Summary

The Country Director will provide leadership internally and externally for the company in Tanzania. The role will support the effective and coherent delivery of programmes, our work with the Centre of Government (CoG) and lead political engagement and influential sharing of Company’s learning. 

Responsibilities

Lead Presentation of the Organization in Tanzania

• Act as the primary point of contact and representation externally for the Organization in Tanzania – helping to manage our brand/reputation and our broader presence and positioning in-country.
• Build and maintain effective, credible relationships and networks with senior government and non-governmental stakeholders - to ensure the Organization has sufficient knowledge of Tanzania political economy, effective political support and relationships across our work in Tanzania.
• Develop and maintain an informal network of senior friends / advisors that ensure we remain well-informed and positioned in Tanzania.
• Represent the Organization in both country-level fora and cross-cutting national level discussions, including with government and other stakeholders, in support of the company’s organisational and programme objectives.

Represent Tanzania Across the Organization and Oversight of Risk Management

• Maintain close assessment of political economy developments and broader trends in Tanzania and retain a network of contacts to inform this. Examples of this may include collecting evidence of the sectors/CoG work that have higher political support and those with significant vested interests to inform the organization’s response.
• Support the organization to assess and manage in-country risks in Tanzania – whether political, social, economic or other.
• Ensure Tanzania is well understood and represented across the organization – feeding the political context and opportunities into the organization strategies and plans in a balanced way.

Support the Centre of Government Work (COG)

• Work closely with the Insights Director and the Programme Director (PD), Insights to manage senior political relationships and support the work and positioning of the team.
• Support the Insights Director and PD Insights with fundraising and partnerships, by developing and managing effective relationships with existing and potential partners in Tanzania.
• Support the identification and analysis of opportunities for partnering and influencing inclusive growth in Tanzania, aligned to strategy and objectives of the organization.

In - Country Leadership, Communications and Staff Engagement

• Establish and oversee a Tanzania leadership group that ensures effective in-country coordination and coherence, effective communications and a sense of shared leadership.
• Provide leadership that role models the organization’s values and behaviours to inspire staff and create an effective culture in support of delivery and sharing learning.
• Ensure effective communications and flow of information across programme / functional teams in Tanzania, as well as across the organization more broadly.
• Facilitate all business partnership functions (HR, Operations, Finance) to be implemented effectively in Tanzania, championing where necessary and providing senior support to ensure in-country coherence or resolution of key issues.
• Champion the organization's-wide staff engagement and change management initiatives, to help ensure effective implementation in the Tanzania branch office.
• Support with coordination of the annual, mid-year and end of year operational planning and budgeting cycles, leading development of plans and budgets for Tanzania.
• Support in-country staff to fulfill their role requirements, providing mentoring and coaching to support professional development where appropriate.
• Actively contribute as a member of the organization’s Leadership Group.

Education and Qualifications

• Substantial leadership and management experience at senior levels in Tanzania and the East African region, with experience across public, private and development sectors.
• Successful track record of leading and implementing change.
• Exposure to sector/market systems development, the organization's Approach and its core principles, which guide the implementation of all our programmes, will be an added advantage.
• Understanding of the Tanzanian context and political economy, with experience working with government/public bodies and an existing network of contacts.
• A commitment to African development and an understanding of the development landscape.

Requirements

• Proven experience of building relationships and the ability to engage at very senior levels of business and government.
• Experience successfully managing, coaching and professionally developing team members working within a complex, fast-paced professional environment.
• Board-level experience, bringing an understanding of good governance and an ability to develop and manage senior relationships sensitively.

Characteristics

• Well-honed leadership and management skills, able to inspire and motivate teams, work in a calm and confident manner, and translate ideas into actions.
• Excellent judgement, with the ability to think through different courses of action and make pragmatic, practical decisions.
• Strong organisation, planning and time-management skills, with a proven ability to plan and prioritise own work and that of others and meet deadlines under pressure, often balancing what appear to be conflicting and sometimes changing priorities.
• Ability to establish effective governance processes and ensure they are consistently adhered to when working with external experts and advisors.
• Excellent interpersonal, diplomatic and persuasive skills – able to build a strong rapport with senior level public and private sector stakeholders and be comfortable negotiating political relationships.
• A genuine team-player, with an ability to manage complexity, strong facilitation and listening skills.
• Able to quickly establish credibility and respect as a leader, demonstrating maturity and presence, and building strong working relationships and rapport with colleagues.
• Able to work with others in a collaborative and solution-focused manner to achieve win-win outcomes.