Programme Officer, Humanitarian at Oxfam

Job Purpose

• To ensure quality and maximum impact of Oxfam Humanitarian responses in North East Nigeria, by supporting the programme teams in emergency preparedness and implementation and also represents the humanitarian team in humanitarian coordination meetings at the national level.

Dimensions

• Responsible for monitoring and advising on high quality humanitarian preparedness, early warning and response of the country programme
• (Under the One Program Approach) support Oxfam’s humanitarian mandate and the achievement of Oxfam’s humanitarian challenges and goals, by engaging and informing staff across the humanitarian team. Seek synergies with Development and Campaigns
• Support with the development of emergencies and recovery programme proposals, strategies and other key strategic documents
• Be the face of Oxfam Humanitarian in humanitarian coordination meetings at the national level

Key Responsibilities
Programme Design and Development:

• Inform the humanitarian team of emerging and innovative systems and techniques within the humanitarian cycle and support with strategic programme decision before and during emergency and recovery programme interventions
• Support with proposals development, programme design and planning and overall systems strengthening

Monitor and support humanitarian crisis response, preparedness and recovery interventions:

• Monitor and Support the reinforcement and proper implementation of Oxfam’s humanitarian programmes
• In coordination with the Humanitarian Manager, support the Humanitarian Manager and programme leads to perform their role at the highest Oxfam and International Standards (Humanitarian Dossier including Code of Conduct and Sphere Standards) during emergencies and in preparedness phase (including contingency planning)
• Monitor humanitarian crises around the world and produce regular humanitarian updates (Situation Report), in order to inform Oxfam humanitarian responses in Nigeria
• Travel to crisis affected areas during an emergency when requested by programme lead or by the Humanitarian Manager
• Support cross-programme cooperation & coordination during preparedness and response

Quality and Learning:

• Support the coordination and workplan implementation of the emergency response and recovery interventions in the North East
• Support the monitoring process to assess the quality of the response, include participate in Real Time Evaluations, After Action Reviews and support the implementation of learning events
• Support the development and implementation of Oxfam wide programme standards, development of core competencies
• Support humanitarian capacity building across the team and partners

Humanitarian Coordination:

• Represent the team in Sectors (Food Security, WASH), Working Groups (Livelihoods and Economic Recovery, Cash Transfers) and coordination meetings at the national level
• Coordinate and ensure the various programme leads in the field regularly attend the sectors, working groups and coordination meetings at the state level
• Inform the management of major developments arising from meetings at the state and national levels, as well as in the wider humanitarian cycle

Other:

• Provide support to the Humanitarian Programme Manager as required
• To be familiar with and abide by the Humanitarian/NGO/Red Cross Code of Conduct and the SPHERE standards

Key Working Relationships
Strong links to:

• Humanitarian Coordinator, North East
• WASH Specialists
• Information Management and Programme Quality Team
• Gender and Protection Team
• EFSL Team
• Regional and Global Emergency Team

Requirements/Skills and Competences
Qualifications:

• A good graduate degree in Development, Social Sciences, International Relations or any relevant equivalent; Master’s preferable
• 3 -5 years of progressively responsible and directly relevant professional experience, such as asset management, storekeeping, procurement - ideally with at least 2 years in International NGO

Leadership and Management:

• Experience of implementing organizational strategy in development; preferably in emergencies
• Good project management skills
• Strong analytical skills

Communication:

• Ability to liaise with a wide range of people, both internally and externally and at many levels, with credibility, tact and diplomacy
• Good communication and team working skills
• Good negotiation and conflict mitigation skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to lead, influence and motivate others
• Fluent spoken and written English

Other:

• Good knowledge of humanitarian work, the international humanitarian system and international humanitarian standards & law
• Extended humanitarian field and HQ experience
• Excellent organizational skills, including self-organisation and self-starting
• Good computer skills
• Ability to show perseverance, persistence and patience
• Prepared to travel to areas with higher security risks, very basic living conditions and on short notice
• A strong commitment to Oxfam’s purpose, a broad understanding of the work culture in the “humanitarian” sector and its impact on key areas of responsibility and a commitment to humanitarian principles and action

Oxfam Behavioral Competencies:

• Understand humanitarian contexts (program phases, underlying causes of crisis, coordination mechanisms) and application of Humanitarian Principles (vulnerability, gender and diversity awareness; Humanitarian principles, codes and standards)
• Achieve results effectively (demonstrate accountability to partners and affected people; making decisions involving others; flexibility; delivery of timely and appropriate results using available resources)
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships (communication with affected people; collaboration with the team and partners; challenge decisions and behaviors that breach humanitarian principles)
• Operate safely and securely in a humanitarian response (Identify, communicate and minimise risk for the agency, yourself and others; comply and help uphold safety and security protocols; uphold the Do No Harm principle with partners and affected people)
• Manage yourself in a pressured and changing environment (ability to recognize and manage stress in yourself and others in order to remain ethical, constructive and objective focused; awareness of internal and external pressures and should be able to manage emotions)
• Leadership in humanitarian response (Awareness of your own skills and how they can complement those of others; demonstrate initiative, ingenuity, and tenacity in achieving solutions to fulfill objectives and motivate others to do the same; communicate humanitarian values and motivate others towards them)
• The incumbent will stay abreast of professional standards, trends and issues affecting this set of responsibilities, demonstrating continuous learning of the field in line with Oxfam in Nigeria’s mission and vision
• S/he will work effectively and collaboratively to build a team-based culture of work, treating all persons with dignity and respect, and will be familiar with and committed to Oxfam in Nigeria mission and goals