The Project Assistant position at Water Witness Malawi provides crucial support to the Project Manager and Project Officer in overseeing the successful execution of our exciting water projects and broader organizational objectives. This multifaceted role involves assisting in the coordination of project activities, ensuring alignment with WW Malawi’s goals, and supporting community empowerment and climate change resilience initiatives. The Project Assistant will actively engage with stakeholders, partners, and communities to facilitate project implementation, especially focusing on integrating marginalized groups into decision-making processes. This role includes monitoring project progress, reviewing outcomes, and identifying opportunities for improvement, emphasizing a commitment to sustainability, innovation, and inclusive community involvement.

As an important member of the team, the Project Assistant will play a vital role in supporting the Project Manager and Project Officer in ensuring a smooth delivery particularly of the CJC project in Chikwawa district. This role involves contributing to effective community engagement, fostering partner relations, and facilitating knowledge development on climate change adaptation and resilience. The Project Assistant will assist in driving the organizational advancement in crucial cross-cutting themes while maintaining a high level of integrity, accuracy, and attention to detail. This opportunity seeks an individual with the qualifications, experience, energy, and confidence to contribute significantly to the WWI’s goal of supporting communities in Malawi to become more water secure and build greater resilience to climate change.
If you have the experience, skills, energy and confidence we are looking for to support this exciting role, we look forward to hearing from you!

Duties and responsibilities

The Project Assistant plays an important role in contributing to the successful execution of the CJC project while aiding in broader organizational objectives. This role is responsible for:
1. Project Support:
• Assisting the Project Manager in coordinating and organizing project activities to ensure smooth implementation of the Climate Just Communities (CJC) project.
• Providing administrative support by preparing project documentation, reports, and correspondence, maintaining records, and organizing meetings, ensuring training sessions and events are well organised, properly resourced and on time.
• Aiding in establishing and updating project schedules, calendars, and timelines to ensure deadlines are met and project deliverables are achieved on time.
2. Stakeholder Engagement:
• Collaborating with diverse stakeholders, partners, and communities as directed by the Project Manager to facilitate effective communication and engagement throughout the project lifecycle.
• Ensure timely invitations to and evaluations of all training sessions and events organised throughout the programme.
• Assisting in establishing and maintaining relationships with stakeholders, addressing enquiries, and ensuring their satisfaction and involvement in project activities.
3. Community Engagement:
• Supporting efforts to engage with local communities, ensuring they have the opportunity to actively participation and are included in project initiatives and decision-making processes.
• Assisting in organizing community meetings, workshops, and events to gather feedback, disseminate information, and promote project objectives.
4. Documentation and Reporting:
• Assisting in the compilation, organization, and maintenance of project documentation, including progress reports, meeting minutes, and other relevant materials.
• Supporting in the preparation and dissemination of reports, documenting project achievements, challenges, and lessons learned for internal and external stakeholders.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation:
• Aiding in monitoring project progress and outcomes by collecting and analysing data, contributing to the assessment of project effectiveness and impact.

• Assisting in conducting field visits, assessments, and surveys as needed to gather information on project activities and community needs.
6. Supporting Knowledge Development:
• Assisting in knowledge development initiatives related to climate change adaptation and resilience, contributing to the organization’s understanding of pertinent cross-cutting themes.
• Supporting in organizing training sessions, workshops, or information-sharing activities to enhance community knowledge on climate change-related issues.
7. Cross-functional Support:
• Collaborate with other team members to ensure effective cross-functional communication and support initiatives that contribute to broader organizational goals.
• Assist in any other tasks or duties assigned by the Project Manager or senior management, contributing to the overall success of the organization’s mission in Malawi.

Key working relationships and logistical arrangements
The successful applicant will join a growing team of professionals based at Water Witness Malawi offices in Blantyre. S/he will report to the Project Manager and will work closely with the team to ensure high impact delivery.

Person Specification
The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate the following:

Experience and qualifications:
Essential
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as environmental science, climate studies, sustainable development, community development or a related discipline.
• Minimum of two (2) years’ relevant experience
• Demonstrated experience in project assistance or coordination, preferably within the context of community development, climate change adaptation, or NGO sector projects.
• Experience in administrative support, documentation, and organization of project-related materials.
• Practical involvement in stakeholder engagement, community outreach, and facilitation of community-based activities would be advantageous.
• Familiarity with monitoring and evaluation processes, including data collection and analysis for project assessment.

Skills and attributes:

Essential
• Effective and inspirational individual with strong collaboration skills.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines to produce high quality work in a fast-paced environment.
• Effective oral and written communication and interpersonal skills for engaging with diverse stakeholders, training, reporting. Fluent in spoken and written English and Chichewa language.
• Highly numerate and able to produce accurate work to tight deadlines.
• Self-motivated person, able to think strategically, with strong analytical/problem solving skills and can take initiative.
• IT literate and excellent knowledge and skills in using Microsoft packages.
• Able to work effectively both without close supervision and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Trustworthy, able to maintain confidentiality, deal with sensitive information and to take responsibility for important operational functions.
• Willing to work additional hours at crucial times.
• Able to work in a rural context within Chikwawa for extended periods of time.

Desirable
• Understanding of global climate change issues

All correspondence should be sent to email  with ‘PA-CJC– WW Malawi’ in the subject line. Please provide a CV and cover letter in ONE single document. The cover letter should be no more than two pages long, must explain why you want to work in this position, and should clearly set out how your skills and experience match the profile described in the job description. The CV should be no more than three pages long and should include the email addresses and telephone numbers of two referees.
Applications which do not meet these specifications will not be considered.