Northern Tanzania Rangelands Initiative Coordinator

JOB TITLE: Northern Tanzania Rangelands Initiative Coordinator
JOB FAMILY: Conservation
JOB NUMBER: 250006
SALARY GRADE: 8
LOCATION: Arusha, Tanzania

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The Northern Tanzania Rangelands Initiative (NTRI) is a collaboration aimed at facilitating sustainable rangeland management and natural resource conservation across the Maasai Steppe and adjacent areas in northern Tanzania.  NTRI is designed to facilitate better communication and information sharing across the Maasai Steppe among many development, conservation and health care organizations in order to achieve whole system conservation.  One of NTRI’s key objectives is to increase awareness and funding for a common vision that balances sustainable rangeland and conservation management in northern Tanzania.  NTRI now seeks a Coordinator to lead the development of this initiative, working closely with a core group of collaborators that includes The Nature Conservancy, Ujamaa Community Resource Team, Wildlife Conservation Society, Dorobo Fund for Tanzania, and Maliasili Initiatives, amongst other partners.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s  degree and 7-10 years’ experience in conservation practice or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience fundraising for a program with multiple partners: identifying donor prospects, donor cultivation, proposal writing and stewardship.
• Experience managing complex or multiple projects, including managing finances and coordinating the work of other professionals and partners.
• Experience in partnership development (NGOs, community, government, etc.).
• Fluency in both English and Kiswahili

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

The NTRI Coordinator will report to the Steering Committee of NTRI comprised of Wildlife Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy, Dorobo Fund for Tanzania and Maliasili Initiatives.  The Coordinator will lead the implementation of the following priorities:

1. Work closely with the partner organizations to further develop, monitor, and amend as necessary the vision, priorities, collective work plans, and site-specific objectives of NTRI,  and to communicate these to a wider audience of potential partners and collaborators.
2. Strengthen overall coordination, communication, and field-level collaboration amongst different stakeholders and key actors within the Maasai Steppe landscape, in order to improve overall achievement of shared rangeland management and conservation objectives and forge new collaborations towards common aims and interests. Specific targets and priorities within this area include:

• Improved outreach, dialogue, and coordination with tourism industry investors in the Maasai Steppe, including linking with local community-level initiatives, Wildlife Management Areas, and other landscape-scale conservation planning;
• Improved communication and dialogue with key government agencies on issues such as anti-poaching collaborations with local communities, facilitation of Wildlife Management Areas, and community conservation initiatives;
• Strengthened linkages and collaborations between organizations working on natural resource, development and wildlife conservation within the Maasai Steppe, and organizations working on issues of pastoralist development, agriculture, and community land rights.

3. Provide support and coordination to field-level community-based natural resource management initiatives being carried out by NTRI partners and other collaborating organizations, including:

• Advise and assist in facilitation of community-tourism joint ventures, Wildlife Management Areas, payment for ecosystem services initiatives, and other incentive-based landscape management and conservation measures.
• Advise and assist in efforts to strengthen community land rights and land use planning in key sites, as pursued by NTRI partners and collaborators.

4. Play a lead role in the collection, consolidation, and tracking of different sources of data relevant to understanding and monitoring key natural resource management trends and processes throughout the Maasai Steppe.
5. Provide general administrative backstopping of NTRI. 

  REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Outstanding process facilitation skills; ability to facilitate collaboration with diverse and complex groups of individuals and organizations, to forge and maintain common interests and shared objectives, and guide collective action processes towards collectively identified goals.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills, including fluency in both English and Kiswahili and proven interpersonal and negotiation skills.
• Familiarity with different dimensions of sustainable natural resource management in northern Tanzania, including understanding of community-based conservation, pastoralist development concerns, community land tenure issues, tourism development, and conservation finance.
• Experience with community-level land and natural resource management planning and facilitation amongst pastoralist groups in northern Tanzania/East Africa.
• Successful experience in partnership development (partners, community, government, etc) including extensive networking with high-level conservation contacts; politically savvy.
• Understanding of social, legal, policy, and governance context of natural resource management in northern Tanzanian landscapes.
• Proven project development and management experience, including ability to monitor and evaluate progress in relation to work plans and set benchmarks, familiarity with budgeting and strategic planning processes.
• Demonstrated experience in raising funds for large programs including proposal development, donor cultivation, delivery of results and stewardship of donors.
• Demonstrated leadership and visionary qualities and ability to work effectively with and through others in a decentralized and geographically dispersed organization.

  COMPLEXITY/PROBLEM SOLVING:

• Negotiates complex agreements, sometimes in politically sensitive environments
• Develops and implements creative ideas to improve overall performance in conservation strategies
• Formulates, evaluates, and decides broad organizational policies and long-term programs
• Resolves complex issues involving multiple program areas independently
• Anticipates, diagnoses, and resolves complex problems and identifies creative solutions
• Interprets guidelines, evaluates information, and modifies processes to adapt to changing circumstances
• Manages and prioritizes tasks from multiple sources
• Designs, implements, and directs complex and diverse projects, encompassing multiple programs and coordinating the work of other professionals, inside and outside the organization.  Incorporates cross-disciplinary knowledge to support program objectives.

  DISCRETION/LATITUDE/DECISION-MAKING:

• Ensures program accountability and legal compliance
• Consults peers to review own work
• Assesses decisions’ potential impact on colleagues’ work, public image, scientific credibility, and financial and legal standings
• Makes decisions based on incomplete or ambiguous information and accepts associated risks
• Makes independent strategic decisions frequently based on analysis, experience, and judgment

  WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL EFFORT: The NTRI Program Coordinator may work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, and under physically demanding circumstances. These conditions may:

• require occasional physical exertion and/or muscular strain
• present occasional possibility of injury
• require long hours in isolated settings

This position may also:

• require frequent travel domestically and/or internationally
• require evening and weekend hours 

  BENEFITS:  The Nature Conservancy offers competitive compensation, excellent benefits, and flexible work policies and a collaborative work environment. We also provide professional development opportunities and promote from within. As a result, you will find a culture that supports and inspires conservation achievement and personal development, both within the workplace and beyond.  

HOW TO APPLY 

To apply for this position, please submit a resume/CV and cover letter to Africa@tnc.org subject line: NORTHERN TANZANIA RANGELANDS INITIATIVE COORDINATOR. Applications must be submitted by Friday February 28^th, 2013 to be considered. 

The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer