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The Nature Conservancy offers competitive compensation, 401k or savings-plan matching for eligible employees, excellent benefits, 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.

Endangered Ecosystems - Northern Tanzania (EENT) is a Cooperative Agreement (AID-621-A-15-00004) funded by USAID/Tanzania. The project focuses on protecting rangeland habitat for people and wildlife in northern Tanzania. EENT is entering a new phase in July 2018, with a focus on (1) joint visioning, exchange of lessons, and planning of multiple organizations, communities, and institutions through a stakeholders’ forum on healthy, connected rangelands, (2) harmonizing land use planning across village boundaries for rangelands connectivity in key wildlife corridors, (3) piloting systems for community-based, holistic rangeland management, restoration, and monitoring, and (4) improved collaboration and communications of multiple organizations through a partnership called the Northern Tanzania Rangelands Initiative (www.ntri.co.tz).

You will be a valued team member of a complex, multi-stakeholder project that advances the quality and connectivity of rangelands in Northern Tanzania through improved coordination, learning, and communication of multiple stakeholders on the landscape. You will work with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning specialist to manage information and data associated with healthy, connected rangelands. You will support coordination of the Northern Tanzania Rangelands Initiative (NTRI) by managing key tools, including a joint calendar and information hub. You will help to plan and prepare for events, travel, and consultancies that enable the project to engage with stakeholders across the Northern Tanzania landscape. This is a term-limited position through September 2020 (the remaining duration of the 5-year USAID funding window), and will report to the EENT COP. The position is based at TNC’s office in Arusha, Tanzania.

The Program Assistant provides support in three key areas: (1) coordination of the NTRI partnership, (2) Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), and (3) events and consultancies associated with stakeholder engagement. He/she supports key coordinating functions that help multiple organizations to work in a collaborative way, such as maintaining a shared calendar, tracking the location and nature of partner organizations’ activities, and maintaining a shared database of key resources. He/she supports MEL through activities such as assisting in the cleaning and organization of data collected through the project. The Program Assistant works with the project team to maintain a calendar of events, and helps to ensure that events are effectively planned, participants receive advance information, technical materials are prepared, and reports are completed in a timely manner. 

•  Maintain mechanisms that help multiple partners to jointly plan and implement activities, such as a shared calendar of events, contact database, and resource hub.
•  Maintain a database of the location and nature of NTRI partner activities
•  Support the organization and maintenance of a file management system for consultants, partners, NTRI technical documents, including those prepared with EENT funds, those to be submitted to Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC), and those to be uploaded to the NTRI resource hub. 
•  Track the status of activities and deliverables using an Excel-based tracking tool
•  Work with the MEL Specialist to maintain, monitor, and update performance monitoring and compliance, including:

1.  Ensure use of tools among partners for standardizing monitoring and data storage for USAID compliance [including Development Data Library (DDL), TraiNet, Data Quality Assessments (DQA)]. Ensure that data is compiled and readily available. 
2.  Update and maintain a system for acquiring and filing data verification against indicators. Collect and compile material that provides verification of progress reported against indicators. Support EENT internal data quality assessments, 
3.  Prepare data files and documents in the right format for submission to USAID platforms, including into TraiNet, DD,L and DEC. Upload data and reports following approval by the MEL specialist and/or COP.   
4.  Supporting the GIS Specialist to organize filing of GIS files for NTRI 
5.  Organize filing of published deliverables
6.  Support the maintenance of data on key social and ecological indicators

•  Collect reference documents and information on various topics as assigned.
•  Support recruitment processes for consultants in close coordination with the COP, including shepherding the posting process, scheduling interviews, initial screening of applicant pool, and preparing the Scoring Matrix.
•  Assist in planning and preparing for stakeholder forums and associated field trips and meetings, for project staff and partners. Help to ensure that events are effectively planned, participants receive advance information, technical materials are prepared, and reports are completed in a timely manner. 
•  Support the COP and Senior Grants Specialist on Project closeout activities and seeing that equipment, personnel, and project files are dealt with in accordance with client and TNC policies and regulations.

•  Bachelor’s degree and 3 years’ experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
•  Relationship building skills to work closely with a variety of partners, i.e., media, government officials, internal scientists. 
•  Experience completing tasks independently with respect to timeline(s).
•  Excellent communication skills via written, spoken and graphical means in Swahili.
•  Professional working proficiency in written and spoken English.
•  Experience using common software applications such as Word, Excel, web browsers, etc.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Database management experience.
• Experience with coordination tools such as shared calendars and information portals.
• Excellent communication skills via written, spoken, and graphical means in English.
• Proficiency in spoken Maasai.
• Understanding of Tanzanian government systems that affect natural resources and rangeland management from the village to national level.
• Experience coordinating administrative processes.
• Experience generating reports and interpreting data.
• Experience in business writing, editing, and proofreading.
• Experience organizing time and managing diverse activities to meet deadlines.
• Experience working across teams and communicating with a wide range of people.
• Understanding of current trends in conservation and rangeland management in Northern Tanzania.