Country Director Iraq - IQ Talent Marketplace

Shaping a Stronger Oxfam for People Living in Poverty.

COUNTRY CONTEXT

Oxfam has been working in Iraq since 1990’s with both an expanding and contracting presence. In 2014, we established our first office in Erbil at the peak of the humanitarian crisis in the country. Oxfam is spread along Erbil Anbar and Bagdad. Oxfam new country strategy for 2025 to 2029 intends to lead a transition from humanitarian to long term programming with one field office and one Country Office.

Department Purpose

You will contribute to and implement Oxfam’s Global Strategic Framework (GSF) and Oxfam’s Country Strategy (OCS), by providing vision and strategic direction to all of Oxfam’s work in Iraq. This includes Oxfam’s humanitarian responses, long term development programme design and implementation, advocacy and policy and influencing. You are responsible and accountable for the strategic direction and effective management of country programming, ensuring development and adequate funding, continued improvement in quality and impact and effective financial and human resource management in line with Oxfam Policy and systems. You lead the advocacy strategy and advocacy work on Iraq and manage risks internally and externally.

You manage the Country Management Team and manage the work in the country which includes, staff, budgets, funding and programme. Ensuring that managers in country are in accordance with Oxfam’s policies and procedures, including but not limited to the code of conduct, Performance Management, Security, Health and Safety, Safeguarding and local legislation. You ensure that appropriate systems are in place to manage security, financial, and administrative risks within our programs. You take a lead in representing Oxfam and the country program nationally and globally; build influential relationships and develop networks for effective change, both internally and externally, and commit to maximizing our influencing capability. You ensure good relations with internal audiences and external stakeholders including but not limited to government, media, donors, non-governmental sector, and supporters.

Job Purpose

The Country Director (COUNTRY DIRECTOR) will provide strong leadership of the Iraq country program and ensure team spirit, quality performance, in the true spirit of Oxfam’s Feminist Principles. The Country Director is expected to contribute and implement Oxfam’s Global Strategy, by providing vision and strategic direction to all of Oxfam’s work in the country. This includes Oxfam’s humanitarian responses and resilience program, long term development Program design and implementation in the area of Gender Justice, Economic Justice and Climate justice, advocacy and policy and influencing. S/he will be directly responsible for the overall strategic planning, program development, ensuring high level of program quality and grant management, overseeing program support operations (Finance, HR, Operations) to maintain organizational, donor and legal compliance, and represent Oxfam for country-level external relations and inter-agency coordination. S/he will also manage both the growth and contraction of the country program based on changes to the country program’s portfolio, ensuring a strategic approach to change management.

It will be essential for the Country Director to work simultaneously at both strategic and operational levels. The Country Director must also ensure that all Oxfam policies and procedures with respect to HR, safety and security, code of conduct, safeguarding, and other relevant policies and procedures are in place, implemented and adhered to. The Country Director will continually assess, identify, and address gaps and weaknesses.

Job Responsibilities

The Iraq CD will be responsible for:

1. Accountability

   • Accountable to the MENA Regional Director (or delegate) for leading the Iraq country program to deliver quality, compliance in line with Oxfam’s policies and procedures.

2. Strategic Management & Leadership

   • Responsible for the delivery of the Oxfam Country Strategy (OCS) for Iraq in line with Oxfam’s Regional and Global strategic Framework (GSF).
   • Provides strategic leadership and management of Oxfam’s Program in country including all development, advocacy, and humanitarian, resilience, and nexus programming to maximize influence and impact.
   • Proactively ensures effective ongoing direct communications and networking with donors, U.N. agencies, other NGOs (international and national) and government actors that produces actionable and timely business intelligence to ensure Oxfam’s competitiveness.
   • In collaboration with relevant regional and country 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 (LHL) and partnership strategy with a particular focus on working with partners as core operating modality.
   • Be an active participant in the MENA regional leadership team and in regional planning and analysis; understand relevant regional and global objectives.

3. People Management

   • Directly line manages the Country Management Team and their operations which will include staff, budgets, funding and program, ensuring that managers in country 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 Code of Conduct, safeguarding, security, 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 all staff through a multi- faceted approach.
   • Ensure right capacity exists in country and/or to reach out to above country structures to secure support and bridge any capacity gaps.

4. Program Delivery

   • Manages and takes lead on development and timely delivery of the Program in country.
   • Ensures the quality control and assurance within the Program and in conjunction with Oxfam quality standards and processes.
   • Ensures that donor reports are submitted in a timely manner and are of high quality.
   • Supports partners, including government authorities, in developing and delivering projects within agreed parameters where appropriate.
   • Ensures that Oxfam’s Program is cost effective, efficient and complies with all organizational standards of management and accountability.
   • Ensures that the Program is implemented in a consultative, participative and gender sensitive way.
   • Reports regularly to the Regional 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 humanitarian and development programs.
   • Ensures overall leadership of disaster preparedness, mitigation and management including humanitarian response activities.
   • Ensure country strategy and Country Operational Plans (COPs) are properly resourced, Country budgets are effectively and responsibly utilized and monitored.

5. Resource Mobilization

   • Works with the Funding and Business Development team to manage relations with donors and ensures that Oxfam meets all contractual obligations and achieves high quality proposal and donor reporting.
   • Collaborate closely with the Regional Director, Regional Business Development Manager team to build understanding, engage and influence key donors in the region.
   • Provide support, insights, and information to regional teams (Regional Director, Business Development and Influencing teams) to support coherent national and regional proposals.
   • Develop, nurture, and manage a network of key external stakeholders to ensure mobilization of resources necessary to maintain and develop Oxfam strategy in the country.
   • Seeks opportunities for Oxfam and others to learn from the Iraq crisis experience.

6. Public Engagement, Influencing and Representation

   • Represents Oxfam at a local and national level with Kurdish and Iraqi government authorities, UN organizations, NGOs, and donor agencies.
   • Develops and maintains constructive relationships with key officials at Government, Line Ministries, Regional and local administration levels, enabling Oxfam to obtain additional MoUs with other ministries.
   • Engages proactively with UN agencies and liaise with senior managers of other INGOs and national NGOs to identify common challenges and solutions to operational concerns.
   • Enhances in-country INGO coordination and links to regional coordination on the Iraq Crisis.
   • Leads on the relations with the affiliate members of the Oxfam Confederation.
   • Provide strategic vision and maintain an influencing agenda ensuring full understanding of key issues and positioning Oxfam on these- with a focus around inequalities and humanitarian advocacy together with MENA Influencing colleagues at regional and country level, including risk management.
   • Develop, nurture, and manage a network of key influential external stakeholders (partners, allies, collaborators; including regional NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, coalitions, networks, academia, multi-lateral organization, state institutions when relevant, etc.) that can help. position Oxfam and partners’ priorities in the country.
   • Work closely with Business Development Team and program teams to ensure that program and advocacy are working in synergy and coherence.
   • Making sure that gender justice and Oxfam’s feminist principles are at the heart of national, influencing including program and advocacy and campaigning strategies.
   • Provide support, insights, and information to regional teams (Regional Director, influencing team) to support coherent national and regional influencing strategies.

7. Safety and Security

• Leads on issues of safety management including, risk assessment, safety mitigation plans and all other elements of staff safety in Iraq.
• Takes a lead on ensuring that staff safety guidelines are regularly updated, and that Oxfam organizational policy is adhered to regarding safety management.
• Ensures safe programming, Oxfam’s staff, partners, and the people in communities with whom we work are safe and protected from harm, exploitation, abuse, and harassment.

Job Requirements

Essential

Management and Leadership

• Proven history of leading and motivating multi-disciplinary, geographically remote teams and operations across a number of locations.
• Significant senior leadership and management experience in the development and delivery of high-quality development programming, influencing and humanitarian/resilience and nexus strategy, with local/ national partners, in one or more challenging locations.
• 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.

Representation, Influencing and Communication

• Proven history 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 (see below for language requirements).
• Proven history of success in advocacy and influencing.

Finance and Funding

• Significant experience is resource mobilization, including with non-traditional donors.
• Extensive experience of optimizing funds and effectively contract management from diverse institutions, both local and international.
• High level financial and asset management skills to steer and efficiently manage the operational budget of $ 5 to ten million across a number of locations.

Risk and Duty of Care

• Experience of managing security, risk, and legal compliance within an INGO context.
• Experience of crisis management and security management.
• Proven history of making sound judgements in uncertain and pressurized situations.
• Demonstrable experience of effectively anticipating and managing risks that could threaten the organizations reputation, operational viability, and security.

Strategic Thinking

• Ability to development 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.

Key Attributes

• Master degree in a relevant field, and at least 12 years of dynamically responsible international work experience, including leadership at the Country Director level of multi-site, multi-sectoral operations in a complex and fragile operating environment.
• Experience in working in the Middle East and North Africa, previous work in Iraq is a plus.
• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities.
• 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 are as safe as possible.
• Fluent in written and spoken English. Working proficiency in Arabic is highly desirable.

Organizational Values

• Empowerment – Everyone, from our staff and supports to people living in poverty should feel they can be a catalyst for change.
• Accountability – We take full responsibility for our actions and commit ourselves to the highest standards of integrity. We will also hold others, individuals, companies, and governments, fully accountable for their actions.
• Inclusiveness – We seek out partnerships and embrace inclusive decision making. We believe everyone has a contribution to make regardless of visible and invisible differences.

In addition:

• You are an exceptional leader committed to Oxfam values and to the success of the Oxfam program.
• Your outstanding analytical skills enable you to constantly adapt to an ever-changing context and to think beyond the country program context and to act within a regional and global framework.
• You have significant senior leadership and management experience in the development and delivery of high- quality program, humanitarian and influencing strategy, with and through partners or directly, in one or more challenging locations.
• You have a history of leading and motivating multi-disciplinary, geographically remote teams and operations across several locations.
• You have experience of managing safety/security, risk and legal compliance within an INGO context and a demonstrable understanding of humanitarian contexts and application of humanitarian principles. The ability to ‘think politically’ understanding motivations, pressures, power dynamics and challenges faced by colleagues, partners, decision makers and other actors.
• You have a 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, a proven track record of success in negotiating Humanitarian access, advocacy and influencing with ability to maximize fundraising from diverse institutions, both local and international. You are committed to promoting gender equity and the interests of marginalized people in all aspects of your work.
• You have a proficient level of IT literacy and understanding of how new developments in technology can positively contribute to the aims of an INGO.
• Good knowledge of the specific context for Iraq and MENA will be a great advantage.
• History of implementation of humanitarian principles and refugees related programming and influencing.

Desirable

Management and Leadership

• 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.

Representation and Communication

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

Risk and Duty of Care

• Experience of meeting agreed standards in disaster preparedness, mitigation and management including humanitarian response activities.

Strategic Thinking

• 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, innovative ideas and learning from experience beyond the country program context while acting within a global framework.
• Proficient level of IT literacy and an understanding of how new developments in technology can positively contribute to the aims of an INGO.

Others

• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles.
• Ability to travel away from home, in the region and to remote programmatic sites within the country and periodic travel aboard for global meetings for 5 to 8 weeks per annum.

How to apply

Please upload an up-to-date CV and a covering letter, clearly explaining your suitability against the essential criteria of the role. Please Click Here to submit your CV and Cover letter as a one document.
Kindly note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted- usually within 2 weeks of the closing date.