HSE officer jobs in Tanzania: duties, OSHA training and the law behind them

Why companies hire HSE staff

The Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 5 of 2003 is the law behind the job. Section 16 requires the owner or occupier of every factory or workplace to register it with the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) before operating. To get OSHA's compliance certificate, OSHA lists what a workplace must show:

• a registration certificate;
• a safety and health risk assessment at least once a year;
• a written health and safety policy;
• an inspection by qualified inspectors under the Act;
• medical examinations of workers suited to their duties;
• trained health and safety representatives and first aiders, with OSHA course certificates.

In the adverts below, keeping that file up to date is part of the HSE officer's job.

What the job looks like

The HSE adverts on Work.tz in 2026 describe the same daily work. A-One Products & Bottlers and East Coast Oils & Fats, both in the METL group, list:

• daily site inspections, stopping unsafe acts and checking PPE;
• hazard identification and risk assessment, written as HIRA or JSA;
• incident, near-miss and accident investigations with root causes;
• toolbox talks at the start of each shift;
• an HSE file that keeps certificates, permits and licences valid;
• permits to work, emergency drills for fire, chemical spills and evacuation;
• coordinating the OHS committee and its quarterly meetings, and statutory audits with government agencies.

See open HSE and safety jobs.

Trainee, officer and specialist levels

METL advertises both trainee and officer posts. Its HSE adverts list a bachelor's degree in environmental or occupational health and hygiene. The trainee works under the group HSE manager on inspections, drills and records; the officer also sets the training matrix, manages the HSE budget and leads investigations.

Public research posts sit at another level. A PSRS advert in October 2026 for Research Officer Grade II in occupational health and safety asked for a Doctor of Medicine degree with at least an upper second class and a master's degree in occupational health and safety. Read the qualification line before you apply, because the same job family covers very different entry points.

Representatives and committees under the Act

Section 11 of the Act requires an employer with more than twenty employees at a workplace to designate health and safety representatives in writing: at least one for every hundred employees in shops and offices, and at least one for every fifty in factories and other workplaces. Their functions in section 12 include reviewing safety measures, identifying hazards, investigating complaints, accompanying inspectors and reporting accidents and near misses.

Where a workplace has two or more representatives, section 13 requires a health and safety committee. At least one third of its members must be women, and it must meet at least once every three months. Knowing these sections is useful in an interview, because the officer usually keeps the committee running.

OSHA courses and fees, July 2026 to June 2027

OSHA publishes an annual training calendar. Sessions run from 8:00 to 15:30 in Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Arusha, Mwanza, Geita, Mbeya and other centres. The courses most often useful for a first HSE job:

• National OHS Course (NOSHC) Module I and Module II: 12 days each, TZS 820,000 each as a day programme; the evening programme is 18 days for TZS 900,000;
• OHS Risk Assessment: 5 days, TZS 500,000;
• Accident Prevention and Investigation: 4 days, TZS 400,000;
• OHS in Working at Height: 5 days, TZS 450,000;
• Safety and Health Representatives: 4 days, TZS 250,000;
• First Aid: 3 days, TZS 250,000.

Book through OSHA's published contacts (info@osha.go.tz). Do not buy an OSHA certificate from anyone who offers one without the course.

Build a CV for HSE roles

Employers read HSE CVs for evidence, not adjectives. Put first what you can prove: a field attachment in a plant or on a site, a first aid certificate, a toolbox talk you ran, an incident you helped investigate, a risk assessment you wrote. Name the hazards you worked with. How to turn a field attachment into evidence and how to write a focused CV.

Report unsafe work

If you see a serious hazard that the employer does not fix, OSHA runs a free line, 0800 110091 or 0800 110092, and accepts complaints through its contacts page. Section 12 of the Act gives health and safety representatives the right to report accidents, near misses and non-compliance to an inspector.

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