DIVISION: Impact

TEAM: Oxfam in Iraq, Country Management Team

LOCATION: Baghdad  with Regular Traveling To Erbil (Iraq)

CONTRACT TYPE: Global, Fixed Term – 12 months, contract renewable

GRADE: B 2                                                       

JOB FAMILY:  Programme

SALARY: As per Oxfam Salary Scale

HOURS: Full-time role, 40 hours per week

FLEXIBLE WORKING

We believe flexible working is key to building the Oxfam of the future, so we’re open to talking through the type of flexible arrangements which might work for you. We think this role would work particularly.

TEAM PURPOSE: Oxfam has been working in Iraq since the 1990’s responding to both humanitarian crises as well as to development needs. In 2023, Oxfam implements work through eight offices in Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salahaddin governorates in Federal Iraq and Erbil and Kalar in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). 

Our humanitarian and development priorities in country are water, sanitation and hygiene; food security and livelihoods; gender justice; and protection. Across these themes, our programmatic approach:

·         Continually looks to improve quality and lead through innovation

·         Mainstreams gender and ensures women’s rights are at the heart of everything Oxfam does

·         Establishes and maintains transformative partnerships to facilitate local leadership

·         Promotes complementary advocacy, where possible, to influence systemic change

As an advocate for Local Humanitarian Leadership and a strengthened civic space, Oxfam has active partnership engagements with 47 local and national NGOs.

This position is a member of the Country Management Team (CMT). The objectives of the CMT include developing and overseeing the implementation of the Country Strategy, identifying, and making decisions on issues of strategic importance to the Oxfam Iraq program, providing sound and effective leadership and guidance to the whole organization, and ensuring that Oxfam delivers on the objectives and performance requirements set out in internal guidelines, strategic documents, and donor engagements. The areas of focus for the CMT include facilitating organizational decision-making, developing, and taking joint responsibility for implementation of issues of a strategic nature, monitoring adherence to strategic plans and budget, and identifying and resolving management issues affecting program implementation, including matters related to staff security.

UNIT PURPOSE: The Programme Team is overall responsible, and accountable for the development, design, management, and monitoring of country programmes for Oxfam in Iraq. The Programme Team is responsible for ensuring that the Oxfam country programmes align with the Oxfam Country Strategy (OCS) and address priority needs and contextual trends.

The team is tasked with designing programmes that are relevant and responsive to the country’s needs, considering the political, economic, social, and cultural context. This requires a thorough understanding of the local context, including the needs of vulnerable communities and the challenges they face. Additionally, the Programme Team is responsible for effectively managing and monitoring the implementation of these programmes to ensure they are delivered efficiently and effectively. They must ensure that the programmes are in line with the Oxfam in Iraq’s overall objectives and outcomes and that they contribute to the organization’s mission of ending poverty and inequality.

The Programme Team works closely with other teams within Oxfam in Iraq to ensure coherence and alignment with the overall strategy. They must also engage with external stakeholders, including partners, donors, and government agencies, to build relationships and secure support for the programmes. Furthermore, the Programme Team must ensure that the programmes are sustainable and have a lasting impact on the communities they serve. This requires a focus on building the capacity of local partners and communities to ensure they can continue to benefit from the programmes long after Oxfam’s intervention has ended.

The Programme Team plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of Oxfam in Iraq’s programmes. Their responsibilities range from design and development to management and monitoring, ensuring alignment with the Oxfam Country Strategy and addressing priority needs and contextual trends. Their work is critical to advancing Oxfam’s mission of ending poverty and inequality, and it requires close collaboration with other teams and external stakeholders to achieve lasting impact.

JOB PURPOSE: The Deputy Country Director – Programmes is a senior position in the Oxfam in Iraq country set up, and is responsible for the overall programmatic strategy across the entire country operation. This includes providing timely and adequate technical inputs and ensuring that Oxfam’s projects bring a significant contribution to meeting immediate humanitarian needs and ensuring durable solutions of displacement affected individuals. As such, the Deputy Country Director – Programmes has a crucial role in strategy development and adherence, and is responsible for ensuring that policies, systems, and people are continuously and accurately working in a coordinated manner to ensure that a coherent and comprehensive program is designed and implemented.

The Deputy Country Director – Programmes is also responsible for cross-cutting programmatic information management, sound design of and overseeing assessments, monitoring, and evaluation, and ensuring that information collected is reflected upon, used to improve ongoing projects, and is incorporated into consistently high-quality grant proposals and reports. S/he also plays a key role in fundraising activities and external representation, alongside the Country Director, and acts as the primary focal point for Oxfam’s programming portfolio in Iraq.

In order to ensure successful program implementation, the Deputy Country Director – Programmes needs to have an in-depth understanding of the country context and be able to identify and analyse key issues in order to develop appropriate strategies and ensure effective implementation. S/he should have strong interpersonal and communication skills and be able to work collaboratively with both internal and external stakeholders, including the government, NGOs, UN agencies and other key actors. Furthermore, it is important that the Deputy Country Director – Programmes is able to work in a dynamic and challenging environment and is able to work both independently and as part of a team.

The Deputy Country Director – Programmes is a key position in the Oxfam country set up, and therefore needs to demonstrate strong leadership skills and be able to manage, motivate and inspire their team. They must also be able to analyse complex information and make sound decisions and be able to develop and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

At Oxfam, we are committed to upholding our core values and ensuring that our Deputy Country Director – Programmes is dedicated to their role and able to deliver on our mission. We are looking for an experienced professional with a passion for delivering quality programming to ensure our success in Iraq.

POST HOLDER REPORTS TO

Country Director

JOBS REPORTING TO THIS POST

5-8 Staff, including technical advisors

BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY

15 million Euros (annual budget)

DIMENSIONS OF THE ROLE

The Deputy Country Director – Programmes is responsible for developing a long-term vision and strategic planning to achieve significant impact through high-quality programming and leadership. The role involves supporting the partnership team, and lead where appropriate, strategic engagement with partners. The successful candidate coordinates and oversees delivery of agreed plans and programmes, integrating humanitarian response and development programmes with policy and advocacy based on the Oxfam one programme approach.

The Deputy Country Director – Programmes must be able to deal with complex, non-routine, and unexpected management tasks and problems. They represent Oxfam in coordination meetings and critical external relationships with municipalities and governance structures, humanitarian stakeholders, and interagency coordination. The successful candidate shows an ability to analyze and communicate complex information to a wide audience. The individual must also demonstrate decision-making that is strategic and operational, requiring significant levels of judgment based on technical and management experience, and a range of external and internal factors.

The Deputy Country Director – Programmes must demonstrate well-developed abilities to motivate and persuade at many levels and recognizes the support required to manage change. They are a role model for their team in this process. The role impacts and influences within the country programme and influences the diverse internal/external target audiences both at country and above country level, requiring proven communication, facilitation, and representation skills.

The individual will manage a significant number of staff and have budgetary responsibility for multiple programmes, involving strong operational management experience and capability. They will provide specialist advice to country and regional management on humanitarian and development issues and possibly interface with media/public on humanitarian and development issues. In-depth knowledge of the principles underlying the key purpose and role of programme leadership, coordination and management is required to make decisions affecting the team and which may impact more widely in the division/programme.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Direction and Leadership

·         Develop Oxfam’s long-term vision and provide a clear strategic direction for the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of Oxfam’s programme under its three strategic goals that span the humanitarian and development continuum and ensure strong linkages to influencing work in Iraq.

·         Work with the CD to develop Oxfam’s Country Operating Plans and Budget and support the CD in monitoring overall performance against and delivery of the Country Strategy in Iraq.

·         Support and maintain strategic alliances and partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders including national and local authorities, donors, multilateral agencies, partners, as well as within Oxfam confederation (partner affiliates, knowledge hubs, Global Humanitarian Team, etc.)

·         Maintain an analysis of the evolving country context and use this to inform interventions.

·         Provide leadership and management on Oxfam’s programming in Iraq, including fundraising, appropriate allocation and management of resources, programming quality, accountability, and performance management.

• Remain up-to-date, and aware of ongoing contextual and funding trends in the region and provide regular updates on these trends and analysis of how they may affect Oxfam programming.

Programme design, implementation, and quality

·         In coordination with programme team and under the guidance of the Country Director, to lead on developing country programme strategies, objectives, and activity plans.

·         Responsible for, in close collaboration with the funding department, and the Thematic programme team, lead on programme design and proposal development, ensuring full participation of influencing department and support departments.

·         The DCD-P maintains the overview of the programme funding pipeline and needs, clearly communicating Programme funding needs and priorities, maintaining, and developing new and existing donor relationships.

·         Ensure programme quality implementation of programmes in a consultative, participative, and transparent and gender sensitive way.

·         Work with the DCD-Support to ensure that budgets/projections are drawn up for all activities, and that costs are kept within budgets and programmes are cost-efficient, providing a monthly financial projection.

·         Responsible for ensuring that Oxfam meets all contractual obligations and achieves high quality proposal and donor reporting on time.

·         Take measures to limit risks to the programme , including security, safeguarding, reputational, financial and harm to beneficiaries.

·         Ensure that learning is incorporated into on-going and new programmes.

·         Ensure adherence to Oxfam’s policies and programme standards including humanitarian standards as well as compliance with Oxfam’s Common Approach to MEL and Social Accountability (CAMSA) and partnership principles.

·         Ensure ongoing constructive relationships with partners and allies, and work with diverse teams to strengthen partner capacity, adopting a strategic, proactive perspective on how to achieve partner led approaches to achieve sustainable change.

·         Support the Oxfam in Iraq in relevant programme research and knowledge generation ensuring the integration of cross cutting, regional and global issues.

·         Provide guidance to the programme team regarding tools and strategies to ensure that programming is based on input from communities, a thorough understanding of the context, and technical best practices.

·         Work with colleagues in country program, region and HQ to identify funding opportunities and develop competitive, responsive proposals that meet internal standards, apply Oxfam’s strategy/ies and are donor compliant; meet with donors to discuss current and potential funding opportunities.

Financial Management

·         As a senior budget holder for the country programme, ensure timely spending, compliance, and procedural controls are rolled out across the country programme.

·         Through the provision of leadership support to the in-country grants team, and in close collaboration with the Finance Team, develop evidenced based and cost-effective funding applications.

person specification

1. Be committed to our feminist principles, and to applying them in your day-to-day behaviour and your work. Be ready to keep learning, with accountability to those who experience oppression as a result of their identities, such as their gender, race/ethnicity, disability, class, or LGBTQIA identity.”

2. Be committed to undertaking Oxfam’s safeguarding training and adhering to relevant policies, to ensure all people who come into Oxfam are as safe as possible.

Essential

•       A proven record of effective leadership, especially in conflict/post conflict contexts. Ability to challenge, motivate and develop a team through periods of programme change.

•       Ability to work with significant levels of autonomy and make prompt and sound decisions.

•       Proven analytical skills and ability to work with others to develop strategy into action and communicating and influencing this to a wider audience.

•       Knowledge and experience of promoting gender equity, and an active commitment to promoting the interests of marginalized people in all aspects of programme work.

•       Experience of programme planning, and competent use of project management tools.

•       The ability to meet agreed deadlines in a stressful and fast paced environment, will be critical.

•       Proven experience of effective management  of complex humanitarian situations, including managing finances, staff and funding of the programme (contract design and management).

•       Experience of managing staff: challenging, motivating, developing and inspiring team members

•       Evidence of professional excellence in related sectors (Livelihoods, WASH, Gender, Protection and Advocacy).

•       Sensitivity to cultural differences, and the ability to work in a wide variety of cultural contexts.

•       High-level interpersonal and communications skills.

•       Ability to influence and liaise effectively with key stakeholders and representation in high profile environments.

•       Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.

•       Sympathy with the aims and objectives of Oxfam.

•       Commitment to humanitarian principles and action.

•       Commitment to Oxfam’s equal opportunity and gender policies.

Feminist Leadership approach

•       Self-Awareness Able to develop a high degree of self-awareness around our own strengths and weaknesses and our impact on others. Our self-awareness enables us to moderate and self-regulate our behaviours to control and channel our impulses for good purposes. We self-moderate appropriately to different context thereby optimizing our ability to achieve goals

•       Vision Setting We have the ability to identify and lead visionary initiatives that are beneficial for our organisation and we set high-level direction through a visioning process that engages the organisation and diverse external stakeholders. Clarity in our communication of vision allows others to focus on delivery and their contribution to the wider changes we seek.

•       Strategic Thinking and Judgment We use judgment, weighing risk against the imperative to act. We make decisions consistent with organisational strategies and values.

•       Mutual accountability We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our
organisational values. We are ready to be held to account for our actions and how we behave, as we are also holding others to account in a consistent manner.

•       Influencing We have the ability to engage with diverse stakeholders in a way that leads to increased impact for the organisation We spot opportunities to influence effectively and where there are no opportunities we have the ability to create them in a respectful and impactful manner.

•       Enabling We all work to effectively empower and enable others to deliver the organisations goals through creating conditions of success. We passionately invest in others by developing their careers, not only their skills for the job. We give more freedom and demonstrate belief and trust, underpinned with appropriate support.

At interview, shortlisted candidates will also be assessed on our values and organisational attributes, as outlined above.

Desirable

•       Arabic language skills highly desirable.

•       Knowledge of the Iraqi and Middle Eastern context

•       Knowledge and understanding of Oxfam’s programmes in emergencies and development.