Background

Preamble:

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers.

In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long-established, ancient traditions of sharing and support within the communities. In this context, UN Volunteers take part in various forms of volunteerism and play a role in development and peace together with co-workers, host agencies and local communities.

In all assignments, UN Volunteers promote volunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging in volunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, as well as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make the time they spend as UN Volunteers even more rewarding and productive.

This UNV assignment is in the context of the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP2011-2015) of Tanzania which was signed with the government is set to, among other objectives enhance structures and policies for promoting viable pro-poor business sectors particularly the small to middle scale enterprises ( SMEs). In this regards the United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV) and other UN organizations have agreed to play a role in the promotion of the growth of the private sector particularly the SMEs. UNV is supporting the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) with capacity development efforts to enhance its advisory services to its membership especially the SMEs.

The broad objective of the collaboration is to enhance and simulate the growth in business and its contribution to poverty reduction, economic development and sustainable livelihoods for the Tanzanian population.

This project is based on the overall framework of the UN system in Tanzania and national development plan, the MKUKUTA II. The approach is also informed by the UNV programme strategy on livelihoods and basic services through the mainstreaming of corporate social responsibility (CSR) between large businesses with small-and-medium sized enterprises.

The project activities are designed to promote business linkages for SMEs to access new markets and business support services through voluntary interaction between the two entities. The TCCIA is the conduit organization through which corporate/private sector volunteers are mobilized first to strengthen the institutional capacity of the TCCIA and then secondly to provide needed capacity directly to members of the business sector. Underpinning the success of this strategy will be the cooperation and free will of big firms to incubate and support SMEs in the country.

Host Agency/Host Institute: Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA).

Organizational Context:

The Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) is the umbrella organization with a membership of almost 16,684 across the 21 regions of the country. There is no consensus of SME definition as various countries have different definitions depending on the phase of economic development and their prevailing social conditions.  In this  context, various indexes are used to define the term such as number of employees, invested capital, total amount of assets, sales volume (turnover) and production capability.

In the context of Tanzania, micro enterprises are those engaging up to 4 people, in most cases family members, or employing capital amounting up to Tshs. 5 million. The majority of micro enterprises fall under the informal sector. Small enterprises are mostly formalized undertakings engaging between 5 and 49 employees or with capital investment from Tshs.5 million to Tshs.200 million. Medium enterprises employ between 50 and 99 people or use capital investment from Tshs.200 million to Tshs.800 million. SMEs in Tanzania face many challenges and more effort and support is needed to help them improve the way they do business.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of  the Executive Director of TCCIA the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Coordinate/ facilitate efforts of TCCIA across departments and functions to improve current processes or design new ones.
• Model such processes into workflow diagrams and link them with IT systems
• Coordinate the efforts of the Chamber to improve services delivery to its members and business community through compliance to International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9000) or equivalent
• Support TCCIA in assessing and monitoring effectiveness of processes
• Communicate/ report regularly status of implementation of the exercise to TCCIA Management
• Identify and propose opportunities for improvements of the processes and its functionality from time to time.
• Responsible for the advancement and the integration of the whole Business Process Management (BPM) system
• In the process of developing or improving, strive to gain consensus of internal constituents around the new concepts and systems
• Coordinate or/ and Conduct training to members of staff on the whole concept of standards as related to business services
• Develop and implement strategies for TCCIA to become ISO 9000 (or its equivalent) equivalent and how can the Chamber do this
• Provide a framework for process evolution in the organization
• Perform any other duty within this context as to be determined by the Executive Director from time to time

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark IVD);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/Expected Output:

• Market research methodology elaborated
• Areas of demand for main Tanzania products determined
•Training packages on marketing for Tanzanian SME prepared
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during your assignment such as specific quantification of mobilized volunteers, activities, capacities.

Competencies

• Client-oriented service provider, empathetic and innovative who cultivates an environment of trust, collaboration and motivation with partners.

• Planner and organizer: Prioritizes activities, respects deadlines and handles urgent requests in order to enable staff to carry out the organizational mandate. Sense of responsibility, commitment, discretion.

• Team worker builder: establishes good working relations of openness and trust, supports and cares for others and understands team purposes. Ability to work independently under minimum supervision. Team spirit, courtesy and tact, initiative, motivation to learn.

• Negotiator and communicator: Effective communicator who portrays competence, professional rigour and discretion; problem solving attitude, clarifies situations by exploring others’ needs.

• Building relations and networking: Excellent partnership and public relations skills.; proven ability to effectively manage relationships both internal and external; excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multi-culture, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity .

• Model of Integrity, Trustworthy and Confident: Models codes of conduct and ethical principals, interacting in ways that engender trust and confidence in one’s intentions and those of the organization.

Required Skills and Experience