Gender Project Manager

Closing date:               – 12 March 2024 Midnight

Vacancy reference:    – INT10257 – Gender Project Manager

Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults and beneficiaries with whom Oxfam GB engages. 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.

The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. Oxfam GB also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.  In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organisation and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.

About Oxfam

Oxfam is a global community who believe poverty isn’t inevitable. It’s an injustice that can be overcome. We are shop volunteers, women’s right activists, marathon runners, aid workers, coffee farmers, street fundraisers, goat herders, policy experts, campaigners, water engineers and more. And we won’t stop until everyone can live life without poverty for good.

Oxfam GB is a member of the international confederation Oxfam.

Our Team

Oxfam’s programme has been established in 2014 in response to the ISIS conflict in Iraq. During the past few years the programme was built around the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance, recovery assistance, and promotion of women’s rights. At present Oxfam is renewing its strategy that will focus in 2021-2026 on the following goals: 1) Humanitarian response, under which we envision all Iraqis who are conflict-affected and/or disaster-affected to have access to essential life-saving support in a timely, effective, accessible and appropriate manner; 2) Governance, under which we envision Iraq to have equal access to services and opportunities for all people, whereby equal distribution and control of resources and meaningful participation can build resilient and sustainable solutions for the future; and 3) Equality, under which we envision an equitable and just society where women and people in all their diversity, live free from violence, enjoy ownership and control of resources and participate in decision-making processes across all spheres.

In order to serve these three objectives, Oxfam work aimed to integrate the following key sectors together for every intervention in a given location:

1. Water Sanitation and Hygiene
2. Food Security and Vulnerable Livelihoods
3. Protection of Lives and Rights of Civilians
4. Gender Justice and Women’s Rights
5. Advocacy and Media work

Under its Equality goal, Oxfam is particularly seeking to strengthen the women’s empowerment movement by supporting Women’s Rights Organisations and their agenda. Using a transformative leadership for Women’s Rights approach and through a rights-based approach that promotes access to justice, our programmes will focus on: Women, Peace and Security, Gender-Based Violence and Women’s Economic Empowerment.

Job Purpose

The Gender Project Manager position will lead on the project titled Women’s Voice and Leadership in 2 Governorates in Federal Government of Iraq (Ninewa & Anbar), and is accountable for all the implementation and coordination aspects of the project. As a key role within the Oxfam Iraq Country programme, the position will be based in Mosul, with frequent travel to Ramadi and Erbil. The Gender Project Manager will lead on effective management and relationships with relevant internal and external stakeholders at local level, manage the project activities throughout the project cycle, including budget management, directly lead in preparing and developing high-quality project plans, including Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) and procurement plans, progress and donor reports, ensure appropriate monitoring and project quality, and enhance internal and external learning and representation.

The project, funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and implemented in cooperation with Oxfam Quebec, is a multi-country initiative that also includes regional dimensions led by Oxfam regional MENA teams. In Iraq, the project is fully integrated within the Gender Justice and Women’s Rights Programme, building upon previous achievements and synergies with other ongoing projects. The project aims to support Iraqi Women’s Rights Organizations’ (WROs) in their action against Gender-Based Violence, through capacity strengthening, funding and collective action in advocacy for greater impact.

The project has already started since last year, and most of the activities are ongoing, but it will also be required from the new project manager to updated the project implementation plans, before the continuation of activities during the course of the year. The Project Manager is thus expected to rapidly and effectively take on and lead this process with support from Programme and Funding teams, continuing relationships with partners and ensuring the project’s long-term vision is well updated and reflected in the revised Project Implementation Plan. This post requires strong knowledge and experience in Gender, GBV, and protection, while also requiring solid project management and technical steering to ensure the project’s gender equality objectives.

The Gender lead, overseeing the Advancing Gender Justice and Women’s Rights programme, will provide technical backstopping when needed. The position provides an opportunity for professional development of qualified national staff and on-the job training will be provided.

What is the Recruitment Manager has to say about the role?

The job offers a stimulating combination of project lead and management functions including managing a sub-granting scheme together with technical specialization, learning and development on gender justice, as well as GBV and protection. It comes within strategic plans to expand Oxfam’s understanding, vision and approach to empower inclusive women’s movements and contribute to lasting impact for equality in Iraq.

Core Details

Key Responsibilities

Project lead, delivery and monitoring

• Take overall project management leadership and responsible to carry out implementation of project activities within approved project plans, budget, and duration.
• Provide project management and operational support to project team to run the project activities effectively and efficiently.
• Develop overall project documents including detailed implementation plans, budget and spending plans, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) plans, procurement plans and ensure the implementation of these plans.
• Keep tracking of project progress against approved implementation plan and update management about progress, bottlenecks causing delays in delivery, challenges encountered and suggested solutions.
• Ensure project deliverables are achieved as stipulated in project design maintaining the Oxfam’s program quality standards and expectation of relevant stakeholders.
• Conduct detail review of BvA on a regularly basis and advise on budget and implementation plans’ adjustment accordingly.
• Hold full responsibility to ensure Oxfam’s Programme Management system (OPAL) is updated for the assigned project.
• Work with MEAL team for monitoring and evaluating the project regularly, ensuring community participation as appropriate, as well as accountability towards communities;
• Follow up on MEAL activities and findings ensuring that learning from monitoring and evaluation is included and strategies and project implementation are adapted accordingly;
• Ensure that risk management and contingency planning is included at all stages of the project.
• Identify and work closely with relevant external stakeholders (institutional at different levels, from the humanitarian architecture and from civil society) in the overall implementation of project activities. This will include internal coordination at governorate level with Oxfam’s area Programme Managers, Gender Justice Programme team and Policy, Advocacy and Communication team, and externally regular meetings with various stakeholders to establish and maintain cooperation relations.

Reporting

• Develop project progress reports for the donor in collaboration with project staff, GJ lead, Area Manager, funding team and support teams. Ensure narrative reporting and financial accounting meet Oxfam and donor’s requirements.
• Prepare monthly situation reports (financial and narrative) to update management on progress achieved, plans, changes in direction and challenges encountered.

Contributions to GJ Programme Strategy, Networking and Influencing

• In close cooperation with the GJ Programme Manager, contribute lessons learned, ideas, evidence and contextual information to continuously inform the development, operationalisation and realisation of the GJ Programme Strategy, and participate in strategic events for the programme as a member of the GJ team.
• In close coordination with the GJ lead, liaise with peers in other agencies and organisations and represent Oxfam in coordination forums organised by civil society and Government authorities.
• In close coordination with the GJ lead, contribute with project-related inputs to develop advocacy and policy positions and national and international awareness-raising on gender equality.

Your commitment to Oxfam

• Required to adhere to Oxfam’s values as well as Oxfam’s Feminist Principles as well as the promotion of gender justice and women’s rights
• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles

Essential – Experience, Knowledge, Qualifications & Competencies

• University graduate in a relevant field (gender studies, social sciences, political science, etc)
• Proven working experience of at least three years in development or humanitarian programming
• Good knowledge and practice of project cycle management, running assessments, monitoring and evaluation and providing capacity building
• Proven experience working with local partners; experience of sub-granting mechanisms and/or of development and implementation of capacity building plans is a strong asset
• Understanding of needs and challenges of civil society development; in particular, interest and strong motivation to work with Women’s Rights Organisations, feminist activists and the women’s movement

Desirable

Fluency in English and Arabic