Oxfam is a global community that believes poverty isn’t inevitable. It’s an injustice that can be overcome. We are shop volunteers, women’s rights activists, marathon runners, aid workers, coffee farmers, street fundraisers, goat herders, policy experts, campaigners, water engineers, and more.   

And we won’t stop until everyone can live life without poverty for good.   

Oxfam GB is a member of the international confederation Oxfam.   

OUR VALUES AND COMMITMENT TO SAFEGUARDING   

Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behavior 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 organization.                                                                                                                    

Since the early 1970s, we have been working to address the underlying causes of poverty and marginalization by focusing on developing sustainable livelihoods, providing water and sanitation, agriculture, climate research, gender, and humanitarian issues.                                                                                 

TEAM PURPOSE  :To support Northern Ethiopian populations to access appropriate and equitable assistance that meets the short-term humanitarian needs and the mid-long-term development-related needs and priorities. To ensure quality, timely and safe delivery of comprehensive and integrated projects and program in Northern Ethiopia (Afar, Amhara, Tigray Regions).

JOB PURPOSE: The Programme Manager is responsible to lead and manage the Oxfam team working in the Northern Ethiopia programme office (and sub-offices) overseeing projects, programmes and support services.

Strategic Alignment and visioning: Outcome-oriented and ensuring that each project within the program supports the programmatic vision and the programme contributes to the organization's strategic objectives and priorities.

Resource Allocation: Optimizing the allocation of resources (e.g., finances, personnel, equipment) across projects and program initiatives to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

Risk Management: Identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks across the programme/ portfolio to minimize potential negative impacts on the organization.

Advocacy & Influencing: Contribute to Oxfam’s advocacy and influencing initiatives by suggesting advocacy and influencing asks around projects and programme; representation in public and private domains for advocacy and influencing for policy initiatives within the country, cluster, regional and global programmes in line with Oxfam’s priorities and values.

Performance Monitoring: Tracking the progress and performance of projects and initiatives within the programme/ portfolio to ensure they meet their objectives and deliver expected benefits.

Decision-Making: Decisiveness and making informed decisions about starting, continuing, or stopping projects and initiatives based on their performance and alignment with programmatic strategic goals.

An understanding of the wider issues of the team members' professional work, the international humanitarian context, working in volatile and complex setup, Oxfam’s ways of working, the priorities of other departments/regions within Oxfam.

Key Responsiblities

General Responsibilities: 

• Oversee the quality implementation of Oxfam’s programme in the respective programme and sub-offices

• Represent Oxfam at the regional level. Establish and maintain working and collaborative relationships with relevant stakeholders in three regions (Tigray, Amhara, and Afar), this includes regional and zonal authorities, local organizations and communities, contractors, and international organizations. Secure their continuous support for Oxfam’s work in the regions, by ensuring effective communication about Oxfam and its work, including Oxfam’s overall purpose and goals as well as specific program objectives in the area. 

• Participate in relevant external coordination meetings including those called for by regional authorities, UN/OCHA, sub clusters, or other relevant stakeholders. 

 • Take overall responsibility for the implementation of Oxfam’s Country Strategy (OCS) in the respective programme and sub-offices. This includes a) implementation of project grants; b) the identification of needs, priorities and opportunities for further humanitarian, development and advocacy interventions; c) regular consultations with Oxfam Ethiopia country office managers for initiatives that contribute to the implementation of the OCS. 

• Supervise the work of department heads and other senior staff at the programme office.

 • Continuously evaluate developments on the ground as related to humanitarian, resilience and development needs and priorities of the people / communities and their organisations and advise the country office on needed humanitarian and development interventions through regular needs assessment and program monitoring.

 • Ensure regular communication with Oxfam country office in Addis Ababa in order to ensure the country office is informed in a timely manner of significant new developments on the ground that affect/may affect programme implementation

Job Requirements

First degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline (preferably economics, politics, sociology, humanities, development, agronomy) or significant relevant years of experience at this level with International Agencies or NGO’s. 

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in emergency and development work, leading programme office, and an understanding of relevant issues experience 

• Familiar with and abide by the NGO/Red Cross Code of Conduct, the People in Aid Code, Oxfam International procedures and other regulatory codes (e.g. InterAction Field Co-operation Protocol). 

• Competency in use of relevant technology systems (MS Office skills) and in office systems

• Fluency in English (written and verbal) ; fluency in Amharic is seen as an added value

• Proactive in anticipating problems and finding solutions on his/her own.

Leadership and Role Modelling: Demonstrates exemplary leadership qualities, serving as an excellent role model for team members, program unit members, and peer managers.

Creative and Analytical Thinking:

• Proven expertise in strategic planning, with the ability to influence and shape the overall strategies of the program, thereby contributing significantly to country programme overall vision and goals.

• Exhibits strong creativity and innovation in both conceptual and analytical thinking, driving forward new ideas and solutions.

Programme Management Experience:

• Extensive experience in international programme management, including budgeting, result based planning, performance based monitoring and evaluation and the full programme cycle, ideally within an international NGO. 

• Proven supervisory and managerial experience leading complex programmes in developing countries, with a minimum budget of 3 million GBP/annum and spanning multi-year projects.

Stakeholder Engagement: To engage and influence stakeholders (internal & external) at all levels and across all functions.

Communication and Influence: 

• Possesses outstanding communication, negotiation and representation skills, capable of effectively influencing both internal and external audiences.

• Demonstrable experience in developing donor relationships (specially UN stakeholders at Mekelle level) and managing all aspects of donor reporting, ensuring transparency, accountability, and effective communication.

Strategic Influence: Demonstrated success in shaping departmental and corporate goals and strategies, ensuring alignment with broader organizational aims with field structures.

Risks and Crisis Management: Successfully managed large-scale risks and crises, ensuring effective resolution and minimal disruption to operations.

Regional level Representation: Recognized at regional level (Tigray, Afar and Amhara) as a representative of the organization particularly within specific geographical or thematic areas.

Work related travel: Willingness to travel at short notice, often in difficult circumstances.

Commitment to Values and Equality: Deep understanding of and commitment to Oxfam's values, particularly gender equality, ensuring these principles are upheld in all project activities and interactions

Most importantly, every individual at Oxfam GB needs to be able to:   

• Live our values of INCLUSION, ACCOUNTABILITY, EMPOWERMENT, SOLIDARITY,  COURAGE, AND EQUALITY    

Our Values    

• Equality: We believe everyone has the right to be treated fairly and to have the same rights and opportunities.   

• Empowerment: We acknowledge and seek to expand people’s agency over their lives and the decisions that impact them.   

• Solidarity: We join hands, support, and collaborate across boundaries in working towards a just and sustainable world.   

• Inclusiveness: We embrace diversity and difference and value the perspectives and contributions of all people and communities in their fight against poverty and injustice.    

• Accountability: We take responsibility for our action and inaction and hold ourselves accountable to the people we work with and for.   

• Courage: We speak truth to power and act with conviction on the justice of our causes.   

• Ensure you commit to our THREE ORGANISATIONAL ATTRIBUTES:   

1. Be committed to equal opportunities: demonstrating sensitivity to cultural differences and gender equality.   

2. Be willing to learn and apply gender  mainstreaming, women’s rights, and diversity and inclusion across all aspects of your work.   

3. 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.    

• Ensure you actively ADOPT OXFAM’S FEMINIST LEADERSHIP APPROACH and apply the principles and twelve practices in your work. Read more about this here:   

Read this guide to find out more about what our values, organizational attributes and feminist leadership approach mean for how we work    

For this role, we have selected two of the most relevant feminist Leadership practices for this role (which you can read more about here:    

Self-Awareness   

Mutual accountability   

Strategic Thinking and Judgment   

Safer recruitment: All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counterterrorism, safeguarding, and criminal records 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.   

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks.

How to Apply

Interested candidates can apply using THIS LINK