BRAC is an award-winning international non-governmental development organization, with the vision of a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realise their potential. BRAC is a leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programmes to assist poor and disadvantaged communities in low-income countries, including in conflict-prone and post-disaster settings. It is an organisation of and for the people of the Global South, pioneering new development and social enterprise approaches to equip communities to achieve prosperity. As well as being the world's biggest NGO by the number of staff and people directly reached, BRAC has regularly been ranked the number one NGO in the world by the Geneva-based NGO Advisor, an independent organisation committed to highlighting innovation, impact, and governance in the non-profit sector. BRAC retained the top spot in 2020 among the top 500 NGOs for the fifth consecutive year.

BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. It started its first programme outside of Bangladesh in Afghanistan in 2002 and today has activities in 14 countries across Africa and Asia. BRAC has a holistic approach to development that uses a wide array of programmes that include microfinance, education, health, agriculture, gender, and human rights. BRAC invests in communities’ own human and material resources, catalysing lasting change and creating an ecosystem in which people in poverty have the chance to seize control of their own lives.

About the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative

The Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (“UPGI”) is a global unit within BRAC that was founded in 2016 to build off the success of BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation programme in Bangladesh. BRAC UPGI aims to position the evidence-backed Graduation approach as a key driver to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide. It does this by:

Advocating for uptake of the Graduation approach by policymakers, national governments, multilateral institutions, and non-governmental organisations; and

Effective adaptation and implementation of the Graduation approach in countries around the world, supported through technical assistance and capacity strengthening for external stakeholders.

In 2002, BRAC pioneered the Ultra-Poor Graduation (“Graduation”) approach in Bangladesh — a sequenced, two-year investment that enables people to create lasting pathways out of extreme poverty — after recognising that existing programmes were not reaching the poorest people. Through the provision of a productive asset, basic needs support, and ongoing coaching, the Graduation approach tackles multiple constraints at once and achieves lasting impact.

Graduation has been adapted and implemented across a wide variety of contexts and countries, with dozens of rigorous evaluations documenting its effectiveness at achieving broad and lasting impact, as well as returns that greatly outweigh the costs. So far, a total of 6.7 million households have been reached by Graduation programs, more than 2 million of which BRAC reached through its flagship Graduation programme in Bangladesh.

To help eradicate extreme poverty, BRAC UPGI is working with governments across Africa and Asia to scale  Graduation by integrating it into existing government programmes. Alongside governments, BRAC aims to equip  21 million more people to lift themselves from extreme poverty by 2030.

BRAC International is seeking a highly experienced, dynamic and self-motivated senior professional to fill the position of Programmes Lead – Graduation Design, Livelihoods and Delivery Systems, supporting the Tanzania Government-Led Graduation Programme, under the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI). BRAC UPGI is undertaking a Discovery Phase in Tanzania to support Government in assessing how a Government-Led Graduation Programme could be designed, delivered, tested, financed, and eventually institutionalised within existing Government systems.

Reporting directly to the Programme Director, Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative, BRAC International Tanzania, the Programmes Lead will be based in Tanzania (Mainland and Zanzibar) for the duration of an 11-month advisory assignment (August 2026 – June 2027).

A central focus of the assignment is to assess and strengthen the strategic, operational, institutional, governance, and financing alignment between the proposed Graduation model and Tanzania's national social protection programme, with implementation within the programme's operational areas as the preferred working assumption for Launchpad design and testing. The Programmes Lead will:

●     Lead and support technical work across the full Discovery-to-Launchpad continuum, from programme design through to Launchpad preparation and Government decision support

●     Act as a bridge between analytical evidence and practical, implementation-ready design choices for Government

●     Contribute to learning and evidence generation that informs Government decision-making on Launchpad implementation and future national scale-up

This role requires comfort working in complex, multi-stakeholder environments, where technical rigor must be balanced with operational practicality and political feasibility.

The role requires close collaboration across BRAC UPGI Tanzania and global teams, as well as national and subnational Government partners – including Ministries and relevant MDAs – necessitating strong interpersonal skills, a willingness to travel, and the ability to work flexibly. The ideal candidate will enjoy a challenge, think innovatively, and be passionate about contributing to sustainable solutions to eradicate extreme poverty.

This position offers an excellent opportunity for a senior professional to provide high-level technical leadership on Government-led Graduation programme design, institutional alignment, and financing, while contributing to UPGI's mission to scale Graduation programmes to lift people out of extreme poverty at scale.

1. Programme Design and Operational Structuring
1. Lead development of the Government-Led Graduation Delivery Model and Operational Framework
2. Define household progression pathways, sequencing of support, referrals, service linkages, graduation benchmarks, and community delivery arrangements
3. Translate analytical and field evidence into an operationally feasible Government-led model, consistent with the three Graduation scale-up pathways under consideration
2. Coaching and Frontline Delivery Design
1. Define coach profiles, caseloads, supervision arrangements, training requirements, certification standards, and quality assurance mechanisms
2. Assess implications for anchor ministry and subnational delivery systems
3. Recommend a minimum viable coaching model for Launchpad implementation and future institutionalisation
3. National Social Protection Programme Integration, Convergence and Launchpad Alignment
1. Lead analytical and technical work assessing how the proposed Graduation model can be integrated within, layered onto, or coordinated alongside Tanzania's national social protection programme
2. Map national social protection programme systems including registry, targeting mechanisms, payment systems, MIS architecture, case management systems, and community-level structures
3. Develop a framework for selecting Launchpad LGAs/Districts/PAAs based on poverty profile, institutional readiness, implementation capacity, livelihood potential, learning value, and geographic diversity
4. Assess governance, institutional, and financing implications of alignment; clarify roles and responsibilities between sector ministries, and LGAs
5. Identify operational, institutional, financial, and political risks and propose mitigation measures
4. Launchpad Preparation and Operationalisation
1. Prepare the Government-Led Launchpad Proposal, defining implementation areas, targeting methodologies, Graduation package, institutional arrangements, implementation schedule, budgets, risk mitigation measures, and monitoring arrangements
2. Ensure Launchpad design reflects findings from the national social protection programme alignment work
3. Support translation of the approved programme model into a practical implementation platform
5. Learning, Evidence, and Decision Support
1. Develop the Launchpad Design, Learning Agenda and Scale-Up Framework, and the Discovery Learning and Decision Support Framework
2. Define learning objectives, evaluation questions, performance indicators, and scale-up readiness criteria
3. Establish Go / Conditional Go / No-Go decision criteria for future expansion, supporting evidence-informed Government decision-making
6. Financing and Sustainability Planning
1. Develop the Government and Partner Financing Strategy, assessing Government budget pathways and financing options
2. Examine implications for medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) integration and recurrent financing requirements (coaching, case management, MIS, supervision, institutional coordination)
3. Identify co-financing opportunities and sustainability measures
7. Stakeholder Engagement and Technical Collaboration
1. Engage Government institutions including Sector Ministries and relevant MDAs, and support consultations with Development Partners
2. Coordinate with BRAC UPGI technical teams and participate in reviews, workshops, consultations, and technical discussions
3. Facilitate dialogue on national social protection programme integration options and future scale-up pathways
8. Other (Safeguarding Responsibilities)
1. Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the programme's goals of safeguarding implementation
2. Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action
3. Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do so

●        7-10 years senior-level experience in social protection, livelihoods, poverty reduction, and Government-led programme design in Tanzania or comparable contexts

●        Advanced knowledge of Tanzania's social protection, local government, and poverty reduction systems, with strong familiarity with Tanzania's national social protection programme.

●        Demonstrated experience designing large-scale Government-led programmes.

●        Expertise in productive inclusion, livelihoods, and Graduation approaches.

●        Experience engaging senior Government officials and Development Partners on programme design, institutional arrangements, or financing.

●        Experience assessing or designing alignment between a new programme and an existing large-scale Government system (e.g. targeting, payments, MIS, or case management platforms).

●        Strong analytical, drafting, and synthesis skills, with the ability to translate evidence into policy- and implementation-ready products.

●        Strong policy and programme design capability, with sound judgement balancing technical rigor with operational practicality.

●        Ability to work across institutional boundaries and coordinate multiple stakeholders, including national ministries, subnational authorities, and development partners.

●        Familiarity with Government-led economic inclusion programmes in Africa and internationally.

●        Ability to manage complex, multi-track workstreams and deliver quality outputs to tight deadlines.

●        Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Swahili

Programmes Lead – Graduation Design, Livelihoods and Delivery Systems ( UPGI) - Tanzania

BRAC is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share the same commitment. We believe every stakeholder and every member of the communities we work with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation - regardless of age, race, religion, and gender, status as an individual with a disability or ethnic origin. Therefore, our recruitment process includes extensive reference and background checks, self-disclosure of prior issues regarding sexual or other misconduct and criminal records and our values are a part of our Performance Management System.

Only complete applications will be accepted, and short-listed candidates will be contacted.