Deputy Country Director

Job Description

Position Summary

The Deputy Country Director will provide overall leadership for delivery, management and scale up of the humanitarian
response and resiliency, Civil Society and Gender Justice programmes in Yemen, ensuring programmes’ alignment with the country strategy, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability, compliance of organization and donors’ policies and procedures, and that programmes remain safe, relevant and impactful in line with Oxfam Vision, Mission, Values and Feminist Principles. Deputizes the Country Director (CD) and plays key role in keeping the organization informed about the progress of the response and spearhead the calling for resources to support the response. She/ her will offer overall leadership, strategic direction, guidance and oversight for effective and efficient delivery of country programmes. She/ he will uphold and play a role model on OXFAM’s style of management based on our values of Inclusiveness, Empowerment, Accountability, Solidarity, Equity and Courage.

The Deputy Country Director takes the lead in maintaining regular relations and having programmatic calls or meetings with
colleagues from the Regional Platform (Regional Office), affiliates, Oxfam GB and donors on programme delivery, compliance and accountability, and support needed. The incumbent works with the Programme Coordinators in negotiating with the authorities on contractual sub-agreement, humanitarian space, access, and movement, and mobilizing support for timely delivery.

Key roles and responsibilities:

Technical:

1. Programme Design and Fund Raising:

• Ensures Oxfam’s transformative approach is a reality in all our sectors of intervention by linking with the Advocacy department, going beyond delivery activities, to build a long-term positive structural transformation in the life of Yemen people.
• Ensures quality program implementation in line with Yemen’s Oxfam Country Strategy (OCS)
• Ensures implementation of One Program approach by building synergies among the three pillars of the OCS and with Advocacy.
• Promotes Local Humanitarian Leadership both internally to Oxfam and externally. Engages with Partner capacity building and progressive transfer of program implementation to partners.
• Ensures appropriate Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) tools and processes are in place and followed.
• Ensures community participation in all process of proposal design and implementation.
• Leads the process of regular assessment of needs, considering the contextual changes, emergency, outbreak, humanitarian, resilience and development, civil society and gender justice issues and scope.
• Ensures that programme colleagues are part of the inclusive program design: planning, problem analysis, gender, conflict and power analysis, intervention and log frame design, elaborating programme inputs, considering filed learning and innovations, and budgeting.

• Ensures that the comments from the programme development teams, affiliates and donors are clarified and responded on time.
• Through Programme Coordinators (PCs), holds programme colleagues accountable in meeting deadlines in proposal write-up, clarifying issues and budget development until the final submission is done.
• Leads regular assessment of costs of current programme-ops structures, programme needs, available funding, and identify and communicate the funding gaps to the CD and Country Management Team (CMT).

• Channels funding information or opportunity from the clusters, RP, EA, PA and donors.
• Works with the business development and supports the CD on fundraising.

2. Safe, Gender-sensitive and Value-Driven Programming:

• Ensures that all duties are carried out in a way that promotes Oxfam’s values, culture and beliefs.
• Ensures that all programmes remain at least but not limited to gender-sensitive, considering how to understand and address the specific perspectives and needs of girls, women and the most vulnerable.
• Ensures that governance, gender and protection remain in the forefront of the humanitarian programming and in line with organisational policy on gender and protection.
• Proactively ensure that gender equality and protection issues are taken into account in all aspects of Oxfam’s work
• Commits with promotion of parity in Oxfam team.

3. Strategic Leadership, Operational Planning & Vision:

• Assists the CD in implementing Oxfam Country Strategy (OCS) and Country Operational Plan (COP), and country annual budget.
• Leads the process of developing humanitarian strategy and emergency response plan as and when required.
• Leads the process of developing the new Civil Society Leadership component of the OCS.
• Provides support to the CD, and guidance and direction to the senior programme managers / colleagues for the development and implementation of a high-quality programme, consistent with the context, Oxfam’s standards, values and codes, donor requirements and global priorities, ensuring that Oxfam programme remains relevant, safe and impactful.
• Guides the PCs, Technical Lead, and Programme Managers on country strategy, operational plan, programme vision, and offers overall direction on programmes.
• Ensures that programme colleagues contribute to developing an overall programme strategy, and that programmes are designed and implemented in integrated manner and holistically.
• Guides senior programme colleagues to link programmes to other functions such as advocacy, safe programming, localisation, gender, safety and security.
• Ensures highest levels of Accountability Against Population (AAP) and donors.

4. Programme Management:

• Ensures that Oxfam programmes are managed in a way that achieves programme or project goals, is in line with Oxfam policies and procedures, and demonstrates sound resource management.
• Regularly reviews and ensures that the most efficient Country Office (CO) programme management structure is established and functional to ensure effective & efficient delivery to achieve programme objectives.
• Ensures Partner development and progressive transfer of program implementation.
• Ensures that qualified staff and appropriate policies, procedures and systems are in place to properly manage Oxfam’s programmes.
• Provides vision and direction, defines expectation and offers leadership and supports.
• Organizes and / holds programme coordination meeting to review progresses, challenges, learning and develop acceleration plans.
• Guides and supports the PCs in ensuring or holding regular awards monitoring / review meeting both in field office and in Sana’a by location and grant to review the programme progress, spending, challenges, and mitigation measures and acceleration plan.
• Ensures that programme budgets are in place and that costs are kept within budgets.
• Ensures proper monitoring of expenses, and that expenses incur in compliance of org and donor policies and procedures.
• Directs and holds senior programme managers accountable for timely submission of org, donor and authority / government reports: narrative, financial and HR reports, and clarifying queries on programmes and expenses.
• Monitors the CO programme to ensure that programmes are implemented in a professional manner in line with the project proposal through project visits and the review of annual operational plans and activity reports.

• Ensures that senior programme managers visit field programmes and support programme colleagues on program delivery and awards monitoring.
• Work closely with programme support functions (admin & liaison, finance, logistics and IT), safety & security, HR, to ensure proper coordination and mobilize support for the programme delivery teams.
• Ensures strong commodity management, and accountability where applicable.
• Ensures delivery of country programme with demonstrable impact and value for money.

5. People Management:

• Promotes Oxfam values and Feminist Principles among the team leading by example. Is a referent for her/his team.
• Offers proper supervision and management for all direct reports and leads the establishment and functioning of a strong, effective, and coordinated team.
• Promotes a culture and focus in the country programmes, ensuring recognition of staff successes, and that space and incentives are available for staff development.
• Oversees the recruitment, training, orientation, and induction of senior programme staff.
• Develops and maintains a healthy environment for the team, coordinating timely discussions on strategic programming issues and guaranteeing that the staff members reflect the institutional character in their relationships with partner organizations and allies.
• Ensures excellent people management and development of staff managed, in accordance with Oxfam’s performance management cycle and policies: developing job description, setting performance objectives, regular feedback, mid-year review and annual performance review.
• Ensures that the performance management system includes identification of staff development needs, career development, talent management, and succession planning for direct reports.
• Offers regular, constructive, and honest feedback and coaching to address performance issues.
• Monitors the team dynamics, specifically to find any conflict and undertake appropriate actions.
• Works with HR and safeguarding colleagues to safeguard staff, partners, and beneficiaries.

6. External Relations and Representations:

• In collaboration with the Country Director, Business Support Manager, coordinates and negotiates contract or project sub-agreements with the local authorities and line ministries.
• Participates in meetings and forums on programme delivery and others as appropriate and relevant, including cluster meetings, emergency response meeting, etc.
• Interacts with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Women Rights Organizations (WRO) to look for synergies and ways of collaboration.
• Represent Oxfam in appropriate humanitarian forums at a local and national level with government authorities, UN organisations, NGO’s and donor agencies as delegated by CD.
• Holds or attends regular programme delivery and operations call with the regional platform.
• Maintains regular communications with broader Oxfam: Regional Platform (RP), Head Quarter (HQ) and affiliates.
• Raises issues or concerns at higher level to mobilize support and influence, and / or speaks to the media, when delegated, in the event of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations or as required.

7. As a Member of the Country Management Team (CMT):

• Deputises for the Country Director and provides leadership to the CO.
• Holds regular CMT meeting with clear roles, accountability, and timeline.
• Promotes a culture of inclusiveness, empowerment, and accountability in driving OCS, delivering results and offering quality programmes for the affected population.
• Establishes, maintains, and improves active and regular professional relationship with the authorities, local partners, and other stakeholders, including donors and INGOs.
• Ensures that all programme support functions work properly, are supported, and complied with rules and regulations, risk management.
• Maintains regular collaboration with the RP, HQ, Oxfam International (OI), and affiliates.