Advisor, Program Measurement & Insights (PM&I) - Malawi

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About TaRL Africa

Position: Advisor, Program Measurement & Insights (PM&I) - Malawi

Reports to: PM &I Associate Director

Location: Lilongwe, Malawi

Deadline: 3rd October 2025

About TaRL Africa 

TaRL Africa initiative is hosted by Empower Learning Africa, a not-for-profit organisation registered and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with teams in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Zambia, and locally registered offices in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. TaRL Africa began as a joint venture by Pratham and J-PAL in 2019, with the goal of supporting governments and organisations across Africa to accelerate children’s foundational skill learning using the evidence-based “Teaching at the Right Level” (TaRL) approach. TaRL Africa's vision is for every child across Africa to have foundational skills so that they can have a better future. Our mission is to ensure education systems effectively equip children with these foundational skills. 

We support governments and organisations in over 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to design, deliver, and scale impactful TaRL programmes while learning and sharing how the approach can be improved for different contexts. Since our inception, we have reached 7 million children in collaboration with partners. 

Summary of the Role: 

TaRL Africa is seeking to recruit a Advisor,  Program Measurement and Insights (PM&I) to lead on program measurement, monitoring and review for a government-led initiative on TaRL-informed remediation. This responds to the Ministry’s demand for a catch-up program and builds on a co-creation process led by the Ministry together with partners. The initiative aims to adapt and test the TaRL approach integration into remediation within the Malawian foundational education system, laying the foundation for possible scale-up.

TaRL Africa is seeking an Advisor, Program Measurement and Insights (PM&I) to support program measurement, monitoring, and review for a government-led initiative on TaRL-informed remediation in Malawi. This initiative responds to the Ministry of Education’s request for a national catch-up program and builds on a co-creation process led by the Ministry in collaboration with partners. It aims to adapt and test the integration of the TaRL approach into remediation within Malawi’s foundational education system, laying the groundwork for potential scale-up.

The Advisor, PM&I will strengthen the effectiveness of implementation by designing and implementing a comprehensive program measurement and monitoring strategy tailored to the Malawian context. A key responsibility will be to establish robust, sustainable systems for assessment, monitoring, and review that generate actionable data to guide program implementation and scale.

The role will require close collaboration with the Senior Advisor, Government Liaison, Program Delivery and Training Advisor, the central PM&I team, NGO partners, donors, and government stakeholders to develop a long-term monitoring and review strategy for Malawi. As a core member of the Malawi Country Management Team, the Advisor, PM&I will serve as the primary point of contact for government counterparts and partners on monitoring and measurement matters.

The position is based in Lilongwe, with significant in-country travel and occasional travel within Africa. Flexibility in working hours may be required to accommodate meetings across time zones.

Duties and responsibilities

1. Strengthen Assessments and Learning Systems

• Co-create and adapt foundational learning assessments in alignment with Malawi’s existing government systems.
• Work with government to embed assessment and learning practices within broader education system reforms, ensuring sustainability and scalability.
• Collaborate with government and partners to ensure assessment tools are fit-for-purpose and responsive to program learning.
• Train government and partner teams to effectively administer, analyze, and use assessment results.

2. Design and Deliver Monitoring, Measurement & Review (MMR) Systems

• Co-design and ensure robust delivery of Malawi’s MMR system, embedding it within government processes.
• Develop tools and processes to generate high-quality program data that can be used and sustained by government channels.
• Empower implementation teams and government officials to review, interpret, and act on data for continuous program improvement.
• Establish a feedback loop to ensure data insights directly inform decisions and program adaptations.

3. Data Analysis, Insights, and Capacity Building

• Analyze program data (directly or in collaboration with country teams) and share actionable insights with government stakeholders and partners.
• Build the capacity of government and partner teams to understand, interpret, and use data effectively.
• Regularly assess technical capacity and conduct workshops on assessment and data use as needed.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen MMR systems, e.g., by simplifying processes, automating activities, or integrating TaRL data into government platforms.
  

4. Reporting, Reviews, and Strategic Alignment

• Track, review, and report on Malawi program data, ensuring alignment with TaRL Africa’s overall strategy and work plan.
• Coordinate with partners and internal teams to consolidate implementation, outcome, and cost data in central systems.
• Ensure country dashboards and multi-year data systems are accurate, automated where possible, and up to date.
• Respond to data queries from donors, partners, and the senior management team in a timely and accurate manner.
• Support the planning and facilitation of annual and bi-annual program reviews.
  

5. Knowledge Sharing and External Engagement

• Contribute to partner-led studies as requirred .
• Communicate program lessons and results widely for program improvement within the team and externally.
• Coordinate with the Global PM&I team to ensure strong knowledge management and cross-country learning.
  

6. Other Responsibilities

• Keep abreast of evolving government policies and initiatives in Malawi and across TaRL Africa’s countries of work.
• Support other tasks as assigned by the line manager(s).

Qualifications and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Economics, International Development, Public Policy, Education, Social Sciences, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in monitoring, measurement and review  systems, ideally within the education or development sector. 
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing monitoring, measurement and review  systems, including crafting foundational learning assessment tools as well as co-creating monitoring systems with the government. 
• Familiarity with national or regional learning assessments and government data systems is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with the Malawian Ministry of Education is strongly preferred.

Technical Skills

• Strong data analysis skills with the ability to translate findings into actionable insights.
• Proficiency in Excel and ODK-based platforms (e.g., SurveyCTO, KoboCollect).
• Strongly preferred: experience with data visualization and statistical software such as Tableau or Power BI, and Stata or R.

• Ability to design clear, engaging dashboards and communicate insights effectively to non-technical audiences.
  

Core Competencies

• Results oriented 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to convey technical concepts simply and persuasively.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to see both detail and the big picture.
• Demonstrated ability to build capacity and train others in assessment, data collection, and data use.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with government, partners, and multi-disciplinary teams
• Curiosity, adaptability, and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
  

TaRL Africa Values 

1. We put children’s learning first
2. We are always learning, improving, and innovating
3. We are locally rooted for high-quality delivery and sustainable impact
4. We are kind, respectful, and collaborative
5. We are proactive, committed to integrity, and doing our best each day

This job description covers the main tasks and conveys the spirit of the sort of tasks that are anticipated proactively from staff. Other tasks may be assigned as necessary according to organisational needs.