Senior Program Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) Advisor – DAl

Job Description

Through the Malawi Governance for Solutions (GfS) Activity, USAID seeks to build on the incremental gains in decentralization and associated service delivery improvements, with the understanding that to make the significant leaps now required for Malawi to meet its own development goals-in the face of a fast-growing, young population-a bold, adaptive, and sustainable approach is required. To successfully remove critical bottlenecks and diffuse effective governance practices, DAl will deploy a locally driven approach-Facilitate, Catalyze, and Scale-drawing on Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) as a core methodology. Through the Facilitate, Catalyze, and Scale approach, DAl will help local stakeholders to tackle the root causes of service delivery failures through best-fit solutions and offer demonstrative models based on positive deviance.

Through both process-oriented facilitation and the provisions of technical support and grants, GfS will foster stable, resilient, and more self-reliant partnerships that best position local communities to address their own challenges and contribute to the trajectory of Malawi Vision 2063.

1. Objectives of the assignment
   The Senior PDIA Advisor will work closely with the COP, DCOP, the Senior Manager for Sector Services and other technical staff to guide GfS’s day-to-day technical implementation, provide technical leadership to ensure integration of strategies and lessons learned through the MEL team. S/he also will lead PDIA activities including mentoring and capacity building team members and partners. The Senior PDIA Advisor will ensure that a rigorous problem-led process is realistically tied to GfS goals and outcomes
2. Tasks & Responsibilities
   • Lead the development, adaptation, and application of key PDIA tools and processes, providing technical leadership to GfS staff and anchor partners, facilitating supported coalitions through the key steps of the PDIA process (e.g. problem construction and deconstruction, sequencing of solutions, securing buy-in, testing and adapting solutions through “sprints” and “check-in” sessions, diffusing coalition successes).
   • Mentor GfS team members and sub-partners on the PDIA approach and integrate it within all GfS activities ensuring overall technical quality and soundness,
   • Oversee/coordinate the work of sub awardee Kivu International, through periodic learning events that help coalition members to “pause and reflect” on the success or failure of their interventions, build learning on the PDIA process, collect examples of positive deviance and viable solutions, and identify opportunities for wider diffusion,
   • Strengthen collaboration and coordination mechanisms for actors at the national and county levels.
   • Lead initiatives to strengthen civil society and citizens engagement with government entities in
     Malawi
   • Undertake citizen engagement to enhance transparency and accountability
   • Lead the project’s reporting, monitoring, and learning activities ensuring documentation of all successes and contributing to lessons learned within the broader USAID community.
   • Lead the Theory of Change on GfS

3. Qualifications

• A post graduate Degree in Social Sciences, International Development, and/or other related fields.
• Proven professional experience in the development field, including working in developing countries.
• Minimum 3 years’ experience using the problem driven iterative adaptation (PDIA) or similar approaches
• Demonstrated ability to create and maintain effective working relations with diverse stakeholders including government personnel, stakeholders, non-governmental organizations, and private sector partners, and international donor agencies, academia, and local communities.
• Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts professionally orally and in writing, demonstrates effective use of listening skills and displays openness to other people’s ideas and thoughts.
• Demonstrated experience and understanding of public sector management, public service delivery, stakeholder mobilization and engagement, policy advocacy, citizen engagement, and organizational systems strengthening.
• In depth understanding of and ability to effectively function in east Africa’s political, cultural, and social landscape, as well as a proven track record of working effectively with host country governments are various levels

Eligible candidates meeting the above requirements should submit their application with up-to-date detailed CV indicating names of three traceable referees through the link:

https://fs23.formsite.com/OLJTgx/t6xfgihmgw/index

Shortlisting will be done on a rolling basis.

Only shortlisted applicants will be acknowledged and invited for interviews.

DAl is an equal opportunity employer.