TOR - Masai Steppe Heartland Director

Position Summary:

This senior position will be responsible for providing overall leadership, management and accountability for performance of AWF’s conservation programs in Masai Steppe Heartland, Northern Tanzania. The Heartland is an important biodiversity area and forms part of the northern tourism circuit of Tanzania with parks such as Tarangire and Lake Manyara. It is inhabited predominantly by Maasai pastoralists whose main livelihood is livestock keeping. This position will report to the Regional Director, Eastern Africa and Vice President, Program Operations through AWF’s established performance reporting mechanisms

The successful candidate will be expected to a highly visible individual in the conservation sector able to manage programs with ecological, social, political, cultural and economic complexities. He/she will also be principally responsible for managing the Scaling up Conservation and Livelihood Efforts in northern Tanzania (SCALE) program funded by USAID Tanzania that seeks to deliver transformational conservation and economic impacts in the wider Tarangire-Manyara-Kilimanjaro-Natron ecosystem (TMKNE) through innovation, the replication of lessons learned, and a strong emphasis on building the capacity of local actors. He/she should have good understanding of Maasai and other cultures within the Heartland and their linkages to conservation as well as in-depth understanding of the following major issues in the landscape: pastoralism, land tenure, gender integration and empowerment, integration of population, health and environment, climate change and agricultural value chains among others.  He/she should have demonstrated experience in the establishment process of wildlife management areas which is the national policy for managing wildlife outside national parks in Tanzania. He/she is expected to be results oriented and able to provide leadership to a team of highly qualified professionals to achieve results and meet program targets and goals. He/she will be expected to exercise a high degree of decision making and sound judgment.

essential Duties: 

1.     

Work with Vice President Program Operations, Thematic Directors and Regional Director to design heartland strategies, define conservation actions that will deliver sustainable conservation, improved livelihoods and other program level goals;

2.     

Provide leadership to implement field-based conservation actions in the Heartland, focused on strengthening the management of conservation areas and related species; increasing livelihood opportunities in community areas with increased productivity in agro-pastoral zones; building capacity of stakeholders; advocating for policy reforms; and adapting/mitigating impacts of climate change.

3.     

Provide leadership for heartland–wide programs especially donor funded projects like USAID-SCALES to deliver program goals, objectives and results;

4.     

Represent AWF at national, district and provincial government levels and with donors to ensure effective collaboration;

5.     

Develop excellent working relationships with major stakeholder groups, national governments, protected area authorities, local government, community and private sector, in the region;

6.     

Manage day-to-day operations of the Heartland program, which includes: effective team management, effective administration and tracking of project finances, program monitoring and evaluation, timely donor reporting, and effective coordination and cooperation between project partners among others;

7.     

Build and manage a team of professional staff; ensure roles & responsibilities are clearly defined and performance is managed with the required focus and discipline;

8.     

Work with AWF’s Finance Department to develop and track working annual budgets;

9.     

Participate in the development and design of proposals for submission to key donors for support of the program; 

10. 

Any other duties as assigned by supervisor