Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Websites
References
Training
Timeline
Generic

Bridget Mpata

Lilongwe

Summary

Seasoned social protection expert with over 8 years of hands-on experience spanning policy development, advocacy, and evidence-based program design and execution, including cash-plus programming and adaptive responses to shocks. Adept at rigorous evaluations, pioneering research, and holistic child protection strategies, with a special focus on women's empowerment and inclusive targeting approaches, notably for persons with disabilities. Demonstrated proficiency in project management, capacity building, and fostering participatory methods. Holds a rich academic foundation in development policy & practice public management and social work, driven by an unwavering commitment to uplifting underserved communities.

Overview

11
11
years of professional experience

Work History

Social Policy Officer

UNICEF Malawi
08.2023 - Current
  • Design and execute "cash-plus" programmes including under the Social Protection for Gender and Resilience (SP -GEAR) programme through mobilising, currently over 7,000 beneficiaries into savings and loan groups streamlining gender transformation, promoting nutrition and education outcomes for children through linkages with CBCCs in two districts
  • Supporting linkages of savings and loan groups to financial institutions and networks to enhance their lending capacity and foster income-generating activities and women's economic empowerment through well-financed small-scale businesses, currently reaching 13 groups with a lending base of MK300, 000 per group
  • Spearhead technical assistance for UNICEF and Malawi's Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) in strategic areas like communication strategies, donor visibility, tailored capacity development, and the inception of innovative electronic payment systems, positively impacting over 40,000 households
  • Support the design and implementation of categorical targeting approaches, notably emphasising the inclusion of disability and under three children in the SCTP, ensuring that the program is more inclusive, reaching vulnerable populations often overlooked
  • Support the execution of a longitudinal impact evaluation by analysing large volumes of data, generating strategic insights on the benefits of SCTP for Malawian households and providing feedback on the effectiveness and areas of potential program improvement
  • Effectively coordinate with government departments and partners to improve social protection programs
  • Support development, review, and execution of annual work plans and budgets, aligned with strategic objectives.
  • Gained strong leadership skills by managing projects from start to finish.

National Social Policy Consultant

UNICEF Malawi
12.2021 - 07.2023
  • Support linkages of savings and loan groups to financial institutions and networks to enhance their lending capacity and foster income-generating activities and women's economic empowerment through well-financed small-scale businesses
  • Spearhead technical assistance for UNICEF and Malawi's Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) in strategic areas like communication strategies, donor visibility, tailored capacity development, and the inception of innovative electronic payment systems, positively impacting over 40,000 households
  • Support the design and implementation of categorical targeting approaches, notably emphasising the inclusion of disabilities and under three children in the SCTP, ensuring that the program is more inclusive, reaching vulnerable populations often overlooked
  • Support the execution of a longitudinal impact evaluation by analysing large volumes of data, generating strategic insights on the benefits of SCTP for Malawian households and providing feedback on the effectiveness and areas of potential program improvement
  • Effectively coordinate with government departments and partners to improve social protection programs
  • Support the development, review, and execution of annual work plans and budgets, aligned with strategic objectives.

Programme Policy Officer- Social Protection

United Nations World Food Programme
09.2019 - 11.2021
  • Provided strategic support to the social protection portfolio and implementation of social protection interventions that are adaptable to covariate shocks, in collaboration with programme units, the government and other UN agencies
  • Provided strategic insights into evidence generation, partner collaborations, data system management, and national-level coordination, culminating in actionable strategies, policy guidance, and operational guidelines
  • Demonstrated exceptional project management skills, overseeing the $1.2 million United Nations joint programme for social protection, ensuring optimal utilisation and reporting
  • Successfully managed multiple contracts, including international ones, by crafting Terms of References, negotiating agreements, revising contracts, and supervising tenders
  • Spearheaded phase II of an inter-agency ROI model using the Malawi Unified Beneficiary Registry database and contributed to Shock Sensitive Social Protection (SSSP) research and the development of course materials such as the TRANSFORM Shock Sensitive module.

Child Protection Associate

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
09.2018 - 09.2019
  • Championed the overall protection of children through linkages to primary, secondary and university education and vocational skills for children and adolescents, advocacy, conducting Best Interest Assessments/Best Interest Determinations leading to the identification of durable solutions for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) and refugee children in Dzaleka and Luwani refugee camps, addressing statelessness, documentation, identification of foster homes, resettlement recommendations and protection from all forms of violence, reaching over 20,000 children
  • Contributed towards accountability to affected populations through mentoring four community-based child protection committees and managing community-based feedback mechanisms such as notice boards, suggestion boxes, and consultations
  • Played a pivotal role in drafting essential documents like a child protection policy and strategies ensuring education, protection, and rights enforcement within the agency.

Institutional Capacity Building Officer- Karonga District

Save the Children International
11.2017 - 04.2018
  • Led in the delivery of tailor-made capacity-building initiatives at the district and community level towards disaster preparedness and recovery, successfully identifying local early warning systems, conducting eight community climate change and adaptation dialogue sessions and emergency response simulation drill exercises and resilience activities (including manure making and gully reclamation)
  • Championed rights-based programming and accountability to affected populations through feedback mechanisms by facilitating five dialogue sessions between duty-bearers and rights-holders through community scorecards
  • Coordinated community-based beneficiary registration and verification for over 10,000 households.

Social Support Services Officer- Ntchisi District

Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare
01.2017 - 10.2017
  • Overall management of the social cash transfer programme and Unified Beneficiary Registry activities at the district council level, reaching over 40,000 households

Research Officer (Sexual Reproductive Health Research) UNC Project- Tidziwe Centre

09.2016 - 01.2017
  • Led in the development of a MEAL framework and in administering qualitative in-depth interviews (IDI) and focus group discussions (FGD) for the Microbicide Trial Network AHA and ASPIRE studies, aimed at exploring socio-contextual and trial specific issues affecting participants’ adherence to the dapivirine vaginal ring (VR).

Project Monitor - Relief and Recovery Operations Project- Plan International Inc. Malawi

01.2015 - 05.2016
  • Conducted humanitarian food and cash distributions as part of recovery from El Niño floods, storms and drought reaching over 20,000 households
  • Reconciling proper and efficient beneficiary database reflecting beneficiary demographic data, and overall periodic project monitoring data.

Intern - Social Welfare Officer

Ministry Of Gender – Blantyre Social Welfare Offic
08.2013 - 07.2014
  • Championed the overall protection of children through managing adoption cases, registry in education bursaries, supporting early childhood development centers and provision of assistance to children in conflict with the law as a probation officer.

Education

Master of Development Policy & Practice -

University of Cape Town
South Africa
01.2024

Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management -

University of The Witwatersrand
South Africa
01.2022

bachelor’s degree in social sciences- Social Work -

Catholic University of Malawi
Malawi
04.2014

References

  • George Juwawo, Social Policy Specialist, UNICEF, +265 999 959 426, gjuwawo@unicef.org
  • Osborne Sibande, Programme Policy Officer – Cash Based Transfers, WFP Rome, +265 993 869 859, osborne.sibande@wfp.org
  • Gloria Muleba Mukama, Senior Community Based Protection Officer, UNHCR Pretoria, +264 817695324, mukama@unhcr.org

Training

  • TRANSFORM Shock Sensitive Social Protection
  • TRANSFORM “Leadership and Transformation Learning Package on Building and Managing Social Protection Floors in Africa” fifth run 2020.

Timeline

Social Policy Officer

UNICEF Malawi
08.2023 - Current

National Social Policy Consultant

UNICEF Malawi
12.2021 - 07.2023

Programme Policy Officer- Social Protection

United Nations World Food Programme
09.2019 - 11.2021

Child Protection Associate

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
09.2018 - 09.2019

Institutional Capacity Building Officer- Karonga District

Save the Children International
11.2017 - 04.2018

Social Support Services Officer- Ntchisi District

Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare
01.2017 - 10.2017

Research Officer (Sexual Reproductive Health Research) UNC Project- Tidziwe Centre

09.2016 - 01.2017

Project Monitor - Relief and Recovery Operations Project- Plan International Inc. Malawi

01.2015 - 05.2016

Intern - Social Welfare Officer

Ministry Of Gender – Blantyre Social Welfare Offic
08.2013 - 07.2014

Master of Development Policy & Practice -

University of Cape Town

Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management -

University of The Witwatersrand

bachelor’s degree in social sciences- Social Work -

Catholic University of Malawi

Similar Profiles

CREATE PROFILE
Bridget Mpata