BRAC is an award-winning international non-governmental development organization, with the vision of a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realize their potential. BRAC is a leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programs to assist poor and disadvantaged communities in low-income countries, including in conflict-prone and post-disaster settings. It is an organization of and for the people of the Global South, pioneering new development and social enterprise approaches to equip communities to achieve prosperity. As well as being the world’s biggest NGO by the number of staff and people directly reached, BRAC has regularly been ranked the number one NGO in the world by the Geneva-based NGO Advisor, an independent organization committed to highlighting innovation, impact, and governance in the non-profit sector. BRAC retained the top spot in 2020 among the top 500 NGOs for the fifth consecutive year.
BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. It started its first program outside of Bangladesh in Afghanistan in 2002 and has since reached more than 6.5 million people in 11 countries in Africa and Asia. BRAC has a holistic approach to development that uses a wide array of programs that include microfinance, education, health, agriculture, gender, and human rights. BRAC invests in communities’ own human and material resources, catalyzing lasting change and creating an ecosystem in which the poor have the chance to seize control of their own lives.
About the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative
The Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (“UPGI”) is a global unit of BRAC that was founded in 2016 to build off the success of BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation program in Bangladesh. BRAC UPGI aims to position the Graduation approach as a key driver to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide. It does this by:
Advocating for uptake of the Graduation approach by policymakers, national governments, multilateral institutions, and non-governmental organizations; and
Effective adaptation and implementation of the Graduation approach in countries around the world, supported through technical assistance and capacity strengthening for external stakeholders.
In 2002, BRAC pioneered the Ultra-Poor Graduation (“Graduation”) approach in Bangladesh – a holistic intervention to help people lift themselves from extreme poverty – after recognizing that existing poverty alleviation programs were not reaching the poorest people. Through the provision of livelihood assets, cash transfers, and continued mentoring and training, the Graduation approach addresses participants’ multidimensional needs within the local context and helps lift people from extreme poverty into sustainable livelihoods.
Graduation is an evidence-based, scalable intervention proven to break the poverty trap for the long term. So far, BRAC’s flagship Graduation program has impacted over 2 million Bangladeshi households—totaling over 9 million people. To help eradicate extreme poverty, BRAC UPGI is working to scale globally by integrating Graduation into existing government programs and help 21 million more people lift themselves from extreme poverty by 2030.
About the Position
BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) seeks to hire a Program Director to spearhead BRAC UPGI’s work in Tanzania. The role will offer strategic leadership to UPGI’s country team in Tanzania in their partnerships with governments and other key partners involved in the design and implementation of government led graduation programme(s).
We are looking for candidates with substantial knowledge and experience working with governments, who are interested in thinking outside the box, and who are excited to explore how the current model of graduation can be adapted and scaled by the Government of Tanzania.
The Government of Tanzania has formally expressed interest in partnering with BRAC International to strengthen its national Social Protection Program through the adoption of the Graduation Approach. This collaboration aims to enhance the impact of social protection interventions by supporting targeted households to move from extreme poverty toward sustainable livelihoods.
The Graduation Approach—pioneered and scaled by BRAC—combines elements such as asset transfers, skills training, financial inclusion, and mentoring. It has been globally recognized for its effectiveness in empowering vulnerable populations to achieve long-term economic resilience.
Through this partnership, BRAC will provide:
Technical assistance in adapting the Graduation model to Tanzania’s local and operational context
Capacity building for government and implementing partners
Monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track household progress and impact
Policy advisory support to align the approach with national development goals
This initiative aligns with Tanzania’s commitment to inclusive growth and poverty reduction under its national development agenda. It also reflects BRAC’s strategic focus on scaling evidence-based solutions through government systems to maximize reach and sustainability.
A member of UPGI’s Senior Leadership Team, and reporting to UPGI’s Executive Leadership Team, the Program Director for Tanzania will lead and manage BRAC UPGI’s country strategy – engaging partners, including governments, multilateral and bilateral institutions on issues of extreme poverty; supporting the co-design of high quality government led graduation programmes, and ensuring government partners are able to access and leverage support and technical assistance from BRAC and other civil society organizations and development actors. This role will have the opportunity to be creative in delivering on this strategy, including but not limited to building new partnerships and strategic scaling opportunities, and will be supported with BRAC UPGI’s global support units (Operations, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, and Program Design and Impact).
This position will be based in Dar Es Salaam and will work closely with BRAC UPGI team members based in the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Responsibilities
Management and Leadership
Growing, building and leading a team of graduation and governance experts in Tanzania
Meaningful participation as a member of UPGI’s global Senior Leadership Team, and BRAC International’s Leadership Team, including travel to other UPGI or BRAC countries as required
Strategy
Refine and strengthen BRAC UPGI’s country strategy and work plan in Tanzania, developing new partnerships and expanding current relationships with existing partners.
o Explore new opportunities to engage and influence program development and policy revisions with government counterparts.
o Conduct strategic stakeholder meetings and workshops and share learnings and evidence with partners to drive influence.
o Assess opportunities to work directly with Local Government Units (LGUs) with high levels of extreme poverty and enhance locally led poverty alleviation programs.
Cultivate and manage partnerships with the government (at multiple levels), multi/bi-laterals, donors, and private sector actors.
Create stakeholder engagement strategies that drive the overarching country strategy in coordination with UPGI’s technical support units.
Country Engagement
Actively engage in government consultations and working groups, multi- and bi-lateral working groups, and civil society working groups related to poverty reduction, economic inclusion, and social protection to build partnerships and influence.
Identify policy asks for governments and develop policy briefs to support national scale-up of Graduation, including where and how the Graduation can be integrated into new or existing government policies/programs.
Identify, explore, and pursue partnership opportunities and entry points for scaling the Graduation approach within Tanzania more broadly with many potential stakeholders, including government, CSOs, media, peer agencies, think tanks, and other research organizations.
Support country engagement team members liaising with and advising national and local government and multilateral institution partners such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and various UN agencies on the design, delivery, evaluation, and promotion of impactful Graduation and other economic inclusion approaches integrated into social protection systems nationally.
Other (Safeguarding Responsibilities)
Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the program’s goals of safeguarding implementation.
Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action.
Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do so.
Qualifications
A proven track record in developing strong relationships with partners, governments, civil society actors, multilateral institutions, and/or peer agencies.
Experience leading strategy development and implementation, particularly efforts to build effective coalitions or networks to influence policy decisions
Master’s degree in social sciences, international development, or other related fields required.
10-15 years of experience in international development, government service, NGOs, or civil society organizations required.
Sector expertise in livelihoods and economic inclusion, social protection, gender, or financial inclusion; Graduation, cash-plus, or similar experience preferred.
Proactive leader with the ability to prioritize and effectively manage competing work streams.
Strong knowledge of Tanzania government systems, previous experience working within government institutions, highly desirable.
Proven experience developing conducive work environments, environments that encourage and promote debate, inclusiveness and innovative thinking.
Diplomatic, with strong interpersonal skills and a high degree of political sensitivity.
Fluency in English and one or more national language required.
Exceptional communication and representational skills
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