Advocacy and Campaigns Lead-Oxfam in North Africa (NAF) عودة إلى الفرص

Advocacy and Campaigns Lead

Oxfam in North Africa (NAF)

Based in Tunisia

Job Description

Oxfam’s vision is a just world without poverty: a world in which people can influence decisions that affect their lives, enjoy their rights, and assume their responsibilities as full citizens of a world in which all human beings are valued and treated equally.

Oxfam’s programs in the North Africa sub-region have a one-program approach, working in humanitarian response, development and influencing, with the ambition of increasing the role of civil society in influencing & advocacy and knowledge-for-impact both within and beyond the countries where Oxfam works.  

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.

Job purpose

To deliver positive changes at scale for people we work with. This will be achieved through leading the development and management of Oxfam’s influencing strategy in North Africa, covering advocacy, campaigns, policy, communications and media work and working with all program teams as part of an integrated one-program approach.

As a member of the NAF senior management team, the Advocacy & Campaigns Lead spearheads Oxfam’s influencing work in North Africa, ensuring that the programs in the sub-region develop and deliver a coherent policy and influencing strategy, built on programming and cognizant of risk and relevance to the evolving context.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Provide strategic vision and leadership to develop and manage Oxfam’s NAF influencing strategy, encompassing advocacy, campaigns, policy, media and communications

• Work effectively with the NAF Director, NAF Programs and Partnerships Manager, Program and Policy Leads, advisors at regional as well as with global levels and civil society partners (international and national), to lead the NAF influencing work;  while analyzing policy and practice issues and on-the-ground realities, prioritizing and devising innovative activities that will secure positive change for people in the sub-region in both the short and long-term, as well as leveraging opportunities and issues that arise in real-time.
• Work with the Gender colleagues to ensure women’s rights and gender justice is taken into account in NAF policy, advocacy and campaign work.
• Stay abreast of and adjust to the evolving context affecting the NAF sub-region and deliver timely intelligence and effective high level analysis of policies, practices, communications and decisions relevant to Oxfam’s programs.
• Build relationships with external stakeholders and allies including donors, government representatives, civil society organizations and academia, to increase partnership and influence in the sub-region.
• Forge meaningful links between local to global and global to local, (also south-south).
• In line with the sub-regional ambitions to engage with campaign initiatives, facilitate the development and implementation of advocacy and campaigns at the country and regional level, ensuring regional and global linkages. This includes flexing the global linkages to benefit local influencing initiatives.
• Lead on and coordinate the development of well-grounded policy positions regarding the subregion and countries, ensuring coherence with our global messaging, leading on new policy lines as needed and leading on the sign off process with relevant stakeholders as per Oxfam guidelines.   
• Ensure oversight of sign off for all influencing and media and comms products in NAF as per Oxfam guidelines.
• As a member of the NAF Cluster Senior Management Team, support the NAF team to deliver an influencing strategy, in line with Oxfam’s strategy in NAF as well as Oxfam’s Global Strategic Framework to ensure maximum impact.
• In close coordination with the NAF Director, provide advice and leadership on risk assurance and management, especially from a brand perspective.
• Work closely with Oxfam MENA teams, Oxfam International teams, and Oxfam affiliates to ensure coordinated approaches on Influencing that achieve the most impactful positive change. 
• Strengthen the relevance, legitimacy and mutual accountability of Oxfam’s sub-regional influencing initiatives.

Leadership and Management:  Lead a team of policy, campaigns, media and communication resources at subregional and country levels to develop and deliver Oxfam’s influencing strategy in NAF 

• Provide steer and regular guidance and support to the different team members in their respective roles.
• Oversee and monitor the advocacy and campaigns initiatives, budget and expenditures, in close coordination with the NAF Fundraising and Compliance Lead and the NAF Finance and Operations Manager. Provide guidance and support to the influencing teams in the country offices for the improvement of efficient budgeting and expenditure. 
• Ensure and facilitate linkages, exchanges and shared learnings amongst and between the team members based in different countries and managing a diverse range of influencing initiatives, with the partners, and within the organization. 
• Encourage and open opportunities for the team members to connect, and link (to exchange and learn) with peers and colleagues from the different NAF country offices, with program teams at other Country Offices and within the Oxfam Confederation. 
• Manage (directly or through matrix lines) the NAF influencing team and coordinate influencing resources, including media and communications. in country and across the region and globally to influence impactful change in NAF.
• Conduct and coordinate systematic advocacy and lobbying initiatives at the national, regional and global levels, in line with agreed delegation and division of labor.
• Ensure Oxfam representation in key appropriate external policy and media forums based in the region and other locations as appropriate and as agreed with the NAF Director.
• Coordinate high level representation of Oxfam’s advocacy messages and program in the national, regional and global media.
• Manage the sign-off process when relevant of policy and media products, and contribute as appropriate, to policy lines as per the country influencing strategy. 

Contribute to developing Oxfam quality programs in the subregion

• In close coordination with the NAF Head of Programs and Partnership and the Fundraising and Compliance Lead, feed into in the development and implementation of the NAF strategy and program design as needed.  Provide and facilitate high level influencing support to NAF programs.
• Actively contribute to engagement with donors and key funding stakeholders for resource mobilization and program development.  
• Ensure adequate resourcing is allocated within budgets to scale up influencing at national and regional levels.
• Provide guidance to country teams on good practice around power analysis, integrated programming, evidence-based advocacy, public campaigning, effective messaging, risk assessment and ensuring the creation of clear and accessible tools and resources for teams to maximize their programs impact 
• Ensure that Influencing is embedded in all programs, including though capacity-building to deliver Oxfam’s model and theory of change
• Support Oxfam in NAF to reflect Oxfam’s Southern campaigning principles including approaches to develop local ownership and national capacity for advocacy work.
• In close coordination with program colleagues, ensure that programs relevant to advocacy and campaigns are in compliance with donor contractual obligations, that program learnings are included in advocacy and policy products, and that program teams include advocacy in proposal design.
• Ensure regular monitoring and evaluation of advocacy and policy work and that regular reflection and review is undertaken to continuously improve effectiveness and impact.

Program Quality Assurance and MEAL – planning, delivery and reporting 

• In collaboration with the Programs and Partnership team and together with MEAL officer/s, develop impact indicators and empowering methods of measurement – such as participatory action research, most significant change stories, constituency feedback committees, etc.

CORE DIMENSIONS 

• 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 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. 
• Adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values as well as the promotion of gender justice and women’s rights.
• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, staff health and wellbeing principles

Technical Skills, Experience & Knowledge

• A Master’s degree level or equivalent experience in development, social science, or other relevant fields. 
• At least 12 years of experience in development organization/s as a progressively responsible professional working experience in similar organizations and relevant types of jobs. And a minimum of 7 years of experience in a job with similar focus and responsibilities. 
• Solid knowledge and understanding of the North of Africa sub-region, and experience in working in countries in transition as well as a significant knowledge of the thematic areas of work of Oxfam. 
• In-depth understanding of the economic, political and social causes and dynamics of poverty, vulnerability, inequality, humanitarian suffering and a familiarity with policy issues related to these topics in the North Africa region. 
• Stong risk analysis and judgement skills (internal and external) and experience in developing, monitoring and maintaining risks register/s and mitigations. 
• Proven experience of leading and supporting others in the design and implementation of strategies, campaigns, programs and research, as well as policy work in one or more countries in the NAF sub-region.
• In-depth experience of leading and working with team(s) in the global south to enhance influencing capacity and impact.
• Superb judgement that ensures the delivery of a coherent strategy and policy, and grows Oxfam’s work and reputation across the region.
• Ability to address gender issues and women’s rights in the design/delivery of influencing work.
• Very strong analytical and conceptual thinking skills; able to understand highly complex issues and translate them into simple, workable actions and plans. 
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with experience of external representation strategies, lobbying, advocacy and campaigning.
• Excellent written skills to support fundraising proposals.
• Clear understanding of what represents sustainable and effective development and humanitarian action.

• Ability to think and act strategically and understand the relationship between national and regional programs and the global objectives of Oxfam. 
• Excellent inter-personal and collaboration skills, particularly in cross-cultural contexts.
• Proven experience of capacity strengthening and advisory work. 
• Collaborative ways of working as part of a leadership team.
• A high level of energy, stamina and flexibility.  Ability to adjust to constantly changing situations while maintaining focus on delivery and follow-through, often working under pressure and to tight deadlines 

• Fluency in written and spoken English, Arabic and French.
• Proven commitment to and hands-on knowledge of Oxfam’s One Program approach (Desirable).
• Multi-year work experience in more than one country in the region (Desirable)