Organization Mission

Sector development in rural areas and food systems, generating employment and enhancing access to markets, finance, technology, and services for small-scale farmers and marginalized rural communities. The strategy also seeks to catalyze private sector finance to support the inclusive, sustainable, and resilient transformation of rural and food systems

Context

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It achieves this by investing in rural communities. IFAD in Tanzania finances programs and projects that enhance agricultural productivity and increase rural incomes, while advocating for policies at local, national, and international levels that contribute to rural transformation.

The Department for Country Operations (DCO) oversees the origination, design, and management of IFAD investments, including both sovereign and non-sovereign operations (NSO), as well as the design and implementation of non-lending activities within country programs, such as policy engagement and South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC). DCO serves as the primary interface with governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders to deliver IFAD”s program of work and provide oversight to ensure the quality of the portfolio.

DCO is led by an Associate Vice-President and is composed of five regional divisions: Asia and the Pacific Division (APR), East and Southern Africa Division (ESA), Latin America and Caribbean Division (LAC), Near East, North Africa and Europe Division (NEN), and West and Central Africa Division (WCA), alongside the Private Sector Operations Division (PSD), and two units: the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Unit (SSTC) and the Fragility Unit (FRU).

The Regional Division ESA is led by a Regional Director, based in the IFAD Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya. The regional team leads the design and delivery of IFAD country and regional programs in ESA. The precise country coverage of the division varies across replenishment periods.

The IFAD Tanzania office manages portfolio of US$2.3 billion programme, with US$189 million directly funded by IFAD. This investment is strategically focused on three critical areas: climate resilience, productivity, and market access. The overarching goal is to reach 2 million rural poor farmers across the crop (seeds), livestock (dairy), and fisheries sectors, emphasizing women, youth, nutrition, and climate change to ensure inclusive and sustainable development through the combination of loan and grant projects.

Under loan projects, the Agriculture and Fisheries Development Programme (AFDP) is being implemented across 41 districts, promoting climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive farming to benefit 260,000 households with a budget of US$77.4 million. The Climate Smart Smallholder Dairy Transformation Programme (C-SDTP) aims to modernize the dairy value chain, targeting 600,000 people with a US$194.4 million investment. The Tanzania Food Systems Resilience Programme (TFSRP) seeks to build a resilient food system for 1.8 million people with a US$2.1 billion investment.

In terms of grants projects, the ICO manages the SAT-CARE (satellite-based ICT), Joint Programme Data for Digital Agriculture Transformation (data for agriculture), Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress Towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment, the Joint Programme on Food Systems Transformation supports sustainable food systems, the Sustainable Coffee Value Chain Development, and the Lake Victoria Small Fish Project.

Key Responsibilities

Under the overall leadership and direct supervision of the Country Director (CD), the Private Sector Development Officer will provide support to improve the market linkage and engagement with private sector cutting across the portfolio as well as the emerging non-sovereign operations portfolio. Within the core objective of IFAD”s private sector strategy in Tanzania, the Officer will be responsible for comprehensive program coordination, building partnerships with the government, private sector, and other development stakeholders. This position will be based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, within the East and Southern African Division (ESA).

The Private Sector Development Officer will report to CD of Tanzania and support IFAD’s country program team. The Private Sector Development Officer will prepare a work plan that is agreed upon and reviewed by the Country Director.
Key Functions and Results
COUNTRY PROGRAMME SUPPORT: The Private Sector Development Officer enhances the technical quality of IFAD country activities through Results-Based Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (RB- COSOP) and project’s design, supervision, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, reporting and completion activities. The Officer provides substantive contributions toward sustainable government strategies, policies and programmes in agricultural development and rural poverty reduction. The Officer is further accountable for capacity building in the programme which will include coordinating meetings, workshops and seminars with project management teams, government, partners and other stakeholders related to the implantation of the IFAD”s private sector strategy in Tanzania.

PARTNERSHIP BUILDING: As a key country team member, the Private Sector Development Officer enhances relationships and collaborations with in-country counterparts through the identification of synergies and proposing coordinated strategies with multilateral/bilateral donors and civil-society organizations involved in agricultural development and rural poverty reduction. The Officer promotes programme and project collaboration and harmonization as well as identifies financing opportunities with other donors. The Officer enhances relationships and builds strong engagement with relevant government agencies.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT/KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: As a key country team member, the Private Sector Development Officer participates in relevant policy meetings and events of interest to IFAD”s target groups and which involve the government, donors, and civil society, including NGOs, in order to develop an enabling environment for sustainable, pro-poor development. The Officer provides his/her contribution to economic and policy dialogue and other development knowledge in the country. From this perspective, participation in policy dialogue pertains to analyses of evidenced based recommendations from projects, analyzing their viability, making proposals and sharing the findings. This dialogue serves to enhance the linkage between the realities on the ground and the voices of the poor with the policies and programmes of the government as well as to ensure the scaling up of the IFAD initiative in the country.

SUPERVISING NON-SOVEREIGN OPERATIONS (NSO) PORTFOLIO: The Private Sector Development Officer plays a crucial role in partnering with the private sector to support agricultural development and reduce rural poverty. The key responsibilities are (i) supporting the design and due diligence of the IFAD NSO facility for Tanzania, (ii) overseeing the implementation of the NSO portfolio, and (iii) monitoring the performance of investments and projects to ensure they meet financial and developmental goals. Building and maintaining relationships with private sector partners, financial institutions, and other stakeholders is essential to facilitate partnerships and leverage additional resources. The Officer provides guidance for effective project management and troubleshooting challenges. Engaging in policy dialogue and participating in networks and forums to advocate for an enabling environment for private sector involvement in rural development is also integral to the role.

Specific deliverables: The Officer will be responsible for the following specific deliverables: (i) cover the role of the Country Programme Coordinator (CPC) during her parental leave by supervising the implementation of the AFDP; (ii) provide inputs to support market linkage and private sector engagement across the portfolio, specifically for AFDP and C-SDTP; (iii) supervise the implementation of ARCAFIM; (iv) a focal point for South-South and Triangular Cooperation for ICO; and (iv) participate and provide inputs to the due diligence/design mission of FOFP-T and EFTA and supervise them once they are approved.

MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS: The Private Sector Development Officer is accountable for integrity, transparency, and equity in the management of IFAD resources. The Officer will be accountable for financial reporting related to travel costs and other tasks associated with IFAD assets and resources. Attend and contribute to Donor meetings where required by the CD.
Key Performance Indicators
Demonstrated technical expertise and credibility in country portfolio management creates the foundation for IFAD”s capacity and reputation for programme delivery and enhances its recognition as a reliable development partner. The Private Sector Development Officer maintains the standards for IFAD”s competence in development at the field level. Substantive support in the development of country strategy, project design, partnership building and policy development provides the foundation for enhancing sustainable government strategies and policies to improve the livelihoods of the poor and other disadvantaged groups.
The Private Sector Development Officer”s key performance indicators for the specific deliverables include ensuring the timely achievement of all AFDP project milestones during the Country Programme Coordinator”s parental leave, with satisfactory ratings in project reviews and positive stakeholder feedback. For market linkage and private sector engagement across the portfolio, the Officer should establish a specified number of new partnerships for AFDP and C-SDTP, enhance market access opportunities for beneficiaries, and conduct a set number of engagement activities with private sector partners. In supervising ARCAFIM, the Officer shall ensure a quick startup of the project implemented by Equity Bank and foster strong synergy with AFDP and C-SDTP. Additionally, the Officer shall provide timely and high-quality inputs for the due diligence/design mission of FOFP-T and EFTA.

Required Skills and Experience

• Advocacy: Know-how in advocacy, to maintain and promote constructive dialogue around IFAD”s vision to external actors
• IFAD partners: Knowledge of IFAD”s partners” functioning and mandate, such as the public sector (e.g. governments and policy, institutions and system), non-state actors (NGOs, CSOs, Foundations, etc.) and private sector actors
• Analytical skills: Outstanding ability to analyze and synthesize qualitative and/or quantitative information from a variety of sources and filter out key insights and recommendations

• Risk management (e.g. reputational): Identification and assessment of potential liabilities and risks in IFAD”s activities, particularly vis-à-vis third parties; ability to handle risks via contingency and mitigation strategies
• Time management: Adherence to deadlines under time constraints and pressure (e.g. to deliver governing body documents on time); ability to coordinate and manage complex workflows and in-house and external teams
• Adaptability: Adaptability and flexibility when facing new or unexpected situations, and to specific constraints and circumstances and managing complex processes
• Initiative and good judgment: High sense of proactive initiative-taking and good judgement (including on security matters)
• Interpersonal skills: Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with others (e.g. visitors, clients, callers, etc.), including senior individuals (e.g. high-level meeting participants)
• Political acumen: Ability to conduct sound political analysis and understand complex environments, providing options and advice
• Verbal communication: Clear, succinct and convincing verbal communication; highly professional, balanced and diplomatic language
• Written communication: Clear, succinct and convincing written communication in the language needed for specific role; highly professional, balanced and diplomatic language (e.g. for drafting of position papers, briefings, etc.)
• Topical expertise – Programme Management for Agricultural Development: Expertise relevant to the specific role (e.g. For ethics office assistant, procedures outlined in the Code of Conduct, Discipline and Anti- harassment provisions of applicable rules and guidelines)
• Project/Programme management (incl. coordination, design, development): Know-how in Project design and evaluation

Core Competencies

• Building relationships and partnerships – Builds and maintains effective working relationships
• Communicating and negotiating – Communicates effectively; creates understanding between self and others
• Demonstrating leadership – Personal leadership and attitude to change
• Focusing on clients – Focuses on clients
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating – Continuously seeks to learn, shares knowledge & innovates
• Managing time, resources and information – Manages own time, information and resources effectively
• Problem-solving and decision-making – Demonstrates sound problem-solving and decision-making ability
• Strategic thinking and organizational development – Personal influence
• Team working – Contributes effectively to the team

Living Conditions

The security level in Dar es Salaam is classified as Moderate (Level 3) according to the UN security management system in Tanzania. While the city generally enjoys a stable environment, security considerations, including those related to terrorism, are taken seriously in support of UN operations in Dar es Salaam.Tanzania is a unique country. It provides for an interesting and enriching environment, but also requires a mature level of cultural awareness, as well as more stamina and commitment than elsewhere to make life comfortable and affordable. Therefore, flexibility and the ability and willingness to live and work in harsh and potentially hazardous conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort, are essential