Summary

We are looking for a Project Manager for a four-year project starting in 2026. The project’s vision is to economically empower 900 Tanzanian youth through enhanced employability gained from a high-quality industry-oriented education system. This should be achieved through launching a dual apprenticeship model in the electrical installation and plumbing thereby equipping young people with demand-driven skills. The project will facilitate this programme in collaboration with 30 construction companies and public and private vocational education and training stakeholders (VET) in Dar es Salaam. In the long-term, dual apprenticeship in electricity and plumbing should be institutionalized within Tanzania’s VET system and apprenticeships should become a strategic HR solution for companies.

The Project Manager is the strategic and operational head of the project, responsible for providing vision, leadership, and oversight across all programmatic areas. This role ensures that interventions are coherent, impactful, and aligned with organizational values, donor priorities, and national frameworks. The Project Manager steers the private sector engagement and training and learning quality component as well as the support functions like Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning, Administrative Operations, and Communications. The Project Manager also fosters collaboration and maintains strong relationships with government, private sector, training provider and donor stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Project Planning and Implementation

• Provide overall strategic direction and leadership for the  project with its long-term vision of institutionalizing dual apprenticeship in electricity and plumbing within Tanzania’s VET system and make apprenticeships a strategic HR solution for companies
• Manage the project in accordance with its objectives and in line with agreed milestones.
• Ensure timely delivery of outputs and continuous improvement of project quality.
• Prepare annual operational plans and budget and monitor their implementation while managing and communicating risks
• Ensure alignment of all activities with donor priorities, organizational values, and national development frameworks.
• Develop project progress reports for submission to the donor, the steering committee and other internal and external stakeholders

Learning and evidence based adaptive project management

• Ensure the M&E system is integrated in the project management system and use data and evidence for decision-making and adaptive management.
• Apply critical thinking and adaptive management to synthesize insights and make rational judgements
• Generate learning, case studies and other knowledge products.

Stakeholder management and influencing

• Maintain and strengthen relationships with government, private sector, training providers and donor stakeholders.
• Represent project at high-level meetings and with external partners.

Administration and human resource management

• Oversee administrative operations, including financial management
• Manage the project budget, in line with organisation's rules on financial management.
• Lead and inspire a diverse team, including direct and indirect reports across multiple teams.
• Foster collaboration and coherence across private sector engagement and training and learning quality component as well as the support functions like Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning, Administrative Operations, and Communications.
• Promote talents and ensure capacity building of staff through on-the-job training and coaching as well as their participation in relevant training courses and programs

Other task

• Comply with company's rules and procedures such as the Code of Conduct (CoC) and Country Manual as well as donor requirements and respective the laws of Tanzania.
• Perform other tasks in line with the job description and as requested by the Country Director.

Education and Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Development Studies, Project Management, Education, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• A Master’s degree (MBA etc.) is an asset.
• A PMP or project management certification is an asset

Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in project management, development cooperation, or multi-stakeholder initiatives
• Experience in private sector engagement is a must, having previously worked in private sector is a distinct advantage
• Experience applying a market system development approach is an added advantage
• Understanding of youth and workforce skills development, inclusive economic growth, Technical and Vocational Education and Training context as well as adaptive learning approaches is an advantage
• Proficiency in monitoring and evaluation approaches, with the ability to use data and evidence for decision-making and program steering.
• Experience of managing budgets of at least 750 000 USD a year
• Track record of delivering measurable outcomes through large-scale project
• Proven ability to lead, develop, and inspire diverse teams, with both direct and indirect management responsibilities.
• Strong strategic and operational thinking, with the ability to design, implement and adapt interventions for relevance, sustainability, and impact.
• Experience working in complex, multi-stakeholder environments and translating strategies into action.

Characteristics

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to work collaboratively across diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities, able to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Critical thinking, entrepreneurial mindset and a solution-oriented, adaptable personality with the ability to make sense of complexity.
• Committed to learning, development and improvement in pursuit of own objectives and those of the team and organization
• High ethical standards, professionalism, and commitment to organisational’s values of inclusivity, learning, and accountability.
• Fluency in English and Swahili (written and spoken) is required.

Reporting To

• Country Director