Position Summary: Under the direction of the Community Development Coordinator, the Community Development Officer, Lead is responsible for coordinating, guiding, mentoring, and monitoring the work of Community Development Officers to ensure the effective planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and continuous improvement of community development and WASH activities that promote the sustainable use and management of Water Mission safe water systems The Community Development Officer, Lead ensures compliance with Water Mission standards, organizational policies, and donor requirements. The incumbent serves as the primary point of contact for coordinating Community Development Officer activities and ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality community engagement, behavior change, and sustainability interventions across all project sites. The incumbent also implements community development activities along with Community Development Officers as assigned. The position requires frequent travel to remote project locations and occasional travel outside the assigned duty station. Our culture: As an employee of Water Mission Malawi, a Community Development Officer, Lead is responsible for developing a biblical worldview culture that leads to God-honoring excellence in all their work and reinforcing the following: providing accurate data, empowering staff to have the skills and mindset needed to acknowledge mistakes or problems as opportunities to find appropriate solutions, and empowering staff to consistently work for excellence in solutions that are consistent with Water Mission’s mission, vision, values, and standards. 1.0 Duties and Responsibilities Mission Responsibilities Maintain a strong Christian witness and model servant leadership to colleagues, partners, communities, and the public. Participate in prayer before and after team meetings and engage in biblically based staff devotions. Demonstrate Water Mission's core values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity in all aspects of work. Support the integration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through appropriate words and actions consistent with Water Mission's mission. Team Coordination and Leadership Coordinate the day-to-day activities of Community Development Officers to ensure effective implementation of community development programs. Develop and coordinate field work schedules in consultation with the Community Development Coordinator. Provide technical guidance, coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job support to Community Development Officers. Monitor implementation progress and provide timely feedback to improve program quality and effectiveness. Coordinate workload distribution and support efficient utilization of staff and programme resources. Conduct regular field support visits to ensure compliance with Water Mission standards and quality expectations. Identify implementation challenges and recommend practical solutions to the Community Development Coordinator. Facilitate regular team meetings and promote knowledge sharing and continuous learning within the Community Development team. Community Mobilization and Engagement Implements community mobilization activities across assigned project locations. Facilitates community meetings, participatory assessments, and stakeholder consultations. Build and maintain strong relationships with community leaders, schools, faith leaders, local government authorities, and community-based organizations. Promote community ownership and accountability throughout the project lifecycle. Support conflict resolution and strengthen community participation in project implementation. WASH Programming Implements Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activities in communities, schools, and institutions. Ensure Community Development Officers consistently deliver approved hygiene promotion and sanitation education programs. Training (TOT) on WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) using a provided curriculum. Support implementation of School WASH initiatives and behavior change interventions. Monitor program quality and ensure adherence to Water Mission technical standards. Promote best practices related to safe water handling, sanitation, menstrual hygiene management, and hygiene behaviors. Capacity Building Establish, strengthen, and support Safe Water Communities, Water User Communities, and other community management structures Train committee members, local system operators, volunteers, teachers, health workers, and community leaders. Mentor Community Development Officers in facilitation techniques, behavior change approaches, and community engagement methodologies. Promote the sustainability of community-managed water systems through continuous capacity building. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Coordinate collection, verification, and consolidation of community development and WASH program data. Review and consolidate weekly, monthly, quarterly, and donor reports prepared by Community Development Officers. Evaluate Water Mission Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with teams on a monthly basis and develop required actions. Monitor program performance against approved indicators and work plans. Ensure completeness and accuracy of project documentation and beneficiary records. Compile lessons learned, success stories, best practices, and program achievements for reporting. Support monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities to improve program effectiveness. Project Planning and Implementation Coordinate preparation and implementation of annual work plans, activity schedules, and budgets for Community Development activities. Monitor implementation progress and recommend corrective actions where necessary. Support proposal development through community assessments and technical input. Ensure Community Development activities comply with Water Mission policies, quality standards, and donor requirements. Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement Coordinate engagement with district and local government authorities, schools, health facilities, NGOs, churches, and community organizations. Represent the Community Development Coordinator in technical meetings and stakeholder forums as delegated. Strengthen partnerships that enhance program delivery and sustainability. Coordinate Community Development activities with other Water Mission departments and implementing partners. Disaster Response Coordinate Community Development Officers during emergency assessments and WASH response activities. Support rapid community mobilization during emergency operations. Participate in disaster recovery and resilience-building initiatives. Reporting and Administration Consolidate Community Development Officers' work plans, activity reports, monitoring reports, donor reports, and success stories. Prepare timely summary reports for submission to the Community Development Coordinator. Ensure accountability for program resources and accurate documentation. Monitor budget utilization for Community Development activities. Maintain complete program records and support audit and compliance requirements. Other Responsibilities Participate in organizational training and continuous professional development. Support cross-functional teams during project implementation. Perform any other duties assigned by the Community Development Coordinator. 2.0 Qualifications, Skills, and Experience Relationship and Alignment Personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Alignment with Water Mission's Statement of Faith and core values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity. Education and Experience Bachelor's Degree in Community Development, Transformative Community Development, Social Work, Development Studies, Public Health, or any related field. Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience implementing community development or WASH program. At least two (2) years of experience coordinating teams or leading community-based programs. Demonstrated experience in community mobilization, stakeholder engagement, behavior change communication, capacity building, and program coordination. Experience in monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting, and project planning. Experience working with local government, community-based organizations, schools, and development partners. Must have a Valid driver's license and the ability to drive a manual vehicle Skills and Abilities Strong leadership, coordination, coaching, and mentoring skills. Excellent facilitation, training, and community mobilization skills. Strong knowledge of WASH programming and behavior change methodologies. Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder engagement skills. Strong planning, analytical, report writing, and documentation skills. Excellent organizational and time management skills. Ability to coordinate multiple field activities simultaneously. High level of integrity, accountability, and professionalism. Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Experience using mobile data collection tools such as KoboToolbox, mWater, or ODK is an added advantage. Ability to work independently and collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams. Willingness and ability to travel frequently to remote project locations.