Job Description

ABOUT US

Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty. This means that we tackle the inequality that keeps people poor. Together we save, protect and rebuild lives. When disaster strikes, we help people build better lives for themselves and for others. We take on issues like land rights, climate change and discrimination against women. And we won’t stop until every person on the planet can enjoy life free from poverty.

We are an international confederation of 21 organisations (affiliates) plus the Oxfam International Secretariat, all working together with partners and local communities in the areas of humanitarian, development and campaigning, in more than 90 countries. All our work is led by our core values: Empowerment, Accountability, Inclusiveness, Courage, Solidarity and Equality.

Becoming part of Oxfam? Oxfam Novib Somalia is looking for a Program Director

Duty station: Mogadishu, Somalia , with at least 50% travel to operational areas and offices in Hargeisa, Burao and Garowe

Type of appointment: Fixed-term Contract

Contract duration: 12 months, with possibility of renewal

Work schedule: Full-time (40 hours per week)

Reports to: Country Director

Type of posting: Single Posting

Salary & Scale: € 4683 to € 7204 / Oxfam Novib’s scale 711 (Int Grading B2)

Start date: As soon as possible

Deadline for applications: 3 October 2025

SOMALIA CONTEXT

Oxfam has been working in Southcentral regions of Somalia, Puntland, and Somaliland since the 1970s. Oxfam played a foundational role in supporting civil society development and has been called by many current and past partners “the mother of Somali civil society”. Support for women’s rights, women’s advocates, and gender equality has been a steady component of the program and many leading advocates for women’s rights, gender equality, and women’s issues were once partners or trainees of Oxfam. There are numerous examples of unique programming across youth and education, gender and emergency relief, resilience, WASH, and livelihoods. Over the years, the Oxfam has produced an impressive range of policy briefings, reports and working papers that have drawn attention to issues, sparked discussions and influenced policies.

OBJECTIVE OF THE POSITION

The Program Director provides overall strategic direction, leadership, and management of the humanitarian response, resilience, and development programs. The position leads the design and development of humanitarian and development programs ensuring alignment to country humanitarian and development needs and trends while maintaining the coordination, linkages and synergies within and between the long term and humanitarian programmes as well as contributing to linking these programmes with influencing, ICT4D and programme quality.

As a most senior post below the Country Director (CD), the Program Director (PD) is a member of the Senior Management Team in country. The Program Director shares in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Program. In the absence of CD, under the delegated authority, the Program Director chairs the SMT and guarantees business continuity.

The Program Director reports to the Country Director and will manage programme staff and work closely with business support, business development and funding, program quality and policy and advocacy units. The Program Director ensures close collaboration and coordination with external stakeholders including partners, consortium members, government authorities, donors, and other NGOs and UN.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• As a part of the leadership and senior management team in the country, develop strong matrix links with other country programme teams, relevant Oxfam in Africa (OiA) staff, Global Humanitarian Team (GHT), Executing Affiliate and Partner Affiliate staff and relevant International Department staff to develop and deliver the Oxfam country strategy.
• Leads the overall program cycle management and delegated responsibility for field delivery of high-quality programming in line with Oxfam standards and the objectives of the country strategy.
• Oversee the program proposal process and participate on the strategic level with the Funding Coordinator to ensure that all programs progress in accordance with grant agreements, are completed within time and on budget.
• Leads on conceptualizing and designing cost effective, innovative and high-quality programs to serve difficult to reach beneficiaries with the Technical Leads, Fundraising Manager, Program Quality Coordinator and BSM
• Oversight of geographical humanitarian and development programmes. Ensures overall leadership of anticipatory action, disaster preparedness, mitigation and management including humanitarian response activities for Category 1 / 2 / 3 emergencies.
• Overall budget holder for all programming; ensure project expenditure is in line with work plans and commitments to donors and affiliates; and conduct monthly budget vs expenditure review for each project.
• Overall leadership of program strategy plans and implementation to ensure responsiveness to communities in line with Oxfam’s principles, values and strategic plan and following Oxfam compliance procedures. This includes working with the government and national NGO-partners to strengthen national capacity.
• Ensuring effective advisory support from the country, regional and EA and PA technical teams to the field teams.
• Ensure synergies between and harmonisation of humanitarian, development, and advocacy programme strategies according to the “one programme approach” and enabling a smooth transition from emergency humanitarian interventions towards resilience and longer-term development programming where possible.
• One of the most crucial roles of the Deputy Country Director - Program is ensuring a strong link and mainstreaming of activities between the assigned departments, maximising their performances and effective use of resources through coordination and strategic guidance.
• Ensure that programme operations are of high quality, comply with established policies and procedures and contribute directly to Oxfam strategies and operational plans. This includes, but is not limited to gender mainstreaming, protection mainstreaming, programme accountability frameworks and humanitarian preparedness and response.
• Work with the Country Director and programme teams to secure internal and external funding to deliver programme activities through support to development of appropriate strategies and funding proposals.
• In close collaboration with HR Team, Programme Managers and Technical Coordinators, identify staffing needs, support recruitment of staff and manage the performance and development of all direct reports, ensuring performance objectives are produced and worked to, including identification and effective delivery of training and development needs.
• Representing Oxfam to government officials, donors, UN agencies, and NGO community as appropriate.
• Deputise for the Country Director in his/her absence or whenever necessary.
• Produce regular programme and context updates that can be shared with other Oxfam stakeholders.
• To ensure all Oxfam staff and programmes are familiar with and abide by the Oxfam’s Code of Conduct, Oxfam International standards and procedures and other regulatory codes (e.g. Sphere Minimum Standards).
• Frequent travel to work with the field teams and liaise with Government, UN agencies and other NGOs as appropriate.

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

If you have the following competences and/or skills, which are essential to this position:

• Strategic Thinking and Judgement
• Relationship Building
• Agility, Complexity, and Ambiguity
• Vision Setting
• Influencing

Experiences and Qualifications

In addition you have:

• Masters / post-graduate from a recognized university/ college in International Development, Sustainable Livelihoods, Humanitarian, Programme Management or any other areas that can bring an added value to the job.
• At least 5 years of demonstrable experience working in a similar position and experience working for an INGO.
• Good understanding of humanitarian and development issues in general with significant knowledge and experience in project and programme management in one of the fields of: (a) humanitarian programming (b) sustainable livelihoods and resilience, b) gender and development.
• Excellent personal management and communication skills, in written and verbal English, with high impact influencing and persuasive skills and ability to use different approaches to achieve followership.
• Proven track record of leading and motivating multi-disciplinary, geographically remote teams and operations across several locations, often in fragile and complex contexts.
• Evidence of high level financial and asset management skills to steer the operational budget across a number of locations.
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking skills; able to understand complex issues and translate them into simple, workable actions and plans.
• Comprehensive evidence in knowledge and experience of development programmes, humanitarian response and advocacy and campaigning.
• Knowledge of capacity building, learning and development activities and how to create learning and sharing environment with a strong knowledge management basis.
• Commitment to and knowledge of creating a partner-led operational environment, with an ability to create an internal Oxfam approach that is focussed on developing and supporting partner organisations to achieve direct impact and results relating to Oxfam’s objectives.
• Politically astute, with high impact influencing and persuasive skills and personal gravitas to gain respect and build and maintain strong, credible relationships, with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
• Committed to a right based approach including an active commitment to putting women’s rights at the heart of all we do as well as the rights of other marginalized people in all aspects of an organization’s work.
• 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 Somalia/Somaliland.

WORKING AT OXFAM NOVIB

• All our work is guided by our core values: Empowerment, Accountability, Inclusiveness, Courage, Solidarity and Equality.
• At Oxfam Novib, we work according to the Feminist Principles - Oxfam Policy & Practice.
• Oxfam Novib is based on the power of difference. That is why we aim to attract a diverse mix of talented people who share our standards, values and principles, and who are committed to prevent and eliminate any type of misconduct.
• We have an active policy against sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, any form of abuse of power or lack of integrity and financial misconduct. This subject will be covered in our application and selection process.

Skills Required

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