Senior Manager, External Relations

Senior Manager, External Relations - GiveDirectly Malawi

Role Overview: The senior manager of external relations is a key managerial role in GiveDirectly Malawi’s leadership team. Alongside the Country Director, the External Relations Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing GiveDirectly’s government and external outreach and influencing strategy to create awareness of GiveDirectly’s work in Malawi and donor reporting, and increase political and policy buy-in for cash. The External Relations Manager is also responsible for understanding and tracking in-country external risks and developing mitigations. Some of the role will also involve working with our communications team to provide high quality recipient stories. The role rewards exceptional  understanding of local and national government in Malawi, a highly autonomous working style, and the ability to develop strategically advantageous relationships. 

Job Description:

Responsibilities of the Senior Manager, External Relations include

Fundraising, Policy/Sector influencing, and Partnerships management

• Support the Country Director to analyse and keep track of key policy developments at national Government level, and to actively engage upstream to influence these.
• Coordinate closely with the Global Policy Director to develop policy influencing goals aligned with and contributing to GD’s organisational influencing goals.
• Track priority and health of GD Malawi’s relationships and proactively design new strategies to improve our  engagement with stakeholders.
• Represent GiveDirectly at national events and meetings at the national and local level.
• NGO and UN Collaboration: Forge relationships with NGOs and UN to expand the pipeline for potential collaborative cash-based interventions.

• Develop high quality, brand-accurate core content for the organization, including one pagers, proposal FAQs, standard pitch decks, templates etc.  
• Develop pitch materials for management team outreach to potential funders.
• Contribute to GiveDirectly’s growing fundraising pipeline and track performance against ambitious fundraising goals.

National and local government relations

• Develop relationships with relevant national and local government officials to improve GiveDirectly’s cooperation with the government and build allies and champions for GiveDirectly. 
• Support GiveDirectly’s expansion into new areas through securing national and local government approvals.
• Develop concise reports for national and local government officials. 
• Ensure regular reporting to government partners, and communicate important issues and recommendations  from the government to GiveDirectly and vice versa. 
• Provide support to field teams that guarantees adherence to national and local government  guidance and protocols. 
• Identify possible future risks and areas of non-alignment and work with different teams to  implement preventative actions. 

External and Media Relations 

• Craft external media or government-facing talking points and messaging for various GiveDirectly  projects. Manage internal and external communication on sensitive issues relating to our program. 
• Develop strong relationships with key members of the local and national Malawian media,  including bloggers and other influencers. Pursue opportunities to drive GD Malawi’s influencing priorities through these relationships.
• Source story ideas from across GiveDirectly projects and translate them into compelling and  effective content for media pitches. 
• Serve as a liaison between the communications team in NYC and local  program team, both  proactively and reactively (i.e. regular calls and document sharing with the Comms team, as well as being the primary point of contact if an incident should occur which requires media outreach). 
• Work closely with the Senior Manager Operations to monitor Community relations risks and provide mitigation  alternatives that cushion GiveDirectly from reputational and existential risks.

Monitor social media and online media data to ensure that the right messaging around the  organization is being delivered. Liaise with the internal audit team on any risks flagged from field  investigations that have program or Government relations risk.

• International Media Engagement: Partner with international journalists to develop impactful, recipient-focused stories that highlight the transformative effects of cash transfers across themes and projects. 

Program Design and Implementation 

• Work with Partnerships and Programs teams to design cash programs tailored to recipient needs and aligned with the national development agenda and donor priorities, including climate resilience, loss and damage, and wealth creation initiatives. 
• Data and Policy-Driven Design: Leverage national data infrastructure including UBR, Integrated Household Surveys and National Population and Housing Census to support evidence-based project designs, ensuring that projects are credible, replicable, and defensible.
• Manage ongoing grant agreements (reporting and compliance requirements) in collaboration with the compliance team. 

Team Leadership and Development

• Team Oversight: lead the Storytelling & Content and Learning to amplify recipient voices and produce relevant evidence of cash impact.
• Inclusive Culture: Cultivate a collaborative and inclusive work environment, setting clear goals and expectations, while fostering open communication and constructive feedback across teams.

 

Qualities we’re hiring for: 

• Deep ownership mindset (i.e. the default assumption that when you identify a problem, you’re likely going to be the one to solve it!) 
• Excellent representational and communication skills with national and international stakeholders, written and oral fluency in English, and preferably Chichewa
• Willingness to travel and work from differing working locations, some of which will be remote
• Passion for the role cash transfers can play in giving recipients choice & driving impact at scale
• A team player with strong leadership, interpersonal skills and professional experience;

• Ability to work at pace with a high level of autonomy; 
• Excellent past performance/job references.

In addition to the specific skills required for each role, we’re looking for candidates who are aligned with our Values, and who actively demonstrate our core competencies: emotional intelligence, problem solving, project management, follow-through, and fostering inclusivity.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelors or Masters Degree in a relevant field
• 5-7 years experience in the development sector
• Demonstrated success in a high-performance, fast-paced work environment
• Strong interest in advancing the values and mission of GiveDirectly
• Exceptional communication (written and verbal), organizational, and analytical skills
• Demonstrated experience in resource mobilization. Experience with key donors such as USAID and FCDO is preferred
• Detailed understanding and demonstrated experience working with national level government officials in Malawi, and understanding Government policies and priorities 
• Experience working with and representing organizations to national and international media
• Ability to approach tasks with resourcefulness and to work in a highly self-directed manner

 #LI-REMOTE