This role was posted on September 17, 2025. Please note that we will review applications on a rolling basis.

The Role

At Last Mile Health, we work to deploy a health worker within reach of everyone, everywhere. Do you have demonstrated clinical expertise and systems-level experience to improve how women and newborns access timely, life-saving care? If yes, you may be the next Clinical Specialist for Malawi on the m-mama project.

The m-mama program is an innovative and cost-effective at-scale Emergency Transportation System for pregnant women and newborns funded by Vodafone Foundation. Vodafone Foundation launched m-mama in 2013 in Tanzania in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania, and in Lesotho in 2021 in collaboration with the Government of Lesotho. This program addresses the high rates of maternal and neonatal mortality in rural areas by reducing delays in access to care using safe and timely emergency transportation for pregnant women and newborns experiencing an emergency. The central component of m-mama is an emergency transport system enabled by innovative digital solutions to address complications as quickly and effectively as possible. 

In 2025, Vodafone Foundation expanded m-mama to Malawi. In Malawi, Last Mile Health (LMH) will support the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Vodafone Foundation to implement and scale the m-mama system across all 29 health districts, particularly for pregnant, postnatal women, and newborns in rural communities. The Clinical Specialist is responsible for the clinical effectiveness of the m-mama Malawi program. The Clinical Specialist will be advising the program team and Ministry of Health on all relevant m-mama Malawi’s clinical components and will conduct Clinical Assessment/mapping in 29 health districts for a national scale-up.

The Clinical Specialist will work under Last Mile Health’s Director of Community Health Systems Strengthening and in close collaboration with the Senior Program Manager of the m-mama Project and Ministry of Health stakeholders. The Clinical Specialist will also plan and execute clinical assessments in respective districts as per the m-mama roll-out plan, and perform other program support activities as required. 

This position is only open to candidates who are currently located and authorized to work in Malawi. This role is onsite and located in Lilongwe, Malawi.

What You'll Do

Clinical Assessments and Data Collection

• Lead the identification and confirmation of regional focal persons for clinical assessments.
• Provide orientation and ongoing technical support to regional focal persons around clinical assessments.
• Work with the respective m-mama Technical Working Groups (TWGs), m-mama program team, implementing partners, and relevant levels of the Government of Malawi to plan for clinical assessment in respective districts and facilities 
• Familiarize district authorities with the clinical assessment tools ahead of the assessment and ensure the timely submission of a comprehensive report of the facilities assessed.
• Oversee and conduct targeted clinical assessments, including verification of Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BeMoC) and  Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) facilities, and how this will ascertain emergency transportation for pregnant women and newborns. 
• Conduct a debriefing session at the national level and with facilities and district stakeholders
• Lead the development, implementation, and management of clinical monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities for m-mama Malawi, with a particular focus on assessed areas.

• Disseminate assessment findings to the Technical Working Group (TWG) and implementing partners.

Stakeholder Engagement and Planning

• Collaborate with the Ministry of Health and Vodafone Foundation to organize planning and preparation meetings, including agenda setting, presentations, and stakeholder invitations. 
• Serve as the clinical liaison for health facility points of contact (PoCs).

Capacity Building

• Design and delivery of orientation sessions for regional clinical assessors at the central level.
• Ensure assessors are equipped with the skills, tools, and guidance required to conduct high-quality assessments.

Budgeting and Resource Planning for Clinical Assessments

• Lead budget preparation (PBR) for clinical assessments, orientation sessions, and related activities.
• Monitor resource allocation and utilization to ensure efficiency and accountability. 

Reporting and Follow-up

• Draft, compile, and submit comprehensive clinical assessment reports for the central region and other districts. 
• Provide recommendations and define next steps to strengthen maternal and newborn health services. 

Responsibilities of the role may be adapted based on the identified needs on the ground.

What You'll Bring

• Master’s degree level in a relevant field of Medicine (Gynaecology, Health Systems Management, or Public Health), or other related field preferred
• Progressive years of relevant professional experience in maternal and child health, hospital and health system operations, partnering with the Ministry of Health and/or a combination of those. 
• Demonstrated years of experience practicing medicine is strongly recommended, with experience with the Malawi local health care system.
• Experience with M&E, mentorship, coaching, and continuous quality improvement initiatives and activities is an added advantage   
• Proven ability to design and deliver training/orientations for health professionals and regional focal persons 
• High-level planning and organizational skills, including budget preparation and resource allocation

You'll Impress Us If

• You are skilled in stakeholder engagement and facilitation, with the ability to manage complex multi-stakeholder meetings.
• You have excellent clinical assessment and auditing skills, including the use of standardized tools for facility readiness and service quality.
• You are a consensus builder, working across multiple stakeholders to advance programmatic decision-making 

Compensation Information

At Last Mile Health, we strive to reward our employees equitably and transparently. This means that we pay our employees based on a clear and consistent methodology and without regard to their identity or personal relationships. We have made this model fully transparent so that everyone has access to all information related to compensation. We hope this helps you better understand Last Mile Health’s values and commitments to our employees. We look forward to answering any questions you may have during the hiring process.

Before applying to this role, please take a moment to learn more about our approach to compensation and how compensation works in each of the countries where we operate. Please find the link to our compensation model and benefits overview below:

OVERVIEW OF LAST MILE HEALTH’S COMPENSATION MODEL

Compensation for this position:

The Band for this position: MWI-3

For Malawi, the range is $44,543 - $55,024 USD per annum, depending upon experience doing an equivalent role.

About Last Mile Health

Last Mile Health partners with governments to design, scale, strengthen, and sustain high-quality community health systems, which empower teams of community and frontline health workers to bring life-saving primary healthcare to the world’s most remote communities. LMH is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information, visitwww.lastmilehealth.org.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at LMH. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.