Country Director at Feed the Children Tanzania

The Country Director provides strategic leadership for Feed the Children’s Tanzania portfolio, driving high-impact, evidence-based programming that advances child wellbeing, food security, nutrition, and community resilience.

The role is responsible for the overall leadership, growth, quality, and sustainability of country programs, ensuring strong integration between program strategy, operational excellence, financial stewardship, and organizational accountability. The Country Director champions program innovation, adaptive learning, and strategic partnerships while positioning Feed the Children as a trusted partner in Tanzania.

As the organization’s senior representative in-country, the incumbent leads engagement with government, donors, communities, and strategic stakeholders to strengthen impact, influence policy dialogue, and expand sustainable programming.

Works Directly with:

• Regional Leadership – Strategic alignment, performance oversight, and decision-making support
• Programme Teams – Technical guidance, program design, and quality assurance
• Finance Team – Budget oversight, financial reporting, and compliance
• HR Team – Workforce planning, employee relations, and organizational development
• Country Senior Management Team (SMT) – Day-to-day leadership, coordination, and execution of country strategy
• Safeguarding / Compliance Functions – Risk management, investigations, and policy adherence

Supervisory Responsibility

The Country Director has overall leadership and management responsibility for the Tanzania Country Office programs and provides direct supervision to the senior

leadership team. S/he also has indirect supervisory responsibility to all country office staff. across program and support functions, project staff, consultants and short-term technical advisors

Principal Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Leadership & Direction

• Drive evidence-based program design and adaptive management approaches that improve outcomes for children and communities.
• Ensure programs are technically sound, integrated, scalable, and responsive to emerging humanitarian and development needs.
• Promote innovation and continuous learning through strong Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) systems.
• Ensure effective use of program data, evaluations, research findings, and community feedback to inform decision-making and program improvement.
• Strengthen program sustainability through localization, systems strengthening, and community ownership approaches.
• Provide leadership oversight to technical teams across sectors including school feeding, education, livelihoods, nutrition, WASH, and community development.
• Ensure safeguarding, gender equity, inclusion, and child protection principles are embedded across all programs.
• Drive program quality reviews and ensure implementation excellence across all grants and projects.

2. Program Quality & Impact

• Lead the strategic direction, quality, and performance of the country programs, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and Tanzania’s development context.
• Drive evidence-based program design and adaptive management approaches that improve outcomes for children and communities.
• Ensure programs are technically sound, integrated, scalable, and responsive to emerging humanitarian and development needs.
• Promote innovation and continuous learning through strong Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) systems.
• Ensure effective use of program data, evaluations, research findings, and community feedback to inform decision-making and program improvement.
• Strengthen program sustainability through localization, systems strengthening, and community ownership approaches.
• Provide leadership oversight to technical teams across sectors including school feeding, livelihoods, nutrition, WASH, and community development.
• Ensure safeguarding, gender equity, inclusion, and child protection principles are embedded across all programs.
• Drive program quality reviews and ensure implementation excellence across all projects.

3. Resource Mobilization & Partnerships

• Lead fundraising strategy and execution, including donor engagement, proposal development, and diversification of funding streams.
• Identify and secure strategic partnerships to expand program reach and sustainability.
• Strengthen collaboration with national and local government structures to support sustainable and locally led development outcomes.
• Promote alignment of programs with national development priorities and sector strategies.
• Ensure strong donor stewardship and retention.
• Lead strategic positioning and pre-positioning efforts for new funding opportunities.
• Drive development of high-quality, evidence-driven proposals and concept notes.
• Identify opportunities for integrated and multi-sector programming.
• Build strategic consortia and partnerships to strengthen competitiveness for institutional funding.

4. Financial & Operational Oversight

• Ensure robust financial management, budgeting, and forecasting, with strict adherence to internal controls and donor compliance.
• Oversee procurement, logistics, and operational systems to ensure efficiency and transparency.
• Safeguard organizational assets and mitigate risks, including fraud prevention.
• Ensure timely, accurate reporting to donors and headquarters.

5. Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure full compliance with local laws, donor regulations, and organizational policies.
• Lead implementation of safeguarding, anti-fraud, and ethics frameworks.
• Proactively manage organizational risk, including reputational and operational risks.

6. People & Culture Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing, inclusive, and accountable team.
• Oversee recruitment, performance management, succession planning, and staff development.
• Foster a culture of learning, collaboration, and employee wellbeing.
• Address performance and conduct issues promptly and in line with policy.

7. Representation & External Engagement

• Serve as the official representative of the organization in Tanzania.
• Strengthen visibility and credibility through strategic engagement with stakeholders.
• Advocate for the organization’s mission and program impact at national and international levels.
• Represent the organization in national coordination forums, technical working groups, and donor platforms.
• Position Feed the Children as a thought leader in child-focused and community development programming.

8. Supervisory

• Provide strategic direction, performance management, and oversight to all direct reports
• Set and monitor performance objectives and KPIs aligned to country and global strategy
• Lead organizational design, workforce planning, and recruitment for the country office
• Ensure capacity building, coaching, and succession planning for senior and emerging leaders
• Oversee implementation of disciplinary, grievance, and performance improvement processes in line with policy
• Foster a culture of accountability, safeguarding, inclusion, and high performance
• Ensure clear delegation of authority and effective team structures across all functions

Required Qualifications, Experience and Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Development Studies, Public Administration, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• Minimum 8–10 years of progressive leadership experience, including senior management roles in NGOs/INGOs.
• Demonstrated experience leading multi-sector development programs in complex operating environments.
• Strong understanding of program quality standards, MEAL frameworks, and evidence-based programming.
• Experience managing geographically dispersed teams and multi-site operations.
• Experience engaging with government stakeholders at senior level
• Experience in community development and participatory approaches.
• Demonstrated experience leading institutional donor-funded portfolios with oversight of compliance, financial stewardship, contractual obligations, and audit preparedness.
• Demonstrated experience in budget development and financial management across multiple funding sources.
• Strong coordination and communication skills, with the ability to work with international teams.
• High attention to detail, strong organisational skills, and a commitment to confidentiality and accountability.
• Strong understanding of safeguarding and accountability frameworks within international development.

Core Competencies:

• Program Strategy & Quality Leadership
• People Leadership: Builds, motivates, and develops high-performing teams.
• Financial Acumen: Strong oversight of budgets, controls, and compliance.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Influential communicator with strong partnership skills.
• Integrity & Safeguarding: Demonstrates high ethical standards and accountability.
• Adaptability & Resilience: Operates effectively in complex and changing environments
• Adaptive Management & Learning
• Systems Thinking
• Partnership Development
• Data-Informed Decision-Making
• Change Leadership

Safeguarding Policy

FEED strives to provide an environment free from sexual exploitation and abuse and harassment in all places where relief and development programs are implemented. FEED holds a zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and abuse and harassment. FEED expects its employees to maintain high ethical standards, protect organizational integrity and reputation, and ensure that FEED work is carried out in honest and fair methods, in alignment with the FEED Heartbeat and safeguarding and associated policies. Violations of the stated policies will be subject to corrective action up to and including termination of employment.