SNV JOB DESCRIPTION

Local Governance Medior Advisor SNV Tanzania









JOB DESCRIPTION



Programme SNV Tanzania

Job name Local Governance Medior Advisor



Contract period 3 years



Indication of salary scale and Salary scale 10

motivation

Operational base 1 vacancy – Dodoma (Central

Portfolio)



Name of predecessor -



Drawn up by Eric de Milliano (CD)



Assisted by Maureen Roell (PC)

Lorraine Dias (HRM)

Date 20 January 2004



Vacancy number



Information about the SNV Tanzania

job/country and environment via

Signature of SNV country

programme director









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Job Description Local Governance Medior Advisor SNV Tanzania









Job environment

Programme environment and aim

SNV Tanzania’s vision is to become a recognised capacity development organisation that

significantly contributes to sustainable poverty alleviation through partnerships with local

organisations that share its development values.

The organisation will be renowned for its thematic expertise in the areas of Local

Governance and Private Sector Development. These expertise will be provided in combination

with knowledge on wider organisational issues and in such a way that the ownership lies with

local organisations.

SNV Tanzania’s mission is to provide capacity building support to meso-level organisations

and local capacity builders with the aim to improve governance and reducing poverty.

To achieve its mission, SNV Tanzania employs a number of experts who are stationed in

different parts of the country. In addition use is made of short-term external expertise

that is available through SNV’s strategic alliances.





Concentration areas

The SNV Tanzania programme consists of three portfolios of experts, one in the Northern

part of the country covering the regions Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara. The second

portfolio is in the Central part of Tanzania covering three regions, Dodoma Morogoro and

Singida regions. A new portfolio that covers the North-Western part of the country, Lake

Zone, has been started in the beginning of 2004. The Lake Zone consists of four regions and

SNV will initially be working in two of these.

Next to the portfolios there are a number of experts at national level. They provide services

to portfolio- and national based clients and are involved in national networking activities.



Central Portfolio



Local Governance and Private Sector Development are the key themes of Portfolio Central.

Below follows a summary of the products, offered by Portfolio Team Central



Local Governance Private Sector Development

Areas of support include coordination, Areas of support include (i) Market

interaction and consultation between Information systems, (ii) Market Linkages and

different actors in the area of local Networking and (iii) Strengthening local

governance. Furthermore, fostering capacity builders in Business Development

transparency and accountability and legal Services and Micro Finance.

/ human rights issues, including the link

to traditional practices have been

identified as areas for support

 General government service provision,  OD support to organisations involved in

coordination & management, and market information and market linkages, and

networking (vertical and horizontal to micro finance service providers

linking)  Financial management advice and capacity

 Lobbying and advocacy building support for resource mobilisation

 Coordination of social services,  Problem analysis, planning, visioning and



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Job Description Local Governance Medior Advisor SNV Tanzania







including water supply strategy formulation

 NGO mobilisation  Linking informal and formal systems in

 Regional support organisations micro-finance

 Support to governance bodies such as  Support to networks (district, issue-based,

district councillors sector)

 Facilitate multi stakeholders processes and

strengthen networks and platforms



The Central portfolio covers the region of Dodoma, Morogoro and Singida regions. None of

the municipalities in this area can be classified as urban area.

The portfolio team operates from an SNV office in Dodoma, which is the designated capital

of the United Republic of Tanzania.



Northern portfolio



Local Governance and Private Sector Development (markets) will remain key themes of

Portfolio North. No specific expertise or programme in natural resource management will be

established, but the local governance programme will give specific attention to the effects

of governance processes on natural resource management. In addition special attention will

be given to the pastoralist issue, which on the longer term could develop into a full

programme.

Below follows a summary of the products, offered by Portfolio Team North:

Local Governance Access to Markets Pastoralism

Central theme: Central theme: creating links Central theme: Using Local

strengthening relationships between private sector Governance and Market

between different actors at actors in order to improve Linkages approaches to

district level to improve access to markets for rural address systemic (gap

local governance producers (pastoralists, traditional/modern) and non-

small farmers, rural informal systemic (unpredictable

entrepreneurs) environment) forces

 Dialogue platforms  OD support to  Support pastoralist

 Strengthening vertical organisations involved in network organisations

accountability market linkages  Support pastoralist

 Revenue collection and  Support for networking women organisations in

utilisation – using the between organisations, networking (issue-based)

partnership concept involved in market model  Linking traditional and

 Support to networks  Products related to modern institutions

(district, issue-based, governance approach in (dialogue, service

sector) ML: PS advocacy, dialogue provision, resource

 Lobby and advocacy for and PP partnerships management)

NGOs working on  Linking informal and  4. Use ML approaches for

impoverishing forces formal systems in Micro- intensification and

 Regional support finance diversification of

organisations pastoralist production

(linking informal and

formal sectors)



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Job Description Local Governance Medior Advisor SNV Tanzania







The Northern portfolio covers the regions of Kilimanjaro, Manyara and Arusha. Districts

with clear entry points are: Babati, Simanjiro, Monduli, Karatu and Same as they are

perceived to have more potential clients. However, no district will be excluded. The

municipalities of Arusha and Moshi will not be a focus, as SNV wants to maintain a rural bias.

The portfolio team operates from the SNV office in Arusha, which is the third largest city

in Tanzania.



Lake Zone portfolio

Identification of this portfolio has just started. The Lake Zone portfolio will initially (2004)

consist of 5 advisors offering expertise similar to the other two portfolios, because that is

where SNV has services and products to offer in line with its new strategy. The portfolio

team members will start up the strategic positioning process in the first quarter of 2004.

From the identification process that took place in the last quarter of 2003 a number of

potential client organisations already emerged. These are being approached to present SNV

and its way of working in order to start up relationships.

Support will initially concentrate on the Mwanza region and gradually expand to Mara and

Sinyanga based on the further exploration by the portfolio team in the first semester of

2004. The portfolio team operates from an office in Mwanza, which is the second largest

city in Tanzania.



National level

Advisors on national level fulfil a functional and instrumental role to the core business of

SNV in the portfolios from a bottom-up perspective: providing capacity building services to

meso level organisations in the fight against poverty. As such national advisors provide their

expertise on demand to portfolio clients, play an instrumental role in linking the experiences

of the portfolio teams with the policy framework and lobby/advocacy groups at national

level, and vice versa, and provide capacity strengthening services to national based

organisations that have been identified as being of strategic importance towards meso level

clients in the portfolios.



Support Services

The support structure of SNV Tanzania consists of a main office in Dar es Salaam and

portfolio offices in Arusha and Dodoma and Mwanza. The national office coordinates human

and financial resources that are needed to support the implementation of SNV Tanzania

mission via its portfolio offices.









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Job Description Local Governance Medior Advisor SNV Tanzania









Organisation chart

National Advisors

Northern

Portfolio

SA

SA + GA

GA





Activity Teams GA







GA + JA



Portfolio Support Offices National Support Office





PC

Admin. Accountant

Office Manager

HRM oficer

Office Assistant

PR&C Officer

Driver

SSM Secretariat/Logistics

Office Assistants

Driver





CD

PC PC GA + JA

SA + GA







GA Activity Teams Activity Teams SA + GA









Central GA + JA GA Lake Zone

Portfolio Portfolio









Legend: CD Country Director

SSM Support Services Manager

PC Portfolio Coordinator

SA SPARKS/Senior Advisor(s)

GA General Advisor(s)

JA Junior Advisor (s)

Country Management Team









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Job Description Local Governance Medior Advisor SNV Tanzania









Job profile



Objective

The objective of this position is to provide Local Governance advisory services to

partner/client activities.





Responsibilities

Responsibility area: Advisory Practice

 Advise in complex client organisations with complex needs;

 Provide services to complex demands of clients and groups of clients.



Responsibility area: Positioning and strategy development

 Follow developments related to work and analyse these in terms of opportunities or

implications for SNV supported activities at meso level;

 Develop and maintain relevant networks, and contacts;

 Contribute to SNV positioning and strategy development on portfolio level;



Responsibility area: Knowledge Development and Management

 Contribute to quality improvement of Advisory Practices in the area of decentralisation;

 Contribute to knowledge management in the area of local governance at portfolio level;

 Contribute to the development of new products and services in the area of Local

Governance in response to opportunities and partner demands;

 Effectively contribute to strengthening SNV Tanzania’s profile as an expert organisation

in the area of Local Governance through participation in external networks, documentation

of experiences, and publications.

Responsibility area: Teamwork and teambuilding

 Adopt a coaching/mentoring role as relevant to fellow and junior advisors;

 Proactively participate in improving team performance and teambuilding processes.





Internal position and external contacts

The positioning of the function is hierarchical under the Portfolio Coordinator. However, the

portfolio team operates on the basis of equality and team members contribute on the basis

of individual competencies. Advisory positions are expected to provide expertise and be

proactive in the further development of the portfolio team and to play a facilitative role in

thematic development and -information exchange at portfolio, national, and cluster level.



Contacts:

Contact: Regional and district Authorities

Aim: To strengthen the capacity of local authorities, related organisations and

institutions (public and private) to plan and implement activities and deliver

services efficiently and equitably. Also discuss and verify collaboration with

and requirements for SNV services to them and get feed back on their

satisfaction regarding the quality of SNV’s services





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Job Description Local Governance Medior Advisor SNV Tanzania







Contact: Civil Society Organisations

Aim: Facilitating their effective participation in the development processes and

joint-action approach



Contact: Ministry of Local Government – Central Government

Aim: Linking to macro policies via national advisors for the benefit of the local

authorities



Contact: Private Sector Organisations

Aim: Facilitating their effective participation in the development processes



Contact: SNV colleagues in Tanzania and the cluster East Africa

Aim: Participate in, and stimulate network(s), share and exchange knowledge. Keep

abreast on relevant developments in the country. Identify opportunities for

collaboration and/or complementarity.



Contact: Local capacity building organisations in the area of Local Governance

Aim: Identify possibilities for and foster strategic partnerships and/or – alliances



Contact: Other stakeholders in the area of Local Governance development

Aim: Be aware of possibilities for external networking, collaboration and funding

possibilities for meso level organisations.





Knowledge competencies and skills

Knowledge competencies and skills

Knowledge and experience:

 Knowledge in theories and practice of decentralisation

 Knowledge in the theory and practice of organisational development

 Masters in Public Administration or other related social sciences

 Academic level of working and thinking, preferably based on a Bachelors/ Masters

degree in PUBLIC/ ADMINISTRATION, Organisational Psychology/Sociology.

 Acceptable knowledge and professional experience with Local governance ( Civil

society building, Decentralization processes).

 Knowledge of English and Kiswahili

 Computer literacy

 At minimum of 5 years of relevant working experience





Skills, ability to:

 Analyse and synthesise complex development issues to integrate them in SNV’s advisory

practice, especially in the area of decentralisation;

 Adapt rapidly to SNV’s context and clients and settle quickly into SNV and grasp nature of

SNV challenges in the portfolio specifically and Tanzania in general;

 Challenge SNV thinking and methodology, respecting and including existing processes on

improving advisory practice;





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Job Description Local Governance Medior Advisor SNV Tanzania







 Devise methodologies to capture and share knowledge and/or contribute to quality of

information sharing in advisory teams and between teams;

 Act as a coach and guide other advisors in advisory processes and Local Governance

thematic area;

Behavioural competencies



Behavioural competency Level Level description

Coaching 2 Displaying effective behaviour independently and on

Planning and organising one’s own initiative

Networking

Problem analysis

Sensitivity

Teamwork

Persuasiveness

Self-development

Results orientation

Cross cultural awareness

Gender awareness



Other requirements:



 Commitment with SNV mission, values and vision of advisory practice;

 Outstanding national network

 Outstanding level of performance

 Academic level of working and thinking, based on a Masters degree

 Good knowledge of the English language, written and spoken;

 Computer skills (MS Office)

 Knowledge of Kiswahili is an advantage;

 Driver’s license









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