Contract Type: Consultant – Full Time. Location: Malawi (Lilongwe). Start Date: Sept 1, 2026. Contract Duration: 12 Months.
Landesa is an international NGO working to secure land rights for the world's poor, rural women and men. Founded in the 1960s at the University of Washington School of Law and independent since 1981, Landesa partners with governments, civil society and companies to develop pro-poor and gender-sensitive laws, policies and programs, having helped strengthen land rights for more than 720 million people in the last 5 years across more than 65 countries. Landesa is currently setting up in Malawi.
Scope of Services: Provide technical leadership, partnership engagement and overall support in implementing the "Securing Women's Land Rights Project" in Malawi (funded by the Irene M. Staehelin Foundation), in close collaboration with implementing partners WOLREC, WLA and CYECE. The role supports the Africa Regional Director in designing, implementing and monitoring Landesa's Country Program Strategy anchored in the MoU with the Ministry of Lands of Malawi; informs public discourse on land tenure rights; influences policy reforms; builds capacity to gather, analyze and validate data tracking progress on women's land rights commitments; and builds the nexus between land and Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resource Governance, Climate Change and Economic Development.
Key responsibilities: technical leadership in project design, implementation, monitoring and reporting; strategic support and country program development; integration of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) approaches, assessments and disaggregated data; partnerships and stakeholder engagement with government, civil society, private sector, academia and communities; technical supervision of project staff and capacity strengthening; communications and advocacy (op-eds, briefs, policy documents, newsletters, infographics, social media); data and evidence work with Landesa's Research, Evaluation and Learning team; and resource mobilization support including proposal development, budgets and donor engagement. Requires fieldwork (rapid rural appraisal, key informant interviews, community meetings, workshops, surveys, training) and representation of Landesa in national, regional and international forums.
Reporting: to the Africa Region Director, working closely with the Land Tenure Specialist and other Landesa staff. Standard 40-hour workweek with flexibility for time-zone differences (Nairobi, Seattle, Washington DC); local travel within Malawi and limited regional and international travel.
Education and Experience: Graduate or professional degree in a land-related discipline, geography, agricultural economics, economics, sociology, environment, natural resources, law or related field; minimum 10 years of professional experience managing and implementing projects on land tenure and governance, natural resource management or related fields, with a significant portion in Africa; familiarity with GESI frameworks and gender-transformative approaches; demonstrated experience working with governments and land administration institutions on land reform; strong understanding of land tenure systems, customary tenure regimes, land policies and legislation and land reform processes in Malawi; experience in policy advocacy, public engagement and communications; strong data, monitoring and learning capabilities; track record supporting fundraising and proposal development; fluency in English required, proficiency in local languages an asset.
Closing date: 2026-11-18
HOW TO APPLY:
Apply online via the Landesa careers portal at https://landesa.applytojob.com/apply/jobs/details/nZJkuhNtvo (first name, last name, email address, location, phone number and resume required; resume as .pdf, .doc, .docx, .odt or .txt).