JOB PURPOSE:

• A member of Oxfam Kenya’s Senior Leadership team, working across functional teams to contribute to Oxfam Kenya’s overall effectiveness, the Head of Program and Influencing is responsible for the development and implementation of the organisation’s Strategic Planning – including monitoring and evaluation.
• Provide programmatic strategic leadership, programme integration, representation, and operational management to Oxfam Kenya’s programme in line with Oxfam Kenya Strategy. She/he will build strategic relationships with a variety of donors, including mobilising private sector resources. In addition, the Head of Programs and Influencing will lead and support influencing, advocacy and campaigns in Oxfam Kenya and ensure this collectively led work generates knowledge, evidence, and learning.
• The role will also oversee the Programme Team and work closely with others in the wider Oxfam Confederation. As one of the designated members of the Senior Leadership Team, the Head of Programs and Influencing may act for the Executive Director in a day-to-day capacity when the Executive Director is temporarily away from the office (noting that alternative formal acting arrangements are put in place for longer-term absences such as overseas travel and leave). Represent the organisation at appropriate Oxfam International and external forums, including assisting the Executive Director.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Programmes and Policy Influencing

• Support Oxfam Country Strategy and program development.
• Facilitate influencing strategy development for specific thematic programs or campaigns in Oxfam Kenya.
• Lead influencing skills training both remotely and in-person so as to coach and mentor colleagues in country/ teams leading on influencing work.
• Facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experience and learning on influencing between partners, Oxfam colleagues and external stakeholders.
• Contribute to/lead the development of influencing tools, guides, and other materials.
• Contribute to relevant fundraising proposals and bids from a national influencing perspective.
• Embed Oxfam’s values and commitment to feminist principles and decolonization into the advisory role and practice.
• Represent Oxfam externally on specialist areas to further influence policy and practice, support learning and build partnerships.
• Strengthen Oxfam’s reputation and positioning with donors, academia, and other civil society organizations.
• Strategic Management & Transformative Leadership.
• Deputize for the Executive Director to provide strategic leadership and management of Oxfam’s Country Programme including strategizing for development, advocacy, and humanitarian programming to maximize influence and impact.
• In collaboration with Business Development Lead and relevant program staff, leads and ensures funding proposals are of the highest quality and closely aligned with donor requirements.

Be a driving force in ensuring the development and implementation of the Local

• Humanitarian Leadership strategy with a particular focus on working with partners.
• Be an active participant in the country leadership team and in regional and global planning and analysis; understand relevant regional and global objectives.
• Provide technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design and implementation in line with program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices.
• Provide technical advice to program teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation.
• Lead and/or contribute to the development of the technical design for large/complex proposals, including defining appropriate monitoring systems.
• Advise program teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into initiatives.

Program Management and Delivery

• Manages and takes lead on development and timely delivery of programs in-country.
• Ensures quality control and assurance within the program and in conjunction with Oxfam quality standards and processes.
• Works with the Business Development Lead to manage relations with donors and ensures that Oxfam meets all contractual obligations and achieves high quality proposal and donor reporting.
• Ensures that donor narrative reports are submitted in a timely manner and are of high quality.
• Supports the implementation of an effective advocacy strategy and supports other relevant policy issues.
• Oversee and support to manage Oxfam’s Program Accountability and Learning Information System (OPAL) to ensure an updated program data for easy access.
• Oversee, review, and support the development and management of Program Implementation Plans (PIPs) and Projects in OPAL.
• Supports partners, including government authorities, in developing and delivering projects within agreed parameters where appropriate.
• Seeks opportunities for Oxfam and others to learn from Kenya’s experience.
• Ensures that Oxfam's programs are cost effective, efficient and complies with all organizational standards of management and accountability.
• Ensures that programs are implemented in a consultative, participative and gender sensitive way.
• Reports regularly to the Executive Director with agreed indicators against the overall objectives and ensures that key information is circulated appropriately.
• Supports in the development of mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation of programs.
• Contributes to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learnt and best practices, research and internal reports.
• Oversee and coordinate the annual output and program reporting.
• Oversee and coordinate semi-annual and annual program reviews.

Research, Policy Analysis and Advocacy 

• Work with the program team and partners to conduct relevant political, economical, gender and social research and analysis to inform Oxfam’s program/campaigns in Kenya.
• Plan and coordinate policy research and analysis to support advocacy on focus issues, including reviewing, recommending, and signing off Terms of References, conducting and/or commissioning research, managing consultancies, and disseminating findings.
• Lead in producing policy and advocacy messages, in consultation with the Program and Policy Managers and Program Effectiveness Manager, and generating analysis and information from colleagues, program beneficiaries and other players.
• Generate policy papers, lobby briefs to inform in-country, regional and global advocacy actions.
• Identify policy research and analysis capacity gaps of staff and advocacy partners and allies, and drawing on OI or allies’ support – build their skills in political and policy analysis, campaigns, lobbying and media (as needed) through mentoring; facilitating peer learning; sourcing or producing materials and tools; organizing workshops; or other training.
• Build networks and support policy research and analysis for advocacy issues in Kenya and beyond.
• Ensure that global campaigns identified in the Oxfam Global strategy to which Oxfam Kenya is committed to are well conceptualized and excellently executed considering the national and regional contexts.
• Support in the review of policy papers and develop policy positions to propose policy alternatives.
• Support in the development of working relationships with academia, think tanks, government research agencies, international NGO and CSO research networks to implement joint policy research and analysis to promote Oxfam’s advocacy objectives.
• Establish strong and constructive relationships with research and academic institutions for policy research and analysis.

Campaigns, Advocacy, and Influencing Capacity Development of CSO partners

• Support in partners’ campaigns, advocacy and influencing capacity assessment and improvement.
• Make recommendations related to campaigns, advocacy and influencing systems, structures and staffing related to the partners.
• Develop and implement a detailed plan for building the campaigns, advocacy and influencing capacity of partner organizations, including in finance, IT, and logistics. This will include needs assessment, capacity building approach and delivery plan including tools and methodologies, performance standards, and evaluation approach.
• Assist partner organizations in the development of campaigns, advocacy and influencing strategies as necessary.
• Work with program leads to manage relations with partners and ensure partners achieve high quality campaigns, advocacy and influencing plans, budgets, and reports.
• Liaises with Program Effectiveness Lead, Policy and Program Managers and partners.

Financial Planning and Budget Management (Finance and Funding) 

• Work closely and collaborate with the Finance and Operations Lead and other team members in annual budgeting and financial planning and management.
• Contribute to relevant fundraising proposals and bids from a national influencing perspective.
• In collaboration with Finance and Operations, and Business Development Leads, ensures budgets in funding proposals are of the highest quality and closely aligned with Oxfam and donor requirements.
• Work closely with the finance and operations team to support Oxfam Kenya program teams, manage and monitor program budgets ensuring value for money and ensuring that program expenditure is within agreed budgets.
• Work closely with the finance and operations team, lead and coordinate monthly and quarterly budget variance analysis meetings with program leads.
• Ensure budget compliance and requirement of donors in the entire budget management cycle.
• Ensure that Oxfam procurement and other policies, procedures and control systems are followed, and that program activities are implemented on time as agreed with donors.
• Liaise with the Finance and Business Development Leads 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 Kenya.

People/Resource Management

• Directly line manages the Program Management Team and their operations ensuring that program managers in the country program are following Oxfam’s policies and procedures, including but not limited to the code of conduct, performance management, security, health and safety, risk management and local legislation.
• Creates and supports an environment which results in effective coordination, partnerships, influence, knowledge sharing, staff development and innovation.
• Ensures effective engagement in and roll out of all key policies related to safeguarding and safe programming, and ensures staff, partners and beneficiaries are oriented on reporting misconduct mechanisms.
• Ensures adherence to the self-care policy and focus on supporting the well-being of program staff through a multi-faceted approach.
• Oversee the implementation of the identified staff development and internal capacity building work, as it relates to policy analysis, campaigns, advocacy and influencing activities, undertaking actual training as required.

Public Engagement, Representation and Networking 

• Together with the Executive Director, develop an advocacy strategy that projects Oxfam’s multisectoral and coordinated impact on policies and practices.
• Work closely with the Executive Director and Communications Advisor to develop a media strategy, represent in media as appropriate, create communication tools and produce materials that allow visibility to Oxfam Kenya.
• 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 Executive Director.

Other - Key Working Relationships 

• Internal: Executive Director, Finance and Operations Lead, People and Culture Lead, Business Development Lead, Program Quality Lead and Communications Advisor.
• External: Government ministries, departments and agencies, 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.

Person specification

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

Live our values of INCLUSION, ACCOUNTABILITY, EMPOWERMENT, COURAGE, SOLIDARITY and

EQUALITY (read more about these here)

• Ensure you commit to our ORGANIZATIONAL ATTRIBUTES (including adhering to the Code of Conduct).
• Be committed to our feminist principles, and to applying them in your day-to-day behaviour and your work. Be ready to keep learning, with accountability to those who experience oppression as a result of their identities, such as their gender, race/ethnicity, disability, class, or LGBTQIA identity."
• 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.

Qualifications

Experience, knowledge and competencies

• 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.

In addition

• Significant and recent experience of leading the design and implementation of influencing, campaigning, and advocacy programs or initiatives linked to regional and global programs.
• Excellent communication skills and confidence to articulate knowledge and ideas, influence, and advocate clearly and convincingly.
• Demonstrable training design and facilitation skills (both online and face to face).

Strong ability to motivate, inspire and support others in learning and adopting new approaches and

• ways of working
• Good understanding and commitment to embedding and continuously learning to embed a decolonial, safe, anti-racist, intersectional feminist and partner-led approach in work.
• Experience of integrating a focus on women’s rights and gender justice, and support to feminist and youth movements into program and influencing strategies.

Management and Leadership

Essential

• Proven track record of leading and motivating multi-disciplinary, geographically remote teams and operations across locations.
• Significant senior leadership and management experience in the development and delivery of high quality development programming, influencing and humanitarian strategy, with and through partners or directly.
• Experience of managing complex change processes and relationships involving a wide range of both internal and external multi-cultural stakeholders across a variety of disciplines and geographical areas.

Desirable 

• A high degree of self-awareness and an understanding of how to drive and support excellent team performance and individual development in line with Oxfam’s values and policies.
• Public Engagement, Representation and Communication

Essential 

• Proven track record of success in representing an organization with partners, government agencies, private sector organizations, media, and donors at senior level: nationally and globally.
• Demonstrable ability to convey complex messages in an appropriate manner to broad and diverse audiences.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to motivate, influence and negotiate.
• Proven track record of success in advocacy and influencing.

Desirable 

• Demonstrable experience of working with the media and an ability to represent Oxfam in the media if required.

Budget Management - Essential

• Significant experience of optimizing funds and effective contract management from diverse institutions, both local and international.
• High level financial and asset management skills to steer and efficiently manage program budgets

Strategic Thinking

Essential 

• Ability to develop and contribute to high-level analysis of factors driving poverty, marginalization and vulnerability in developing country contexts.
• The ability to ‘think politically’ understanding motivations, pressures, power dynamics and challenges faced by colleagues, partners, decision makers and other actors; and the ability to generate effective strategies to influence them.

Desirable

Proven Analytical Skills, With The Ability To:

• Take and manage calculated risks based on evidence-based assumptions.
• Think strategically, to maximize adaptability and agility.
• Encourage forward thinking, new ideas and learning from experience beyond the country program context while acting within a global framework.
• Good level of IT literacy and an understanding of how new developments in technology can positively contribute to the aims of an INGO.
• 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 Oxfam’s safeguarding policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam staff are as safe as possible.

Fluent in written and spoken English.

Desirable 

• Coaching or mentoring experience.
• Experience of collegiate/peer management and co-leadership.
• Lived experience of struggles for social justice and against power inequalities.