Summary

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is recruiting for a Senior Policy Officer for Political Affairs, Public Diplomacy and (Economic) Governance who will be responsible for monitoring, analyzing and advising the Embassy staff on relevant political developments in Tanzania as well as issues related to human rights, media and Prevention of Violent Extremism & Conflict / Countering Violent Extremism. He/she will focus specifically on political and policy developments of immediate relevance to the Netherlands agenda and policy priorities, contributing to an enabling business environment for sustainable trade and investment to flourish, including the promotion of human rights.  

Responsibilities

• Advise and provide information on the Tanzanian political situation in general; on formal (protocol) arrangements and informal relationships and processes; on issues relating to the structure of the Union;; on the functioning of the parliament and key judicial processes.
• Collect, verify and analyze documents, reports and press and social media articles on political developments in Tanzania.
• Liaise and maintain relations with relevant public and private Tanzanian and Zanzibari organizations, other diplomatic missions and think thanks, and relevant stakeholders engage in economic governance, political affairs and media/press. Advise EKN-staff members on political and democratic and economic governance issues, and provide concrete assistance if necessary.
• In close coordination with colleagues and in line with policy objectives, assess, select and manage policy and PD projects, resulting in a coherent portfolio of interventions that fully supports and strengthens the Netherlands’ policy priorities. Responsible for aligning the NL project support with other donors (EU, UN, bilateral embassies).
• Responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating and/or implementing public diplomacy activities to promote the Netherlands’ image, knowhow and expertise via local and social media and support Tanzania-Dutch cooperation.

Education and Qualifications

• Has a university degree and at least 5 years’ experience in relevant fields.

Requirements

• Preferably working experience with or in an embassy or international organisation in Tanzania.
• Is familiar with the political situation, dynamics, history and governance environment of Tanzania.
• Has a broad network of contacts: politicians, civil servants in Ministries and other statal services, in academia, civil society, and media and preferably also on Zanzibar. As to be informed and connected, proven networking capability is key for this position
• Is prepared to acquire in-depth knowledge of relevant and/or upcoming political, security and economic governance issues in Tanzania and the region;
• Is a Tanzanian national. Moves around easily in an international environment.
• Has Kiswahili or English as a mother tongue and has a excellent command of English (in writing and speaking).
• Is prepared to do regular duty travel, if required also abroad.
• Has excellent oral and verbal communication and interpersonal skills, with mature understanding of cultural diversity; has analytical skills; takes pro-active initiative; is creative, can think ‘out-of-the-box’; communicates in an open and direct manner (also to superiors); thinks independently and critically, yet is flexible and constructive.
• Has reasonable computer skills (Outlook, Word, internet), and is prepared to learn to work with work-related applications.
• Has experience in programme/project management and financial/budgetary matters.
• Has the ability of translating insights and information into advice, plans and reports and in assessing their policy and financial implications.
• Knowledge of new and traditional methods of information and communication.
• Is a team player, and prepared to be flexible in responding to new upcoming policy priorities

Characteristics

For this vacancy, we seek a bright, enthusiastic, open-minded and committed person who enjoys working in an international environment.

He or she is a team player, and will be able to function in different cultural settings, especially within the informal, direct and open-door atmosphere of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

He/she will be a pro-active person.

He/she will not be reluctant to enter into debate and will be able to put forward and defend his/her views.

He/she will understand the specifics of working in an institution that represents a foreign country and does not mingle in internal and domestic affairs in Tanzania.

A good understanding of the need for a high level of discretion and integrity is needed.

You need to be able to switch easily between the different components of your job and link them to the core policy priorities of the Embassy.

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds