Senior Programme Officer, Tourism at Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Job Description

Main purpose of the job

Under the supervision of the Director Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources the incumbent will facilitate and coordinate the development, implementation and Monitoring of policies, strategies and programmes to ensure equitable, balanced, complimentary development of tourism industry in the region and to promote environmentally and socially sustainable tourism based on sound management practices.

 

 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Facilitating the implementation of Protocol on Development of Tourism;
• Facilitating implementation of regional strategies and programmes on tourism development in the region such as RIDMP, RISDP and the SADC Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) programme, particularly component 7 or the SADC TFCA Programme i.e. Development of TFCAs into marketable regional tourism products;
• Facilitating harmonization of regional policies, strategies and/or rules regarding cross-border operations and trade in support of liberalization of exchange control regulations;
• Promoting the development of cross border tourism activities as a means of fostering regional and socio‐economic development;
• Facilitating removal of barriers to cross-border travel and operations;
• Facilitating development of policies and strategies that promote favorable investment climate for tourism within the region for both public and private sectors including small and medium scale tourism establishment;
• Promoting equitable private sector and community partnerships in tourism development;
• Facilitating improvement of tourism service and infrastructure in order to foster a vibrant tourism industry;
• Facilitating the setting of research priorities and policies on tourism development in order to develop sustainable tourism across the region;
• Assessing, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of programmes for sustainable tourism development;
• Engaging and strengthen Centres of Excellence for the purpose of ensuring complementarity of tourism training institutions in the region;
• Collaboration with the SADC Business Council in supporting SADC Tourism Private Sector Forum to deliver against its mission of developing effective and impactful tourism initiatives in the region is order to make Southern Africa a regional destination of choice by 2030.
• Coordinating the development of a Private Sector lead promotional and marketing arm of the SADC tourism sector;
• Preparing documentation for relevant official SADC meetings (technical Committees, Council, Summit etc.) and technical papers for discussion and /or publication; and
• Coordinating resource mobilization efforts
• Supporting the SADC Tourism Reputation and Policy Harmonisation Partnerships Working Group, responsible for overseeing implementation of the Image Management and Institutional Strengthening Programme to deliver its mandate as guided by the Member States and Preparing documentation for the working group meetings and technical papers for discussion and /or publication;

Senior Programme Officer Tourism will serve as the overall head of unit to be responsible for the coordinating the functions of the unit and providing technical guidance on issues of Tourism Development.

Qualifications

At least a Masters Degree in Tourism Development, Marketing, Tourism Economics, Business Administration or a related field from a recognized institution.

Experience

• At least 10-15 years of experience in a senior tourism-related management position within a public or private sector, regional or international organization
• Experience in development of strategy, policy, business plans and programme formulation and implementation
• Minimum of 4 years in a line management position

Skills Requirements

• Communication and presentation skills
• Conflict management skills
• Decision-making skills
• International relations skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Leadership skills
• Mentoring and coaching skills
• Negotiation, persuasion, advocacy, networking, relationship building and stakeholder management skills
• Organisational skills (planning, budgeting, work prioritisation, time management)
• Research, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strategy and policy development skills
• Team building skills

Competency Requirements

• Apply interpersonal styles/methods to develop, motivate and empower individuals toward achievement of goals
• Capable of maintaining quality whilst working under pressure and adhering to deadlines
• Capacity to motivate and influence people positively, and create a climate where people want to do their best
• Conceptual and practical thinking
• Customer focused
• Decisive
• Demonstrated ability to work well, present and win support for ideas in an international, multi-cultural and highly political environment
• Organisational awareness with an understanding of how to engage the organisation to get things done

Tenure of appointment

The term of appointment of the Director, Industrial Development and Trade shall be for a fixed period of four (4) years, renewable once for another period of four (4) years. While appointments for positions (2–19) will be on a fixed-term contract for four (4) years, renewable twice for an equal period, subject to:

• satisfactory completion of 6 months’ probation;
• satisfactory performance;
• retirement age limit of 60 years; and
• the continued need for the position.

Eligibility

The positions are open to qualified applicants who:

• Are 52 years old or younger. This requirement is based on the Organization’s need to recruit staff who can serve for a reasonable period of time before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60 years.
• Are from the following eligible Member States: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Closing Date and Submission of Applications: Applications must be submitted to the SADC National Contact Point https://www.sadc.int/opportunities/employment/national-contact-points/ of the eligible Member States not later than or on 28^th October 2022.

Applications should be accompanied by the following:

1. a cover letter stating the position that you want to be considered for and describing how your qualifications, experience, and competencies are relevant to the position;
2. not more than five (5) pages of updated curriculum vitae;
3. certified copies of your degree(s), Diploma(s) and Certificate(s); and
4. duly signed and completed SADC Application Form.

Should you be shortlisted, you will be required to produce evidence of educational and professional qualifications supporting your application, on the day of your interview.

Gender Mainstreaming

SADC is an equal opportunity employer and particularly encourages applications from female candidates.

If you are results orientated, you have a passion for the transformation and development of Southern Africa and possess the required competencies, please submit your application.

Only applicants who meet the requirements of the SADC Secretariat and being considered for an interview, will be contacted. Should you not hear from the SADC Secretariat within two months after the closing date, kindly consider your application unsuccessful.