As Purchasing Officer you will be responsible, along with the Head of Purchasing, for procuring everything required for the day-to-day running of a school of 1300 students and 360 staff spread across 3 locations.

Food is the main priority, with the school using in excess of 542 litres of cooking oil, 225 kgs of flour, 320 kgs of tomatoes and 399kgs of carrots every week, and this is just the tip of the iceberg (and I don't mean the lettuce!). In addition you will also be required to purchase a diverse array of other items for academic and non-academic departments. As such, you must be able to prioritise your time effectively, look at solutions rather than problems and think on your feet. The role requires you to work with strength, confidence, perseverance and good negotiating skills with a wide variety of suppliers from tough business men to even tougher market vendors!

A challenging role where no two days are ever the same, the position does require a degree of personal fitness as it can be quite physically demanding and you will need to be prepared to work outside the usual 9 to 5 routine to ensure the job gets done. Although the role enables you to really engage with Tanzanians and the Tanzanian culture, it allows for less regular contact with other international volunteers, as it is highly autonomous.

As with many jobs at The School of St Jude, confidence and a gregarious nature are important for the role as you need to get out there, meet people and make things happen. And patience, tolerance and a good sense of humour are needed to cope with the anomalies of living in a developing country with a diverse group of people. So if you feel you can commit for 18 months and are full of energy and vitality, please contact us at schoolofstjude@habari.co.tz.