Deputy Director - Scaling Impact Sustainably (Malawi Franchise)

About the role

Prevail Fund is sponsoring a new implementation-focused organization being established in Malawi to help an education program achieve stronger results at scale. The Deputy Director is the engine of the organization: in Year 1, prove that the organization can implement programs reliably, on time and with measurable impact on children's learning outcomes. The role involves recruiting and building a team of around 20 people and setting up the operational infrastructure from scratch.

Key responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of the organization's program, designing and managing detailed work plans with clear timelines and accountabilities
• Build monitoring, reporting and operational systems from scratch, plus trackers, templates, field guides and dashboards, and create standard operating procedures
• Recruit and lead 5-6 office staff and up to 15 field agents, aiming for a team of around 20 by April 2027
• Support finance, administration, HR and logistics, including budgeting, cash flow planning, procurement and financial reporting
• Coordinate external service providers, consultants and vendors, and represent the organization to government and other external stakeholders
• Act as a strategic partner to the Managing Director, helping shape organizational strategy

Required profile

• 5+ years of hands-on operations experience, ideally in program delivery in a low-resource setting, preferably sub-Saharan Africa
• Track record of recruiting, managing and developing a team
• Bachelor's degree required; a Master's in Business Administration, Development Studies, Organizational Leadership or a similar field is a strong plus
• Based in Malawi or willing to relocate; start date 1 February 2027

Required skills

• Building solid Excel tools (trackers, work plans, dashboards)
• Building systems and SOPs from scratch

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and go through an initial conversation, a take-home exercise and interviews with the hiring manager and team members.