MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under direct supervision of the Country Representative, Tanzania (and advisory support from the regional heads of Coastal and Ocean Resilience and Land Systems), the Portfolio Manager, Coastal and Ocean Resilience will work closely with designated focal points from relevant Ministries, Government Institutions, Academic and Research Institutions, partner NGOs and donor.

The Portfolio Manager, Coastal and Ocean Resilience, will move the COR portfolio from a collection of projects to a strategically integrated programme platform that:
Apply systems thinking and adaptive management
Catalyzes policy and institutional reform
Attracts large-scale financing with strategic emphasis on trade and investment
Positions IUCN as the leading technical and strategic partner in Tanzania’s blue economy transition.

SPECIFIC DUTIES:
The specific duties and responsibilities for the Portfolio Manager, Coastal and Ocean Resilience include:

Strategic Portfolio Leadership and Systems Thinking (20%);
Define and drive the long-term (5–10 year) transformation vision for the COR portfolio in Tanzania.
Lead strategic coherence across all projects, seascapes and thematic areas (MPAs, NbS, plastic solutions, fisheries, governance, blue and green economy).
Lead and leverage systems thinking to identify leverage points across ecological, economic, institutional and community systems.
Oversee and provide guidance in aligning with national and global frameworks (IUCN Programme 2026–2029, NBSAP, Climate Strategy, National Blue Economy Strategy, Great Blue Wall, ReGen Africa).
Oversee integration and connectivity across terrestrial-coastal-marine systems.
Advance IUCN’s capability to design and scale innovative conservation?finance and bankable models, including blue carbon, biodiversity credit frameworks, community ecotourism and resilient small?scale fisheries value chains.

Programme Integration, Adaptive Management and Impact Architecture (20%;
Lead development and refinement of a portfolio-level Theory of Change encompassing biodiversity, climate, governance, livelihoods and finance.
Institutionalize adaptive management processes, reflection loops and cross?project learning architecture (knowledge platforms, policy dialogues, learning labs).
Monitor and implement ecological, socio-economic and governance data inform strategic decisions.
Promote landscape–seascape connectivity and coordination across key sectors (fisheries, tourism, infrastructure, coastal urban development).
Oversee portfolio-level results frameworks aligned with 2030 biodiversity and climate targets and promote outcome harvesting and evidence generation for scaling.

Programme Development, Resource Mobilisation and Strategic Partnerships (20%);
Lead design of large-scale, multi-year, multi-donor programmes (GEF, GCF, EU, bilateral agencies, philanthropy).
Cultivate and promote strategic partnerships with government ministries, development partners, private sector actors (blue finance, fisheries, tourism) and WIO regional platforms.
Identify and leverage blended and innovative finance mechanisms.
Ensure a strong funding pipeline beyond current programme cycles, including mapping emerging funding opportunities and development of multi-year resource mobilisation pipelines.

Policy Influence and Institutional Reform (20%);
Lead high-level policy engagement and strategic dialogue with government, ensuring strong; science–policy linkages.
Support regulatory and governance reforms related to coastal forest management, community-based resource governance, plastic regulation and blue economy investment frameworks.
Represent IUCN at national, regional and international fora.
Strengthen institutional relationships to shape policy environments conducive to coastal and ocean resilience.
Position IUCN Tanzania as the lead convener for regenerative blue economy programming.
Strengthen IUCN’s science to business to policy interface.

Portfolio Delivery Oversight, Team Leadership and Organisational Positioning (20%);
Provide strategic guidance to senior programme staff, including project and technical/thematic leads.
Ensure delivery excellence, financial sustainability, risk management and safeguards compliance across the portfolio.
Drive performance coherence between programme- and project-level teams.
Support leadership development for senior staff and cultivate high-performing teams.
Position IUCN as a thought leader in Tanzania and the WIO region by driving publication of strategic insights, policy briefs, and transformation narratives, and fostering regional exchanges.