Martin Kalima is a results-driven development leader with over fourteen years of experience providing strategic leadership across public sector reform, international development, and not-for-profit organizations. He has built a distinguished career leading complex, high-impact initiatives at the intersection of government engagement, innovation, communications, and social change.

He previously served as Senior Manager, External Relations at GiveDirectly, where he led national government and stakeholder engagement in Malawi. In this role, he provided strategic leadership on external outreach, political and technical engagement, and donor-facing communications—strengthening awareness of cash transfer programs and securing high-level political buy-in. He was instrumental in shaping stakeholder strategies, managing external risk, leading media engagement that generated both local and international coverage, and strengthening internal knowledge management and storytelling capacity.

He has also held senior leadership role at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, where he managed government relations and led the end-to-end delivery of transformative public sector technology initiatives. He advised senior government leaders on innovation for service delivery, drove visibility of reform outcomes through strategic communications, and managed complex work plans and budgets. His leadership included designing and delivering Malawi’s first Artificial Intelligence for Leaders’ Summit, leading national digital skills and leadership programs for civil servants, and supporting policy reforms such as the migration to electronic payments in government institutions.

Earlier in his career, Martin provided country-level leadership as Senior Campaigns Manager at Development Media International, overseeing national strategy, budgets, and teams as part of a global consortium delivering large-scale public health campaigns. He previously held leadership roles at Population Services International and Human Network International, where he led the design and implementation of mass media, youth engagement, and technology-enabled behavior change programs reaching millions of people nationwide.

Across his career, Martin’s leadership is guided by a strong commitment to integrity, efficiency, and innovation—values that shape how he builds trust, delivers results, and drives sustainable impact.