Core Details

LeadCore Details

Shaping a stronger Oxfam for people living in poverty

About Oxfam

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.

Oxfam GB is a member of the international confederation Oxfam.

Our Team

The Influencing and Communication team is accountable for ensuring that the reach and influence of the Oxfam programme in Ethiopia is extended in a manner that retains the integrity of the Oxfam brand and maximises the impact of programmes as informed by the National Influencing Guidelines, Oxfam Brand and Media and Communications Guidelines. Encompassing the organisation’s media, advocacy, policy, campaigns, research and communications functions, the team will manage and influence external relations and public perception in addition to supporting wide dissemination of Oxfam’s policy positions, facilitating networking and ensuring that the organisation has the necessary information to engage in influencing activities. In order to achieve all that is stated above, Oxfam needs to have a stronger media relation in country as well as elsewhere.

Job Purpose

The main purpose of the Influencing and Communication Manager is to ensure and cover the entire country programme including direct humanitarian interventions and long-term development work advocacy and campaigns. S/He provides technical assistance to the Oxfam country team, local partners and allies in a strategic manner, whether virtually for staff in remote areas and through face-to-face communications by engaging staff from various locations. S/He is responsible for the strategic development and management of a strong influencing and communications function for the country program. S/He provides strategic leadership and support to resource mobilisation efforts and ensures that the promotion of women’s rights is at the heart of all Oxfam in Ethiopia’s program work. 

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 promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. 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.

We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organisation and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.

Key Responsibilities 

The specific objective of the role is to develop and implement a clear country influencing strategy for the transformation of programmes. This will be done though influencing and supporting country teams to increase the impact of the Oxfam country programme at scale and bring change (in policy, practice and/or attitude). This change will be driven by new resource strategies, partnerships relations and ways of working that will extend and amplify programme outcomes.

The Influencing and Communications Manager leads the country influencing strategy, which has the objective of ensuring the influencing programme is delivered. This post has a Media and Communication Officer in the team who will link with other Oxfam affiliates in his/her area of work. 

Strengthen the vision and leadership for influencing in Ethiopia

• Lead and develop the country influencing strategy for Oxfam in Ethiopia programmes.
• In line with the vision for the country, guide and support the Country Management Team (CMT) to develop influencing programmes that complement the programme strategy and ambition.
• Identify and coordinate support for the translation of the OCSs into effective influencing programme designs and proposals.
• Support the CMT to develop appropriate ways of working that will ensure that they are externally focused and tuned to developments within their context ensuring the development of appropriate behaviours for influencing.
• In collaboration with the Head of Programme and the Humanitarian Programme Manager, ensure that that the country programme is implemented in consistent, coherent manner that promotes collaboration, knowledge sharing and accountability across the whole organisation.
• Strengthen the relevance, legitimacy and downward accountability of our global influencing initiatives.
• Stay abreast of and adjust to changing circumstances and understandings regarding international interventions and practices and anticipate, analyse and manage highly complex and diverse public policy issues and programme strategy, ensuring that Oxfam Ethiopia’s and approaches include the latest thinking.
• Promote a culture shift in how advocacy, humanitarian and long term development staff bring their skills together to achieve change at national level.

Lead influencing programme development and delivery

• Provide guidance to the country team on good practice around power analysis, evidence based advocacy, public campaigning, effective messaging, risk assessment and ensuring the creation of clear and accessible tools and resources for teams to maximize their programme impact through Worldwide Influencing Network (WIN).
• In collaboration with the global Digital WIN team, explore the use of digital technology in our potential campaigning to scale up programme ambitions in this area.
• Support the programme to develop effective networks, partnerships with multiple stakeholders for the effective delivery of campaign goals ensuring linkages at regional and global level.
• Provide high level technical advice and support to managers on all policy issues and facilitate the development of quality policy papers.
• Manage external relations and public perception in addition to supporting wide dissemination of Oxfam’s policy positions, facilitating networking and ensuring that the organization has the necessary information to engage in influencing activities.
• In line with country ambitions to engage with regional and global campaign initiatives and facilitate the development of influencing initiatives that where possible, connect to regional, OI-African Union office, Pan Africa, and Global programmes.
• Ensure that all public engagements are carried out in a consistent manner, protecting and promoting the brand and identity of Oxfam in all spheres - public messaging, communications materials, publications, media engagement, lobbying actions and public actions undertaken by Oxfam in Ethiopia.
• Ensure adequate resourcing allocated within budgets to scale up influencing at national level and support initiatives for resource mobilisation.
• Drive the development of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) within national influencing initiatives.
• Build relationships with external stakeholders and allies to increase influencing impact. 

Build country team capacity and autonomy on influencing

• Work closely with HR to strengthen how influencing is embedded country roles and HR systems (Job Descriptions, Annual Performance Objectives, Annual Performance Review, recruitment and induction processes).
• Support the CMT to identify critical influencing capacity gaps among the country staff and partners and develop a plan of action to support the development of such capacities.
• Strengthen internal knowledge of and staff capacity of range of campaign and advocacy tools that can be applied in programme activities.
• Ensure the delivery of the Oxfam internal change agenda on influencing (WIN).
• Explore opportunities for regional engagement/programmes that add value to the achievement of the country programme goals.
• Promote the integration of women’s rights into national influencing strategies when possible.
• Provide specialist advice on in-country public media, communications and campaigns capacity.

People development and management    

• Ensures that his/her team member have access to staff development opportunities, identifies/addresses capacity gaps and provides on-going counselling and support to his/her team member.
• Manage and support the Media and Communication Coordinator to deliver the Influence Strategy aligned with the OCS, providing leadership, inspiration and guidance and ensuring that the management of the team is in line with Oxfam’s HR policies and procedures.
• With support from Human Resources, manages the life cycle of individuals within the team from pre-recruitment to exit, including performance management processes, people’s development and working with HR on issues such as disciplinary matters among others.

Other

• 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

Leadership and Management

• To provide direct support to the Country Director, and the Programme Managers in the field on all matters of influencing and communications management with a view to ensuring a strong brand image for Oxfam in Ethiopia.
• Leadership, management, negotiation and coordination skills (of people and projects) in a complex multi-stakeholder, networked, global and largely virtual environment.
• Provide leadership to the team, ensuring the best possible support to the programme and advice to the country management team.
• Liaising with managers in country in order to resolve problems related to the effective functioning of the department.
• Demonstrate leadership behaviours and ways of working within the team that promotes value addition, non-duplication of roles across functions, empowerment and role enrichment of team and a culture of cost effectiveness by all functional managers.
• Development of customer service attitude within the team and a focus on integrated teamwork.
• Proactively address the interface between different functions and programme teams in-country to ensure efficiency and accountability.
• Demonstrated organisational awareness and understanding of knowledge management.
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking skills; able to understand complex issues and translate them into simple, workable actions and plans.
• Persuasive influencing, motivation, team-building and facilitation skills.
• Good understanding of management roles and dynamics in organizations.
• Developing organizational strategies and plans for communication and measuring effectiveness.
• Experience in managing and developing others, including direct line management.
• Experience of leading and managing conflict resolution.
• Ability to liaise with a wide range of people, both internally and externally at very senior levels (OI, Executing Affiliate and other senior organizational leaders) with credibility, tact and diplomacy.

Desirable

Education and Experience:

• Masters/Post-graduate degree/Bachelor (BA) Degree from a recognized university / collage in Social Sciences, International Development, International Relations, Media and Communications or other areas that can bring an added value to the related job.
• Relevant experience of 5-7 years for Masters and Post-graduate holders or 7-10 years for Bachelor holders, preferably in an international NGO out of which 3 years should be supervisory/managerial experience.
• Experience of leading, designing and delivering influencing, campaigning and advocacy programmes in Ethiopia.
• Experience of leading and/or supporting others to design and deliver advocacy and campaigns, programme and research and policy work.
• Experience of using media, popular mobilisation and public campaigning in a developing country context.
• Excellent inter-personal and collaboration skills, particularly in cross-cultural contexts.
• Proven experience of capacity strengthening and advisory work.
• In-depth understanding of the economic, political and social causes and dynamics of poverty and a familiarity with policy issues related to the creation or reduction of poverty in Ethiopia and globally.
• Comprehensive knowledge and experience of development programmes, humanitarian response and campaigning.
• Superb judgement that ensures the delivery of a cohesive strategy and policy, and grows Oxfam’s reputation in the country.
• Ability to think and act strategically and understand the relationship between national and regional programmes and the global objectives of Oxfam.
• Ability to coach on the building of strong, credible relationships with international and local NGOs, government associations, business leaders and communities.
• Ability to adjust to constantly changing situations while maintaining focus on delivery and follow-through.
• Proven commitment to, and hands-on knowledge of Oxfam’s One Programme approach.
• Commitment to Oxfam’s overall aims and policies and experience of promoting women’s rights and those of marginalised people in all aspects of Oxfam’s work in Ethiopia.
• Very strong analytical and conceptual thinking skills; able to understand highly complex issues and translate them into simple, workable actions and plans.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with experience of external representation strategies, lobbying, advocacy and campaigning.  
• Excellent personal communication skills, in written and verbal English and Amharic, with high impact influencing and persuasive skills. Able to use different approaches to achieve followership.
• Collaborative working as part of a leadership team.
• A high level of energy, stamina and flexibility. 
• Ability to adjust to constantly changing situations while maintaining focus on delivery and follow-through, often working under pressure and to tight deadlines.

Key Attributes

• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities.
• Ability to demonstrate an openness and willingness to learn about the application of gender/gender mainstreaming, women’s rights, and diversity for all aspects of development work.
• Commitment to undertake Oxfam’s safeguarding training and adherence of relevant policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible.

Organisational Values

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions.
• Empowerment – Our approach means that everyone involved with Oxfam, from our staff and supporters to people living in poverty, should feel they can make change happen.
• Inclusiveness – We are open to everyone and embrace diversity. We believe everyone has a contribution to make, regardless of visible and invisible differences.

Note to candidates: Shortlisted candidates will be assessed on our organisational values and attributes at the interview stage. The successful candidate(s) will be expected to adhere to our code of conduct. We encourage candidates to read and understand our code of conduct here.