Job Vacancy at EDOTA, September 2026

Nature Based Enterprise & Community Catalyst Enterprise Specialist

About EDOTA

Education Outreach Tanzania (EDOTA) is a local not-for-profit NGO that works collaboratively with local and international partners, local communities, local government authorities and other organizations to promote inclusive community development and economic justice.

EDOTA was registered on 26th May 2010, with registration number 00003478, to operate in Mainland Tanzania.

Since its establishment, EDOTA has successfully implemented several funded projects aimed at:

• Enhancing livelihoods.
• Economic strengthening.
• Promoting good governance.
• Conserving the environment.
• Addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
• Health promotion.

TNC and EDOTA have been partners since 2020, with EDOTA successfully implementing programmes aimed at strengthening community-led fisheries conservation, enforcement readiness and local conservation in Katavi, Kigoma, Tabora, Geita and Rukwa regions.

Project Overview

The LATABIOCON project addresses critical environmental and socio-economic challenges facing the Lake Tanganyika Basin (LTB), a massive ecosystem covering approximately 223,000 km² and holding one-fifth of Earth’s accessible freshwater. The basin supports more than 12 million people across Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia.

The basin includes several major government-managed protected areas and internationally recognized Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).

However, the ecosystem faces significant pressure from:

• Overexploitation of nearshore fish communities.
• Habitat loss.
• Catchment degradation.
• Climate change.
• Persistent lake warming.
• Stronger stratification.
• Expanding low-oxygen zones.
• Erratic rainfall patterns.
• Soil erosion affecting fisheries and rain-fed agriculture.
• Threats to lake-dependent livelihoods.

To address these risks, EDOTA plays a key role within the LaTaBioCoN consortium, leading conservation, socio-economic development and regenerative economy interventions.

EDOTA is responsible for implementing community livelihood interventions that help vulnerable populations adapt to climate and environmental pressures.

The organization also promotes Nature-Based Enterprises (NbEs) to generate environmentally friendly income streams, alongside catchment management strategies aimed at reducing erosion and sediment delivery into critical habitats and facilitating community-led governance among riparian communities.

Position Details

Position Title: Nature Based Enterprise & Community Catalyst Enterprise Specialist
Project: Crosscutting; LaTaBioCoN and Lake Tanganyika Basin
Reports To: Program Director
Location: EDOTA HQ, Mpanda Town, Katavi Region
Travel: Frequent travel to project sites in Kigoma, Tabora, Rukwa and Geita regions
Position Type: Strategic Engagement
Duration: 60 months

Position Purpose

EDOTA is seeking an entrepreneurial, innovative and market-driven Nature-Based & Community Enterprise Catalyst Specialist.

This is a hands-on strategic role focused on launching, expanding and incubating sustainable, biodiversity-positive community businesses.

The successful candidate will work directly with entrepreneurs, youth, women and emerging Community-Managed Institutions (CMIs) to:

• Design climate-resilient livelihoods.
• Establish strong private-sector market linkages.
• Improve access to financial services and markets.
• Transform local natural-resource potential into competitive, community-owned businesses.
• Support critical conservation objectives.

The specialist will be deeply involved in the project areas and serve as the primary facilitator and champion for Nature-Based Enterprises (NBEs), helping them unlock their operational, managerial and economic potential.

A key part of the role will involve designing, coordinating and delivering localized technical training and institutional capacity-building programmes.

The successful candidate will empower community entrepreneurs, agricultural self-help groups and community-led cooperatives with practical skills in:

• Enterprise governance.
• Financial management.
• Sustainable harvesting techniques.
• Post-harvest processing.
• Quality control.
• Climate-smart value addition.

The objective is to help local community businesses transition from informal and fragmented activities into structured, efficient, resilient and environmentally compliant organizations.

Financing and Investment

The specialist will also lead field-level interventions to secure sustainable financing for community enterprises.

The role will involve mapping regional and national financial markets to identify and engage:

• Impact investors.
• Green microfinance institutions.
• Eco-funds.
• Public-private blended finance facilities.

The specialist will work directly with NBEs and CMIs to strengthen:

• Financial literacy.
• Scalable business models.
• Commercial proposals.
• Access to banking and credit.
• Access to investment capital.

The role will facilitate strategic connections between local enterprises and green capital providers, enabling communities to scale production, invest in green technology infrastructure and improve resilience to economic shocks.

Key Responsibilities

1. Enterprise Incubation and Acceleration

• Identify, design and launch viable biodiversity-positive Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
• Support enterprises in sectors including sustainable fisheries, climate-resilient agriculture and eco-value chains.
• Incubate and accelerate community-owned enterprises.

2. Youth and Inclusive Livelihoods

• Create tailored enterprise development pathways for youth.
• Support initiatives aimed at reducing unsustainable practices and natural-resource degradation.
• Promote inclusive economic opportunities for marginalized groups.

3. Financial Inclusion and Access to Services

• Design and implement strategies that connect women, youth and persons with disabilities to formal financial services.
• Facilitate access to micro-loans.
• Strengthen community savings systems.
• Support enterprises in developing the financial capacity required for sustainable growth.

4. Private Sector and Market Linkages

• Build strategic partnerships with private-sector enterprises, wholesalers and technical agencies.
• Secure sustainable market access for community products.
• Support fair pricing for community-produced goods and services.
• Link grassroots producers with commercial buyers.

5. Capacity Building and Business Training

• Develop and deliver practical, user-friendly training modules for grassroots Community-Managed Institutions.
• Provide training in:
  • Business management.
  • Value addition.
  • Financial literacy.
  • Climate-smart operational practices.
• Strengthen the technical and operational capacity of community enterprises.

6. Cross-Sector Collaboration

• Coordinate closely with project collaborators, civil society organizations and scientific research institutions.
• Ensure community businesses are based on sound conservation science.
• Promote economic sustainability across enterprise interventions.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Education

• Master’s Degree in any of the following:
  • Business Administration.
  • Agribusiness.
  • Entrepreneurship.
  • Environmental Economics.
  • Development Economics.
  • Any other related field.

Professional Experience

• Minimum of 10 years of hands-on experience in:
  • Enterprise incubation.
  • Rural business development.
  • Value-chain development.
  • Microfinance.
• Experience within conservation or natural-resource sectors is highly desirable.

Social Inclusion Experience

• Proven experience designing profitable economic initiatives for youth.
• Experience supporting initiatives aimed at closing the gender wage gap for women.
• Experience mainstreaming persons with disabilities into commercial activities.

Market Knowledge

• Strong understanding of local and regional market dynamics in agriculture or fisheries.
• Demonstrated track record of successfully linking grassroots producers with commercial buyers.

Soft Skills

• High energy.
• Exceptional negotiation skills.
• Creativity.
• Ability to inspire vulnerable and marginalized community groups.
• Ability to build trust within communities.

Location

EDOTA Headquarters – Mpanda Town, Katavi Region

The position requires frequent travel to project sites in:

• Kigoma
• Tabora
• Rukwa
• Geita

Duration

60 months

How to Apply

All applications should be submitted by email to:

ajira@edota.co.tz

Copy:

edota@info.co.tz

Deadline: 14th October 2026 at 15:30 PM

Applicants should ensure their applications are submitted before the stated deadline.

Application Email