Director of Government Partnerships at Imagine Worldwide Tanzania

Imagine Worldwide Tanzania (Imagine-TZ) is a non-profit organization affiliated with Imagine Worldwide (IW), a global NGO committed to transforming education through innovative technology. Imagine-TZ seeks to demonstrate that children — when provided with access to personalized, tablet-based learning — can acquire foundational literacy and numeracy skills with minimal adult supervision. By leveraging evidence-based digital learning solutions, IW partners with governments, schools, and communities to expand access to quality education for underserved children across the country. Literacy and numeracy skills are the basis for a better life and the positive benefits to health, wealth, and social outcomes are multi-generational. However, 9 out of 10 children across Sub-Saharan Africa cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10. Imagine works with partners worldwide to confront this crisis, using data and research to continuously refine and scale its foundational learning solution.

Imagine- TZ has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), the President’s Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) in Zanzibar to implement a program known as MsingiTek. This program will be rolled out in five regions of mainland (Morogoro, Manyara, Shinyanga, Tabora, and Ruvuma) as well as across 11 districts of Zanzibar. The first phase of the program, launching in May 2025, will reach 533 public primary schools (500 in mainland Tanzania and 33 in Zanzibar) over the course of 15 months. If MsingTek demonstrates improvements in literacy and numeracy outcomes, it will be scaled nationwide in close collaboration with the government. This initiative has the potential to transform the learning journey for millions of children across Tanzania.

About the Role

The Director of Government Partnerships will play an instrumental role in carrying out Imagine’s mission, to design, deliver and scale tablet-based learning solutions that enable children to become literate and numerate in Tanzania, and secondly institutionalizing the program within the government for long-term sustainability. The Director will join a highly committed and collaborative team that is working together to empower every child, everywhere to achieve their full potential. They will work directly with the Executive Director of Imagine Tanzania and Imagine’s Head of Government Partnerships, to manage Imagine’s path to the national adoption of our edtech program, in Tanzania.

Mission and Objectives

The Director of Government Partnerships will take overall responsibility for the implementation of our tablet learning program in Tanzania and the institutionalization of the program in selected regions with engagement with ministries of TAMISEMI and MoEST.

Mission: Lead Imagine’s mission to advance literacy and numeracy outcomes with an intent to unlock the potential of children in Tanzania.

Objectives:

• Facilitate a rollout and demonstrate successful implementation of tablet learning to advance literacy and numeracy outcomes in an initial 500 public primary schools by end of 2027, with strong evidence of learning impact, to enable nationwide adoption of the program and secure support from larger funders.
• Advance the program to nationwide scale serving all public primary schools in Tanzania by 2035.
• Institutionalise the program within existing structures of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and TAMESEMI.

Key Responsibilities

The responsibilities of this role include, but will not be limited to, the following:

Collaboration between Imagine Tanzania and MoEST, PoRALG and MoEVT:

• Develop government engagement plans, setting clear objectives, and activities;
• Setup regular meetings with different government stakeholders to discuss program progress and resolve any challenges with implementation;
• Support and facilitate functional teams or working groups between IM, MoEST, PoRALG and MoEVT and ensure effective joint planning and delivery of activities between the IM, MoEST, PoRALG and MoEVt personnel to build government capacity;
• Oversee workstreams, assess resource requirements and plan adequately to support government engagement activities;
• Support the Executive Director engagement with MoEST, PoRALG and MoEVT officers at different levels to ensure capacity building and ownership of the program;
• Support program implementation governance arrangements and ensure they operate efficiently between the program and the government;
• Collaborate with the MoEST, PoRALG and MoEVT to implement the program with a clear goal of devolving power and ownership to government actors over time.

Institutionalization of the Program:

• Uphold principles of system strengthening where Imagine plays a temporary role in program implementation with a clear goal of driving MoEST, PoRALG and MoEVT full ownership of the program;
• Lead in-country government engagement strategies in liaison with Imagine Worldwide to ensure continued alignment with Government on key program related matters;
• Liaise with MoEST, PoRALG and MoEVT 's policy and planning units to drive integration of program activities in the Ministry's primary operating systems for enhanced support;
• Contribute to designing metrics and criteria to measure, monitor and report on progress towards institutionalization goals;
• Explore critical partnerships within the government education delivery system and secure their alignment and support for the program.

Stakeholder Management:

• Collaborate closing with global Imagine Worldwide on government engagements and efforts to manage stakeholders;
• Develop and manage detailed stakeholder mapping of all relevant government stakeholders and categorise each stakeholders potential influence and impact on our programs and the institutionalization thereof;
• Contribute to and maintain systems (equivalent to a customer relationship management system) to manage stakeholder contact information and track engagements and required actions to enable proactive and considered engagements and mitigate against disruptions in relationships with key government stakeholders;
• Develop and implement engagement plans with prioritized stakeholders to solicit support and secure buy-in through meetings, school visits, special events, hosting workshops, making financial and non-financial contributions to government projects, supporting local edtech hubs etc.

Advocacy and Policy Alignment:

• Develop networks and relationships with key stakeholders in MoEST, PoRALG and MoEVT and other relevant ministries whose decisions or influence has a bearing government’s buy-in to the program such as curriculum pedagogy and energy;
• Organise and coordinate itineraries of school tours for government stakeholders, donor visits and special guests;
• Build and maintain local political and industry relationships to support the program;
• Raise Imagine Worldwide local profile and stature with government bodies and other key education stakeholders through thought leadership and proactive engagement;
• Keep abreast of relevant policy developments in Tanzania and conduct research as required to guide country office program roll out activities;
• Lead advocacy for new policies or policy changes required to enable long-term sustainability of our programs;
• Support local engagements with multilateral organizations such as GPE and World Bank;
• Support dissemination of project outcomes and learnings with stakeholders.

Program Implementation:

• Lead collaboration with government stakeholders to achieve alignment on the program implementation, management and governance processes;
• Support ISP’s presence at district levels to direct program monitoring in collaboration with MoEST, PoRALG and MoEVT and the District Education Offices;
• Leverage government relationships to manage project risks with creative problem-solving and escalations as required.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Advanced degree in political science, education, or social science;
• A minimum of ten (10) years of working experience in government affairs, preferably in a leadership role within international multicultural organisations (commercial or non-profit).

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Ability to take knowledge and link governments and policy influencers with the technical resources and messages needed.
• Significant experience in government relations, an extensive knowledge of federal politics, legislative process, and administrative actions on education, climate and/or energy.
• Able to identify viable administrative pathways for implementation priorities as well as major challenges, and develop effective, creative strategies to influence government stakeholders.
• Ability to listen, communicate, and develop trusting relationships with internal colleagues and external stakeholders to bring together multiple perspectives into a cohesive effort.
• A skilled internal and external relationship builder, with the ability to construct and maintain strong networks of policy influence within the industry and governing institutions.
• Experience in a global environment working with governments and government agencies; in the policymaking process with a strong record of leading and delivering effective results.
• Sincere commitment to work collaboratively with all constituent groups, including staff, board members, RSPO members, stakeholders and other supporters.
• High energy, maturity, and leadership with the ability to serve as a unifying force and to position communications discussions at both the strategic and tactical levels.