Descriptions
SUMMARY
OVERVIEW
Job Description Senior Project Officer (Sciences) OVERVIEW Position Number : 6KESCS0003PA Grade : P-4 Parent Sector : Natural Sciences Sector (SC) Duty Station : Dar es Salaam Job Family : Natural Sciences Contract Type : Project Appointment Duration of contract : 1 year Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates
APPLICATION DEADLINE
- (Midnight Paris Time) : 29/10/2026 UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism Initial contract duration is for 12 months, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT The Kilimanjaro Transboundary Aquifer System (KTAS) Project, entitled “Unlocking the Groundwater Potential of the Kilimanjaro Water Tower” (GEF ID 11547), is a five-year Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters initiative approved in June 2026.
- The project is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as the GEF Agency and executed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in close collaboration with the Governments of the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania.
- The project will strengthen water security, climate resilience and ecosystem health through improved scientific understanding, protection of recharge areas, enhanced groundwater storage and monitoring, stronger groundwater-management tools, and sustained transboundary cooperation.
- The Kilimanjaro aquifer is a strategically important, shared groundwater resource that supports livelihoods, biodiversity and economic activity on both sides of the Kenya-Tanzania border.
- Climate change, land-use change, growing water demand and ecosystem degradation make coordinated management increasingly urgent.
- The project comprises groundwater assessment and a Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA); exploratory drilling, managed aquifer recharge and recharge-area protection; harmonized monitoring, information systems and a Hydro-Environmental Observatory; a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) and permanent consultation mechanism; and stakeholder engagement, knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation.
- OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST The Senior Project Officer will be the senior manager and strategic technical authority of the Project Management Unit (PMU).
- The incumbent will lead the PMU and be accountable to UNESCO for coherent, timely and high-quality project execution across Kenya and Tanzania.
- The Senior Project Officer will lay out strategic and technical direction, integrate all project result areas, supervise PMU staff and consultants, safeguard compliance, advise the Project Steering Committee (PSC), and maintain the high-level relationships required for joint country ownership and sustainability.
- Long Description KEY ROLE AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Strategic Direction and Integrated Delivery Translate the approved project document and inception decisions into a sequenced implementation strategy, multi-year plan, annual work plans and budgets, procurement priorities and performance objectives.
- Direct implementation across all components, resolve interdependencies and bottlenecks, and ensure that scientific work, field investments, governance processes, capacity development, safeguards and communication advance as one coherent programme.
- Exercise delegated management authority over PMU work, resources and schedules, establishing clear [...]
HOW TO APPLY
Use the application link below to open the official application form.
