Deputy Country Director-Programme

Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty.

The Role

The Deputy Country Director, Programme (DCD-P) offers overall leadership, strategic direction, guidance and oversight for effective and efficient delivery of country programmes. S/he remains abreast on how the context evolves, ensures proper assessment of needs and design of emergency response strategy-plan, feeding into interventions design and resource mobilization and that the country programmes address the contextual needs. The post holder is responsible for preparing the country operational plan. Through regular oversight, s/he ensures that proper structure, systems and procedures are in place and functional, and human and physical resources are available. The post holder is responsible for ensuring that the impact of the programmes is measured to drive continuous improvement.
The postholder provides leadership to the technical leads and programme managers ensuring safe and gender-sensitive programming to support the local humanitarian and civic space strengthening agenda.
The post holder is skilled in managing both internal and external relationships from the RP, affiliates, OGB and donors to deliver programmes using highly developed communication skills such as negotiation, consensus building and diplomacy. As a member of the Country Management Team (CMT), s/he contributes to the country office management and will occasionally deputise for the Country Director.

What we are looking for

To provide overall leadership for delivery, management and scale up of the humanitarian response and development programmes in Yemen, ensuring programmes align with the country strategy, accountability and quality frameworks and comply with Oxfam and donors policies and procedures. Deputises for the Country Director and plays key role in keeping the Oxfam informed about the progress of the response and spearhead the calling for resources to support the response.

We offer

Oxfam is a global movement of people who won’t live with the injustice of poverty. Together we save and rebuild lives in disasters. We help people build better lives for themselves. We speak out on the big issues that keep people poor, like inequality, discrimination against women and climate change. And we won’t stop until every person on the planet can live without poverty.

Our values and commitment to safeguarding

Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults and beneficiaries with whom Oxfam GB engages. Oxfam expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. Oxfam GB also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Technical:

1. Programme Design and Fund Raising
   • Leads the process of regular assessment of needs, considering the contextual changes, emergency, outbreak, humanitarian, resilience and development issues and scope
   • Ensures that programme colleagues are part of the inclusive programme design:planning, problem analysis, gender, conflict and power analysis, intervention and log frame design, elaborating programme inputs, considering previous learning and innovations, and budgeting
   • Working in a collaborative and inclusive way and providing responsive communication with stakeholders
   • Through HPCs, holds programme colleagues accountable in meeting deadlines in proposal write-up, clarifying issues and budget development until the final submission is done
   • Leads regular assessment of costs of current programme-ops structures, programme needs, available funding, and identify and communicate the funding gaps to the CD and CMT
   • Channels funding information or opportunity from the clusters, RP, EA, PA and donors
   • Works with the Business Development Manager to supports the CD on fund raising and mobilising resources.
2. Programme Quality
   • Overseeing different stages of programme cycle management, ensures that CO programmes are in line with OCS and (humanitarian) programme strategy
   • Ensures systems and plans in place to guarantee that programmes are designed and implemented based on sound analysis, including gender and power analysis
   • Ensures that gender and protection are integrated and mainstreamed in all stages of programme cycle to promote safe programming
   • Fosters partnership, local humanitarian leadership and capacity strengthening, including strategic partnership in implementing programmes
   • Ensures functional monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) system to measure progress and promote accountability
   • Establishes mechanism for knowledge sharing and learning between programmes, within and beyond the CO to ensure that the CO programme remains dynamic with scope for innovation
   • Promotes a culture of learning: encourages and holds staff accountable for documenting, sharing and using evidence of impact: connect programme and advocacy, and vice-versa, and that learnings are used in future program design
   • Mentors the technical leads to visit fields regularly to monitor programme quality and offer field colleagues technical supports, along with necessary tools: debrief the PM, prepare visit report, with clear findings and actions, and arrange (on-job) training / orientation
   • Oversees donor reporting: quality, learning, consistency in information and meeting deadline.
   • Ensures linkages between programme and advocacy: programme information, learning and evidence of impact shared with advocacy, and advocacy included in programme design.
3. Safe, Gender-sensitive and Value-Driven Programming
   • Monitors programmes to provide assurance that programmes promote Oxfam’s values, culture and beliefs
   • Ensures that all programmes remain at least but not limited to gender-sensitive, considering how to understand and address the specific perspectives and needs of girls, women and the most vulnerable
   • Ensures that governance, gender and protection remain in the forefront
   Leadership and Management:
4. Strategic Leadership, Operational Planning and Vision
   • Working with the Country Director to develop major strategic plans such as Oxfam Country Strategy (OCS), country operational plan (COP)
   • Leads the process of developing humanitarian strategy and emergency response plan as and when required
   • Accountable for the development and implementation of a high-quality programmes, consistent with the context, Oxfam’s standards, values and codes, donor requirements and global priorities, ensuring that Oxfam programmes remain relevant, safe and impactful.
5. Programme Management
   • Ensures that Oxfam programmes are managed in a way that achieves programme or project goals, is in line with Oxfam policies and procedures, and demonstrates sound resource management
   • Regularly reviews and ensures that the most efficient CO programme management structure is established and functional to ensure effective and efficient delivery to achieve programme objectives
   • Organizes and / holds programme coordination meeting to review progresses, challenges, learning and develop acceleration plans.
6. People Management
   • Line manager responsibility for several teams within Yemen requiring management for all direct reports and leads the establishment and functioning of a strong, effective and coordinated teams within scope of responsibility
   • Promotes a culture and focus in the country programmes, ensuring recognition of staff successes, and that space and incentives are available for staff development
   • Oversees the recruitment, training, orientation and induction of senior programme staff.
   • Ensures excellent people management and development of staff managed, in accordance with Oxfam’s performance management cycle and policies: developing job profiles, setting performance objectives, regular feedback, mid-year review and annual performance review.
7. Financial and Physical Resources
   • Plans significant financial spend through the programmes and is accountable for the budgets of programmes
   • Budget holder for several teams.
8. External Relations and Representations
   • In collaboration with the Country Director, coordinates and negotiates contract or project sub-agreements with the local authorities and line ministries.
   • Represent Oxfam in appropriate humanitarian fora at a local and national level with government authorities, UN organisations, NGO’s and donor agencies as delegated by CD.
   • Maintains regular communications with broader Oxfam: RP, HQ and affiliates.
   • Raises issues or concerns at higher level to mobilise support and influence, and / or speaks to the media, when delegated, in the event of IHL violations or as required.
9. Other responsibility
   • Performs other duties, as assigned.
   • Required to adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values as well as the promotion of gender justice and women’s rights
   • Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles

Essential – Experience, Knowledge, Qualifications & Competencies

Degree in relevant subject

Significant field experience in leading humanitarian and development programmes in a challenging and / or fragile environment

Knowledge and experience in development issues with expertise in one of the following areas: a) emergency or sustainable livelihoods b) WASH c) emergency preparedness and response

Successful track record of humanitarian / development programme management

Experience in operational planning and developing emergency response plans

Evidence of managing significant budget

Experience of managing human resources including evidence of managing employment relations issues, such as disciplinary and performance issues and redundancy

Resilience

Desirable

Masters degree in international development / economic / humanitarian or relevant issue

Senior management work experience in a large, complex organisation

Experience of working in the Middle East particularly Yemen