Local Humanitarian Leadership and Partnership Manager

National Position

Internal and External

Deadline for applications: 10th June 2024

Location: Open to Somaliland and Somalia Nationals

Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty. That means 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 19 organizations (affiliates) working together with partners and local communities in the areas of humanitarian, development and campaigning, in more than 90 countries.

Oxfam’s work in Somalia and Somaliland covers both humanitarian and development spheres, with most programming delivered in Hargeisa and eastern Somaliland, both directly and with partners. The humanitarian component focuses on delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), food security (particularly cash grants) and protection, in response to persistent, intense drought that has decimated livelihoods – primarily pastoralism, and caused mass displacement. The development component focuses on women and youth empowerment, economic inclusion, influence in decision-making and access to justice, primarily through three multi-year programmes.

All our work is led by Six core values: Empowerment, Accountability, Inclusiveness. To read more about our values please click here

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 and adults. 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.

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

Oxfam has been working in Somalia with local communities, civil society, and local authorities, delivering humanitarian assistance and longer-term development initiatives. Oxfam works in close collaboration with civil society actors, including NNGOs, and multiple government ministries and departments. Oxfam in Somalia has also instigated wide-ranging reform of the humanitarian system, particularly in addressing the power imbalances between local/national and international humanitarian actors (LNHAs), for example through investments in the establishment and growth of the Somali Nexus Platform.

Oxfam in Somalia is committed to more transformational and strategic partnerships and a clearer sense of capacity strengthening and capacity sharing approaches that facilitate real knowledge transfer and partnerships driven by mutual accountability and respect and value addition. Oxfam’s humanitarian work will take a stronger approach on local humanitarian leadership, the integration of resilience given the climate crisis effects across Somali regions and ensure safe programming and ethical, principled, and feminist humanitarian action. The country program plans to maintain over 50% of aid channelled through local partners with the aim of empowering national and local actors.

The Local Humanitarian Leadership (LHL) and Partnership Manager will provide overall leadership and technical oversight to the partnership processes within the Somali programme, particularly those related to building, strengthening, and maintaining relationships with partners. The role will coordinate with the Country Strategy Pillar Leads, Program/Area Managers in the field offices (South Central, Somaliland, Puntland) and the technical advisors/coordinators to ensure the institutionalization and refinement of partnership ways of working, partnership processes and guidelines, and manage potential risks that may evolve from partnership ways of working. In collaboration with the support functions in the country, the role will be responsible for supporting the country program in the effective scoping and building of (new) partnerships, managing, and maintaining partnerships, incl. providing support to joint programming and advocacy activities, reviewing and revising partnerships, as well as graduating from partnerships and responsible exits as relevant for the program.

The role will be responsible for ensuring in-depth understanding, practical application and periodic monitoring of Oxfam’s partnerships principles and ways of working, including Oxfam’s commitments to the Charter for Change, the Grand Bargain, Pledge for Change, and the Humanitarian Principles of Partnership. The role will also support institutional development of civil society organisations through capacity sharing and exchanges as well as connecting them to the relevant technical focal points of humanitarian aid delivery, peacebuilding, development, durable solutions, nexus programming, CSO networking and alliance building, as per the needs of the respective local actors.

The role will be responsible for effective communications, visibility of partners’ work on LHL and partnerships, coordination with all stakeholders involved, coordination of capacity strengthening and exchange processes in different projects in the country.