learning sessions.
• Advocate for youth inclusion, gender responsiveness, and market systems approaches in program implementation.

• Ability to drive collaboration through inclusive and agile teaming, breaking siloes, sharing information celebrating joint successes.
• Ability to execute excellently by delivering high-quality work at speed, committing to decisions and plans, and increasing accountability to deliver impact at scale.
• Ability to be sincerely constructive in interactions with others by demonstrating trust, sincerity, and care, in recognition of our joint purpose.
• Ability be increasingly entrepreneurial by breaking hierarchies, embracing learning and innovation to unlock the potential of diversity and ideas.

• Bachelor’s degree in development studies, Agricultural Economics, Business Administration, or related field.
• Project management or monitoring & evaluation certification
• Master degree will be added advantage
• Technical program management experience, ideally within youth employment, agribusiness or market systems programs at country level.
• Demonstrated experience in field monitoring, partner performance management and grant implementation support.
• Experience working with donors and multi-stakeholder consortia preferred.
• Strong understanding of market-systems, value chain development, and workforce pathways for youth.
• Competence in MEL procedures, data verification and results reporting (YiW/YDnF indicators).
• Ability to design practical, context-appropriate technical assistance for implementing partners.