Regional Gender Justice Lead

About Oxfam

Oxfam, one of the leading global development organisations, mobilises the power of people against poverty. Oxfam is a diverse confederation of 17 strongly interconnected national affiliates working in over 90 countries, either directly, or with partners to enable transformational change, using a unique combination of long-term development, campaigning and humanitarian programmes.

Oxfam is currently undergoing a period of transformational change which envisions a future where we are a more interdependent network, driven more by knowledge, organised for more simplicity internally and more globally balanced. Oxfam strives to have affiliates in southern countries that can raise their own funds, run their own programs, make their own alliances with local people’s movements, and lobby their own governments and businesses. Oxfam South Africa (OZA) is the first African member of the Oxfam Confederation that will advance this vision. Oxfam has a long history of working to end poverty and injustice in Southern Africa, particularly in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.  

Purpose of the role

In the Region, the threats to people living in poverty and to human rights are many, varied, and complex, with significant gendered dimensions. Deep-rooted gender inequality prevents millions of women and girls from making choices about and taking control of their lives. Patriarchal attitudes and beliefs undermine women’s social, economic and political participation. Violence against women and gender non-conforming people limits their freedoms and voice. Oxfam seeks to deepen and elevate its focus on gender justice in the region by embedding a gendered perspective in its country programmes, greater co-ordination between countries and deepening partnerships with women’s rights and gender justice organizations for enhanced gender justice impact.

This position has multiple purposes: to support gender coordinators in countries to ensure that Oxfam’s work on women’s rights is effective, cogent and responsive; to mobilize resources for our gender justice program in Southern Africa; to support Oxfam in the region to increase the reach, quality and impact of women’s rights work; and, to expand Oxfam’s profile in the region and contribute to Oxfam’s influence globally, on all our strategic priorities on gender justice including on issues of violence against women and girls. This position is also to ground Oxfam’s work in the wider women’s rights movement in the region.

This will be achieved by providing strategic and technical advice to country programs, as well as direction, coherence and coordination to the work of gender coordinators embedded in these programs – and by supporting research, facilitating knowledge-sharing and influencing on issues of strategic interest to Oxfam, including on violence against women and girls.

The Purpose of the Team

The regional team is part of the One Oxfam programme team based in countries and supports the delivery of Oxfam’s strategic priorities in southern Africa and increases our impact through influencing, connecting with movements/ actors in the region, increased knowledge sharing and improved program quality.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Resource mobilization

• Develops a resource mobilization plan for the Regional Gender Program, building on previous work and relationships, to secure funding for the five year program.
• Meets with donors at regional and country level (with gender justice leads) to generate interest in funding the Regional Gender Program.
• Seeks out and responds to calls for proposals that align with the Regional Gender Program.

2. Strategic and Technical Support

• Convenes and engages gender coordinators in country programs, ensuring coherence and coordination and high program quality.
• Assess gender capacity gaps and organise coaching and training to build capacity within country teams, and develop capacity building programs for country teams where needed.
• Connect country programs with technical expertise from across the confederation.
• Provide substantive support to integrating gender into the other Connect thematic areas of work (including economic justice and humanitarian), and provide support to gender mainstreaming of country level work in collaboration with country level gender coordinators.
• Supports the development of key strategy and policy documents at country and regional level, ensuring the integration of gender considerations.
• Facilitates strategic synergies between Oxfam’s gender work and that of the wider women’s rights/ feminist movements in Southern Africa.
• Ensure strong monitoring & evaluation of gender programs at country level.
• Following the completion of the Oxfam Country Strategies, support the development of quality gender programmes, that align with the local context, contributes to the global gender strategy, and meets global programme standards.

3. Communications

• Communicates developments around Regional Gender Program, gender work, and program/policy progress to internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintains regular internal communication with gender coordinators in countries and Country Directors about regional level work and priorities.
• Maintains an updated situational analysis on women’s rights in the region, ensuring that programs and policies are responsive to the latest developments.
• Contribute to the production of publications and media content for learning and influencing.
• Communicate to country teams global programme developments and actions and provide an affective link with such actions as well as Oxfam’s Gender Based Violence Knowledge Hub (KH).

4. Knowledge-Sharing and Research

• Facilitate knowledge sharing, including documenting and sharing tools and good practice and convening knowledge events.
• Support research initiatives, with significant focus on those led by the and on issues related to VAWG. 

5. Influencing and Representation

• Support country and regional influencing work, including leading the gender justice component of the Oxfam’s regional SADC/AU influencing strategy and campaigns.
• Engage and build networks with researchers, funders, women’s rights organizations, and activists and other strategic stakeholders and allies.
• Participate actively in the KH teams, as well the regional and one of the global OI gender justice teams.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Experience

• Post-graduate degree in a related field (women`s studies, political science, international development).
• A minimum of ten years’ work experience in women’s rights and/ or international development .

Skills

• Strong analytical understanding and demonstrated experience/knowledge in women`s rights and gender equality programs, policy and influencing in southern Africa required; experience/knowledge of the field of violence against women required. 
• Demonstrated capacity to mobilize resources for complex, multi-donor programs.
• Excellent policy analysis and research skills a strong asset, including experience with applied or operational research.
• Excellent monitoring and evaluation skills a strong asset, including experience designing monitoring & evaluation frameworks.
• Demonstrated capacity for strong analytical writing and proposal development writing required.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical support on stand-alone women’s rights programs and gender mainstreaming at a country and regional level.
• Ability to analyze and communicate complex program information to a wide range of audiences; ability to design effective learning activities; experience in technology-supported knowledge sharing an asset.
• Excellent skills in team coordination and a collaborative working style; capable of achieving results through influence and persuasion across geographies and with multiple stakeholders working within matrix-management accountability structures.
• Strong listening, facilitating, and communications skills.
• Strong computer skills in word processing and use of spreadsheets, electronic mail and data base systems.
• Demonstrated commitment to global justice, gender equality and social change.
• Demonstrated capacity to work in a self-directed manner in a team-based setting.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 8 weeks per year.

How to Apply

All applications must be addressed to KM Global Consulting and sent directly to oxfam@kmglobalconsult.com stating OXFAM-RGJ-RSA in the subject line.