Head of Programmes and Influencing / Deputy Country Director at Oxfam

JOB PURPOSE

• Significantly contribute to the development and implementation of impactful and influencing Programmes in Nigeria consistent with the Oxfam in Nigeria Country Strategy.
• Work closely and collaboratively as a member of the Country Leadership Team to lead delivery of programme objectives.
• Work with the Country Director for effective change management within, keeping Oxfam relevant and progressive to changing internal and external contexts.
• Represent Oxfam at internal and external events and meetings as appropriate.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Management and Transformational Leadership:

• Manage and coach the programme and project managers, ensuring a shared vision, teamwork, effective communication, active engagement, transparent and participatory and productive decision-making, and management approaches.
• Manage the design, development, planning, budgeting, and implementation and monitoring of the OCS.
• Provide leadership and management support to Oxfam in Nigeria programme and project teams, leading on development and implementation of annual programme planning and budgeting. Lead timely and qualified delivery of projects.
• Work with Programme and Project Managers to develop quality signature programmes and relevant projects.
• Assist Country Director in ensuring awareness of and full compliance with Oxfam, donor and government requirements.
• Work with Country Human Resources Manager and Programme Managers to develop and implement effective ways in which staff performance is adequately managed.
• Ensure effective teamwork by enhancing co-operation with colleagues.
• Transform and motivate the Programme and Project Team through idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration.
• Encourage the Programme and Project Team to come up with new and unique ways to challenge the status quo to bring innovation in the programming.
• Set goals and incentives to push the Programme and Project Team to higher performance levels, while providing opportunities for personal and professional growth.
• Actively engage in promotion of success stories, which are collected through reliable M&E system.
• Ensure that gender, safeguarding and other transversal issues are mainstreamed in all programming.
• Promote equality of opportunity.

Policy and Influencing Functions:

• Overview the development and implementation of Oxfam in Nigeria’s national influencing strategy as part of Oxfam’s regional influencing strategy and considering the role of ECOWAS AID office.
• To ensure the development of highly influencing programmes in Nigeria for impact
• Ensure that global campaigns identified in the OI strategy to which Oxfam in Nigeria is committed to are well conceptualized and excellently executed considering the national context.
• Ensure that local campaigns undertaken by regional programmes, and at the national level are well conceptualized and excellently executed to achieve desired outcomes.
• Support review of policy papers and develop policy positions to propose policy alternatives.
• Support development of working relationships with government, international NGO and CSO networks to implement joint programmes to promote Oxfam’s advocacy objectives.
• Establish strong and constructive relationships with the House of parliament, at Federal and state level, Government ministries at Federal and State levels Oxfam’s promising practices and alternatives.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning:

• Support the Programme Quality team to set up and manage knowledge, monitoring, evaluation and learning with support from Programmes.
• Lead the Programme teams to ensure the proper implementation of the global M&E framework.
• Lead and support programme monitoring and evaluation.
• Work with the Programme Quality Team to ensure there are in built M&E system in each project, which is responsive of the donor and Oxfam’s international requirements.
• To support build a knowledge management system for Nigeria.
• Support organizational learning through dissemination of important lessons.

Resource Mobilization and Donors Reporting:

In collaboration with Country Director, the Director for Business Development and with support from the regional and global fundraising team, ensure that Oxfam Programme:

• Has an ambitious yet realistic fundraising strategy.
• Enables the programme team to aggressively pursue and draw strategic donor contracts.
• Identifies and reaches out to new/potential donors including institutions, corporate, foundations and consortiums with other strategic national and international organizations for joint programming and fundraising.
• Prepare and submit quality and innovative programme concept notes, proposals and budgets to donors.
• Work with the Programme Quality Teams to ensure that narrative and financial reports to donors are of quality and submitted on time (in collaboration with Finance Manager and Project Managers).
• Interact with (potential) donors to raise new or extended programme funding.

Budget Management:

• Work closely with the Business Support Unit to support Oxfam in Nigeria programme teams, manage and monitor programme budgets ensuring value for money and ensuring that programme expenditure is within agreed budgets.
• Work closely with the Finance Team, lead regular budget variance analysis meetings ensuring that Oxfam procurement and other policies, procedures and control systems are followed, and that programme activities are implemented on time as agreed with donors.
• Ensure budget compliance and requirement of donors in the entire budget management cycle.
• Liaise with the Business services Manager and Business development Advisor to develop financial strategies, budgets and systems, which ensure optimum efficiency and effectiveness.
• Ensure cost effectiveness in reviewing and recommending proposals and budgets.
• Collaborate to develop strategies that safeguard the resources and assets of Oxfam in Nigeria

Representation and Networking:

• Together with the Country Director develop an advocacy strategy that projects Oxfam’s multi- sectoral and coordinated impact on policies and practices.
• Work closely with the Country Director to develop a media strategy, represent in media as appropriate, create, communication tools and produce materials that allow visibility to Oxfam Nigeria programme.
• Ensure Oxfam participation at relevant fora such as sectoral working groups, conferences etc. to raise Oxfam’s profile; represent Oxfam in strategic external fora as appropriate and as delegated by the Country Director.
• Work with the CD, Managers to build strategic partnerships for Oxfam’s work in Nigeria.

Other:
Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Country Director, Director of Finance and BSM, Human Resources Manager, Director for Business Development and Programme Quality, Program Managers, and Communications Officer.
• External: Government ministries departments and agencies at Federal, state and local levels, local and international NGOs, coordination platforms and working groups, community leaders
• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles.
• Ability to travel away from home to remote programmatic sites within the country and periodic travel aboard for regional, continental, and global meetings.

EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE & COMPETENCIES

ESSENTIAL

Qualifications: 

• Someone with a passion for social and economic justice/equity, a strong professional qualification and background in international development, a strong background in non-profit management and a track record in strategic planning and leadership, program development and delivery, project management, program grant management, organizational development, policy research and analysis for campaigns, advocacy and influencing work.

Education: 

• master’s degree in a related field is required (development studies, social and/or public policy, non-profit management).

Experience: 

• Minimum of 5 years of non-profit senior-level program management experience with a demonstrated record of achievement in campaigns, advocacy and policy influencing, and organizational development required; a preference for 10 years of experience with a range of non-profit, corporate or government experience.
• A detailed understanding of non-profit strategic planning and campaigns, advocacy and policy influencing, and organizational development functions are critical.

Knowledge & Experience:

Key Attributes

• Proven and strong experience on conducting effective advocacy and influencing demonstrated by examples of impact on significant policy change.
• An understanding of how to use policy analysis, research, lobbying, public campaigning, media, communications, and alliance-building to influence a political agenda.
• An understanding of Nigerian campaigns, movements, and civil society organizations
• At least Ten years of international development and human rights experience with considerable experience in public policy issues.
• Strong understanding of social justice, rights and globalization issues, and critical issues in development practice.
• Familiarity with the donors, development and human rights groups that focus on transparency and accountability of just economic justice public finance, extractive industries, and foreign aid.
• Proven progressive experience as a development professional in similar management and senior management roles.
• Demonstrated track record in driving change, and engendering high performing teams, with the ability to lead, motivate and develop others.
• Exceptional conceptual and strategic thinking skills and demonstrated experience in designing and leading strategic planning processes.
• Knowledge of key programme areas such as Economic Justice, Accountable Governance and Gender Justice with a sound understanding of integrated developmental issues and critical analysis of poverty.
• Knowledge of programming processes, systems and principles, and the ability to provide leadership and support to staff.
• Knowledge of logistics and other support areas including finance, grant management, and human resource management.
• Knowledge of effective participatory monitoring, evaluation and research systems and processes.
• Ability to provide leadership, communicate effectively and build high performance teams in support of achievement of organizational objectives.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to build relationships with colleagues at long distances in a multicultural environment.
• Solid experience in resource mobilization with a variety of donors.
• Numeracy and the ability to interpret financial data in order to provide management support to budgetary processes, including planning, monitoring and reporting.

Competencies

• Decisiveness: We are comfortable to make transparent decisions and to adapt decision making modes to the context and needs.
• Influencing: We have the ability to engage with diverse stakeholders in a way that leads to increased impact for the organization 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.
• Humility: We put ‘we’ before ‘me’ and place an emphasis on the power of the collective, nurture the team and play to the strengths of each individual. We are not concerned with hierarchical power, and we engage with, trust and value the knowledge and expertise of others across all levels of the organization.
• Relationship Building: We understand the importance of building relationship, within and outside the organization. We have the ability to engage with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in ways that lead to increased impact for the organization.
• Listening: We are good listeners who can see where deeper levels of thoughts and tacit assumptions differ. Our messages to others are clear and consider different preferences.
• Mutual Accountability: We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our organizational values. We are ready to be held to account for what we do and how we behave, as we are also holding others to account in a consistent manner.
• Agility, Complexity, and Ambiguity: We scan the environment, anticipate changes, are comfortable with lack of clarity and deal with a large number of elements interacting in diverse and unpredictable ways.
• Systems Thinking: We view problems as parts of an overall system and in their relation to the whole system, rather than reacting to a specific part, outcome or event in isolation. We focus on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect. By consistently practicing systems thinking we are aware of and manage well unintended consequences of organizational decisions and actions.
• Strategic Thinking and Judgment: We use judgment, weighing risk against the imperative to act. We make decisions consistent with organizational strategies and values.
• Vision Setting: We have the ability to identify and lead visionary initiatives that are beneficial for our organization, and we set high-level direction through a visioning process that engages the organization and diverse external stakeholders.
• Self-Awareness: We are 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 behaviors to control and channel our impulses for good purposes.
• Enabling: We all work to effectively empower and enable others to deliver the organizations goals through creating conditions of success. We passionately invest in others by developing their careers, not only their skills for the job. We provide freedom; demonstrate belief and trust provide appropriate support.

Desirable

• Systems Thinking: To view problems as parts of an overall system and in relation to the whole system, rather than reacting to a specific part, outcome, or event in isolation. To manage well unintended consequences of organizational decisions and actions.
• Strategic Thinking and Judgment: To use judgment, weighing risk against the imperative to act. To make decisions consistent with organizational strategies and values.