The United Republic of Tanzania

Professional Biography

Zena Mnasi Mabeyo (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer and the Deputy Rector (Planning, Finance and Administration) at the Institute of Social Work, a position she was re-appointed to since 1st December 2025 and previously held from February 2013 to January 2018 and from April 2019 to February 2022. She holds an Advanced Diploma in Social Work from the Institute of Social Work, Dar es Salaam, a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management (Public Administration) from the then Institute of Development Management (IDM), Mzumbe Morogoro, a Diploma in Mainstreaming Gender Equality in the World of Work from Turin Centre of Gender Studies, Italy, a Diploma in German language and a PhD in Psychology both from the Alpen-Andia University of Klagenfurt, Austria.

Dr Zena Mabeyo is a highly experienced social work educator with vast experience in social science research. She has supervised several masters’ and PhD research, led 5 national studies, co-authored 4 books and contributed over 8 chapters in edited books and several journal papers. She has been a national coordinator to 3 international projects all geared towards promotion of social work in East Africa.

He academic contribution extends beyond her institutional boundaries as she has been serving as a visiting lecturer to various institutions both within and outside the country including the National Defence College of Tanzania since 2027 and Carinthia University of Applied Social Sciences, Austria since 2006. She has also been engaged in providing social expert advice in the implementation of the national development projects such as EACOP Project, TACTIC Project in Mpanda and TANAPA construction project.

Prior to the current position Dr Zena held other leadership positions including being: the Head of Psychology Department (2023 -2025), the Chairperson of the Tanzania Association of Social Workers (2010-2018) and East Africa in the African Association of Schools of Social Work (2017-2023).

Apart from the academic and administrative roles, Dr Zena serves on various national and international boards.
She is currently a member of the Board of the Institute of Adult Education and Africa-Austria University Network and the Chairperson of the boards of the Tanzania Correctional Training Academy and HelpAge Tanzania.