Tony Blair Institute (TBI)
Are you excited by the prospect of transforming developing and emerging nations in Africa through the application of technology and innovations across public services, agriculture and health? Do you have experience consulting or working in the tech sector, harnessing digital technologies to drive systemic change in an emerging or developing country? If so, we want to hear from you.
The Tomorrow Partnership is the Tony Blair Institute’s work with political leaders and governments to bring tech and digital solutions to their biggest challenges, because we believe tomorrow will belong to those who responsibly harness the power of technology for the good of all people, and to leave no one behind.
Through The Tomorrow Partnership, we broker strategic partnerships between governments and leading tech organisations and innovators to help foster environments that enable tech to deliver practical change in people’s lives.
As part of TBI’s growing tech programme in Malawi under the Tomorrow Partnership, the Tech Policy Coordinator will be a pivotal role in the team, supporting the delivery of the President’s ambitious digitisation agenda, focussing on strengthening the policy and regulatory enabling environment in Malawi.
This role will be on a one-year contract with possibility of extension.
The Tech Policy Coordinator will support the Digital Transformation Advisor and Malawi tech team in the delivery of the Tomorrow Partnership programme in Malawi, specifically focussed on foundational support to the policy and regulatory enabling environment. Collaborating with colleagues across the Institute, the Tech Policy Coordinator will be responsible for:
- Undertaking high-quality research and analysis on issues related to digital transformation, aligned to the Government of Malawi’s priorities, including foundational regulations, policy and governance issues relevant to digital technologies
- Directly supporting the digital transformation advisor to translate insights and analysis into actionable policy advice and implementation work plans
- Mapping of risks and challenges to successful delivery and identifying solutions to emerging obstacles
- Supporting the engagement of key public and private sector stakeholders to explore areas for collaboration, identify challenges and bottlenecks, and scope new partnership opportunities. Support the Digital Transformation advisor to engage with the broader donor community in Malawi to ensure a coordinated and coherent approach to digitisation
- Supporting institutional development efforts, notably the transfer of skills and knowledge to improve strategic planning, performance management, and decision-making across relevant public institutions and private sector organisations
- Support the Digital Transformation Advisor in management and tracking of TBI Malawi’s tech activities and interventions, including support on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning activities
- Assist the Digital Transformation Advisor on other tasks and activities as needed
To be successful in this role you will need to be closely aligned with the Institute’s outlook and mission and be entrepreneurial in your approach to your work.
The successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following skills, knowledge and experience:
- Experience working with governments or the private sector on the digital economy or digital transformation
- Relevant educational experience in technology, public policy, economics or other fields
- Knowledge of and experience with government digitisation would be considered an asset
- Demonstrated ability to research and deal with complex policy issues
- Skilled in writing clearly and concisely on complex topics for a variety of audiences
- Strong organisation and time management skills, acute attention to detail, and knowledge of MS Office are essential
- Eager to work in a fast-paced environment while juggling priorities and meeting deadlines
- Be a self-starter, able to work independently but also be a strong team player
- Be comfortable working in a small but highly dynamic and adaptive team
- Excellent English language skills
- Good interpersonal and networking skills
The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is a mission-driven not for profit organisation. We exist to equip political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies. We work hard, every day, to make a difference. When governments work well they are able to create economic and social change in a way that promotes fairness, social justice and opportunity. We work relentlessly to support leader and governments with the challenges they face. Giving them practical solutions and actionable insights, that once implemented, can be transformative for their people
We do this within two connected divisions:
Government Advisory
Our Government Advisory teams work directly with political leaders and governments around the world to implement reforms that improve the lives of their citizens. It works with a variety of partners and its outputs cover a range of disciplines and projects across countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Asia.
Policy Futures
Our Policy Futures work encompasses three broad areas:
- Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics;
- Tech and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution; and
- Extremism Policy Unit: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world.
As an organisation, the core beliefs we all embrace are:
- Open and Progressive: you’ll believe in the value of teamwork
- Bold and Pragmatic: you’ll approach everything you do with integrity and authenticity
- Optimistic Changemaker: you’ll be focused on results
TBI believes embracing diversity and inclusion make us a better place to work. It’s our goal to reflect everyone in society and we actively welcome applications from individuals and groups who are under-represented in the workplace. We celebrate difference be it ethnicity, religion, age, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. We will only ever assess you on your abilities and fit for a role. We’re happy to discuss any adjustments you need to ensure a level playing field during recruitment and, if you\’re successful, discuss any adjustments you might need to thrive in your role.