About this role
Health Systems Advisor
Project Description: Shape health outcomes in Malawi with the power of data!
Training institutions for health professionals and nonprofit health organizations across Malawi are seeking professionals with monitoring and evaluation (M&E) expertise. While M&E systems exist, they are constrained by fragmented systems and a lack of sustained commitment to data-driven management. Severe shortages of trained personnel, inconsistent access to standardized tools, and limited capacity for effective data utilization further undermines organizations’ ability to track educational outcomes and institutional performance.
As a Health Systems Advisor, you will apply your expertise to strengthen a rapidly evolving healthcare system through knowledge management, research, and capacity development. In this role, you will transform routine reporting into actionable insights that guide decision-making, improve program effectiveness, and support overall success. Working closely with staff and institutional leadership, you will establish responsive, evidence-based practices. One-on-one mentorship, training sessions, and collaborative fieldwork focused on data quality and program learning will ensure the sustainability of your efforts.
Required Skills: Bachelor's degree in public health, international development, statistics, social science, or a related field. AND Two or more years of experience with monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL), including the use of data collection and analysis software.
Living Conditions: Volunteers live in a peri-urban or urban communities across Malawi’s southern, central, and northern regions. Volunteers for this assignment can expect running water and electricity. Internet is accessed via mobile hotspot or a personal router. Volunteers will commute either on foot or by public transportation.
Activities: Develop or strengthen M&E frameworks, tools, and data collection systems to track programmatic progress. Introduce innovative methods for data analysis, storytelling, and reporting. Design evaluation strategies that are contextually appropriate and user friendly. Identify opportunities to strengthen staff capacity on data quality and program learning. Develop user-friendly dashboards or reporting formats. Guide staff in identifying key indicators and outcomes that reflect both quantitative and qualitative program success. Facilitate regular learning sessions and feedback loops to integrate findings into program design and adaptation.
You may also work on additional projects that meet your community’s interests and priorities, such as community health data awareness activities and health information and data literacy clubs.
Training: After a two-week orientation on topics such as health and safety, you will move to a peri-urban or urban community where you will collaborate with your supervisor and counterpart at the KUHES or CHAM to assess the local needs and develop a work plan in line with their established goals.
Peace Corps/Malawi will equip you with Chichewa language resources and you may work with a tutor who can help you build basic language skills to connect with the community.
Job Highlights: Gain hands-on, international experience effectively managing health programs in resource-constrained settings. Experience the rich culture, natural wonders, and warm hospitality that have earned Malawi the nickname, "the warm heart of Africa." Engage in traditional forms of living, learn the value of communal life, and build lasting friendships rooted in mutual understanding.