Political Specialist

About this role

The U.S. Mission in Tanzania, through its Embassy in Dar es Salaam, is hiring a Political Specialist for the Political and Economic (P-E) Section. The position serves as the Democracy and Governance Specialist within a 15-person team, leading the embassy's efforts to understand, analyze, advise, and report on political, democracy, and governance issues in Tanzania. Under the direction of the Political Unit Chief, the specialist develops and maintains key contacts in government, parliament, political parties, civil society, and the private sector, and facilitates meetings with officials up to the President of Tanzania.

Core responsibilities include contact development, information gathering, and reporting: drafting diplomatic notes, maintaining biographic data on officials, interpreting at official events, and producing analytical updates, briefing memos, and reporting cables on political and economic developments. The role also involves representational duties, such as planning official visits and events with the P-E and Protocol sections, coordinating with Parliament, and representing the mission at internal and external working groups. Advisory functions include briefing the section, the Front Office, interagency partners, and Washington on democracy and governance trends and their implications for U.S. interests.

The specialist also advises on development assistance priorities, serves as a Grants Officer Representative for democracy and governance programs, and helps identify participants for U.S. government-funded training and exchange programs. The position is open to all interested applicants, and candidates must be eligible for a Public Trust background investigation. The duty station is Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with occasional travel required.

This is a full-time, permanent Locally Employed (LE) staff position, graded LE-10, with a salary of TZS 77,198,751 per year, and it is non-supervisory with no telework or relocation reimbursement. Interested applicants should apply using the 'Apply to this vacancy' portal, with applications due by September 7, 2026.