Background

Blue Ventures connects coastal communities restoring the ocean, providing the resources and partnerships they need to unlock their power and turn local action into global impact. We link communities with allies, knowledge and influence to create unstoppable waves of change. Together, we’re placing communities at the centre of solutions to sustain fisheries, manage ecosystems and redefine how the world protects the ocean.

Role Summary

Our Partner Network team leads the identification, selection, development, and long-term stewardship of civil society and non-governmental organisations that partner with Blue Ventures globally. Partnerships are central to our strategy, enabling us to support community-focused organisations through funding, technical assistance, and capacity strengthening to advance community-based fisheries management and locally managed marine areas.

The team builds and manages strategic partnerships by identifying prospective organisations, assessing their capacity and funding needs, developing multi-year support agreements, and fostering collaboration across our global network. By promoting peer learning, knowledge exchange, and organisational strengthening, the team helps build a community of practice committed to community-led coastal fisheries reform.

We are seeking a Partnership Coordinator to support the strategic growth and management of our Partner Network from our Tanzania hub. This role will focus on building and maintaining strong relationships with partner organisations, supporting partnership development, and contributing to the successful delivery of partnership initiatives that advance Blue Ventures' mission.

The role requires regular travel, including to remote coastal communities, and collaboration across multiple time zones. Flexibility, adaptability, and a willingness to travel are therefore essential.

The successful candidate will be a proactive, highly organised relationship builder with experience working with rural communities, small-scale fisheries, and community-based conservation or development initiatives in Tanzania. They will demonstrate a strong ability to cultivate effective partnerships, embrace innovation, and contribute both independently and as part of a collaborative, high-performing team.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership (10%)

• Nurture and contribute to a positive, productive, engaging, creative and thriving work environment
• Support and contribute to a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality
• Ensure colleagues receive timely and appropriate information and insights to inform strategies and plans
• Uphold and promote BV’s commitment to ensuring the safeguarding and safety of the vulnerable communities we serve
• Ensure that all organisational activities are consistently performed under the principles of equity, fairness, inclusiveness and respect for the diversity of people

Partnerships Delivery and Management (80%)

• Develop, strengthen, and sustain relationships with community-focused organisations working to build community-based management and establish locally managed marine areas.
• Curate and advise partnership network expansion opportunities at national and sub-national levels.
• Contribute to the preparation of scoping plans and country/partner diagnostics, scoping reports, assessments of “readiness'' for review, sign-off and approval of new and emerging partners, including compiling due diligence, need assessments, expected outcomes and other relevant materials to enable clear decision-making.
• Work closely with the Head of Partner Network for the East Africa Region to identify and rationalise opportunities to support local partners and the communities they work with, including securing rights, improving community-based fisheries management and governance practices, and better returns for fishers and financial inclusion.
• Support the effective deployment of the Front Line Community Fund through the application of a clear process for development and review of funding applications from prospective partners.
• Work with the Head of Partner Network for the East Africa Region to develop and confirm that technical support and management capacity for partnerships and plans are sufficient to take on and steward partnerships.
• Support the development and implementation of monitoring processes for tracking the progress of individual partnerships and the country network through each phase of the partner journey, including standard milestones, metrics and indicators for monitoring that inform teams for adaptive management.
• In collaboration with the Head of Partnership Network, Senior Manager - Global Partner Engagement and the Technical Knowledge team, support the periodic reviews with partner feedback to ensure that partner learning and country programme experience continue to inform regional and global strategy development and target setting and improve the quality of Blue Ventures’ support. Key to achieving this is to identify and then address bottlenecks and challenges, highlight lessons learnt and best practices for replication and knowledge sharing.
• Work with the Head of Partnerships, regional and global teams to build and sustain a community of practice to share partner experiences, lessons learned, champion aligned values and shared vision by supporting the coordination, planning and execution of learning exchanges with partners and communities
• Contribute to the development of grants and funding opportunities to advance the global strategy.

Communications (10%)

• Engage with all staff of the region’s Partner Network team to keep abreast of new, emerging and critical developments.
• Work with the Head of Partner Network and other colleagues to ensure timely and high-quality technical, financial and journalistic reporting to donors, international colleagues and relevant partners and networks nationally and internationally according to agreed formats.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Attributes

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in marine science, environmental science/conservation, natural resources management, rural/community development, sustainable development, or relevant proven practical experience in relevant fields.
• Eligibility to live and work in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
• Commitment to a community-based approach to conservation in Tanzania and demonstrable practical experience working in community-based conservation and development in Tanzania.
• Experience developing and nurturing community-based and multi-sectoral partnerships, including with communities, fisheries authorities, and civil society.
• Proven experience in project planning and management, budget preparation and management and preparation of technical and budget reports.
• Excellent networking, relationship-building and conflict mediation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and interpersonal skills, and the ability to convey complex messages clearly in presentations, meetings, and written form, and to connect with people of all levels and cultural backgrounds.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• High level of organisation, flexibility, ability to work in a team, work well under pressure, and successfully manage multiple deadlines and competing demands.
• Able to adapt and navigate through diverse and dynamic environments, be open to change, embrace new ideas and adjust based on feedback.
• Ability to understand and relate to the challenges and aspirations of local communities, fostering trust and constructive engagement.
• Demonstrate a collaborative working style. Working effectively with multi-disciplinary and cross-functional, global, regional, and country teams and building strong relationships with external partners and stakeholders to foster trust and demonstrate commitment.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office, Google Apps, and social media tools (Facebook, X, Instagram, and Google Plus)

• Nurture and contribute to a positive, productive, engaging, creative and thriving work environment
• Support and contribute to a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality
• Ensure colleagues receive timely and appropriate information and insights to inform strategies and plans
• Uphold and promote BV’s commitment to ensuring the safeguarding and safety of the vulnerable communities we serve
• Ensure that all organisational activities are consistently performed under the principles of equity, fairness, inclusiveness and respect for the diversity of people
• Develop, strengthen, and sustain relationships with community-focused organisations working to build community-based management and establish locally managed marine areas.
• Curate and advise partnership network expansion opportunities at national and sub-national levels.
• Contribute to the preparation of scoping plans and country/partner diagnostics, scoping reports, assessments of “readiness'' for review, sign-off and approval of new and emerging partners, including compiling due diligence, need assessments, expected outcomes and other relevant materials to enable clear decision-making.
• Work closely with the Head of Partner Network for the East Africa Region to identify and rationalise opportunities to support local partners and the communities they work with, including securing rights, improving community-based fisheries management and governance practices, and better returns for fishers and financial inclusion.
• Support the effective deployment of the Front Line Community Fund through the application of a clear process for development and review of funding applications from prospective partners.
• Work with the Head of Partner Network for the East Africa Region to develop and confirm that technical support and management capacity for partnerships and plans are sufficient to take on and steward partnerships.
• Support the development and implementation of monitoring processes for tracking the progress of individual partnerships and the country network through each phase of the partner journey, including standard milestones, metrics and indicators for monitoring that inform teams for adaptive management.
• In collaboration with the Head of Partnership Network, Senior Manager - Global Partner Engagement and the Technical Knowledge team, support the periodic reviews with partner feedback to ensure that partner learning and country programme experience continue to inform regional and global strategy development and target setting and improve the quality of Blue Ventures’ support. Key to achieving this is to identify and then address bottlenecks and challenges, highlight lessons learnt and best practices for replication and knowledge sharing.
• Work with the Head of Partnerships, regional and global teams to build and sustain a community of practice to share partner experiences, lessons learned, champion aligned values and shared vision by supporting the coordination, planning and execution of learning exchanges with partners and communities
• Contribute to the development of grants and funding opportunities to advance the global strategy.
• Engage with all staff of the region’s Partner Network team to keep abreast of new, emerging and critical developments.
• Work with the Head of Partner Network and other colleagues to ensure timely and high-quality technical, financial and journalistic reporting to donors, international colleagues and relevant partners and networks nationally and internationally according to agreed formats.

• Excellent networking, relationship-building and conflict mediation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and interpersonal skills, and the ability to convey complex messages clearly in presentations, meetings, and written form, and to connect with people of all levels and cultural backgrounds.
• High level of organisation, flexibility, ability to work in a team, work well under pressure, and successfully manage multiple deadlines and competing demands.
• Able to adapt and navigate through diverse and dynamic environments, be open to change, embrace new ideas and adjust based on feedback.
• Ability to understand and relate to the challenges and aspirations of local communities, fostering trust and constructive engagement.
• Demonstrate a collaborative working style. Working effectively with multi-disciplinary and cross-functional, global, regional, and country teams and building strong relationships with external partners and stakeholders to foster trust and demonstrate commitment.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office, Google Apps, and social media tools (Facebook, X, Instagram, and Google Plus)

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in marine science, environmental science/conservation, natural resources management, rural/community development, sustainable development, or relevant proven practical experience in relevant fields.
• Eligibility to live and work in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
• Commitment to a community-based approach to conservation in Tanzania and demonstrable practical experience working in community-based conservation and development in Tanzania.
• Experience developing and nurturing community-based and multi-sectoral partnerships, including with communities, fisheries authorities, and civil society.
• Proven experience in project planning and management, budget preparation and management and preparation of technical and budget reports.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.