Economic Justice Program Manager

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 in Lebanon is increasingly working at local, national and international levels to “ensure that women and men are protected and empowered to enjoy their basic rights and access services enabling them to live in dignity within a more equitable society.” To achieve this vision, Oxfam in Lebanon implements activities under three main programmatic pillars, which are the Citizenship Governance, and Economic Justice pillar, the Humanitarian Pillar, and the Beirut Response Pillar (in response to the Beirut blast of August 4th, 2020).  

The Economic Justice Program falls under the Human Rights and Economic Justice Pillar. The Economic Justice Program aims to support marginalised women and men, especially youth, so that they are empowered to cope with the effects of economic poverty, and have greater access to and control over livelihood assets for sustainable poverty reduction and reduced aid dependency.

The Economic Justice Program Manager will lead Oxfam’s Economic Justice team. S/he will have oversight over EJ projects that promote decent work, sustainable business development and employment programs in Bekaa and North Lebanon. The EJ Program Manager will also work tightly with the Beirut Response pillar, in promoting the early recovery of businesses that were affected by the Beirut blast.

Job Purpose

The Economic Justice Program Manager will lead and is accountable for all the programmatic, management and partnership aspects of Oxfam’s economic justice (EJ) interventions in north Bekaa and north Lebanon, and will work tightly with the Beirut Response pillar, in promoting the early recovery of businesses that were affected by the Beirut blast.  As a key role within the Oxfam Lebanon Country programme, the position will be based in Beirut, with regular travel to programme sites in the Bekaa region, North Lebanon, and to Beirut. He/she will oversee effective management and relationships with relevant external stakeholders, oversee program teams that are implementing EJ interventions, by overseeing management of the project cycle, including financial monitoring, monitoring and evaluation, leading in preparing and developing high quality concept notes and proposals, reviewing progress and donor reports, and enhancing learning and representation. In addition, the Economic Justice Program Manager will also support in identifying scaling up opportunities and new project ideas in line with economic justice needs on the ground, and in consultation with program teams.

Core Details

Location: Beirut

Internal Grade: C2

Job Family: Programme

Contract type:

Until March 31^st, 2021 (renewable)

This role reports to: Human Rights and Economic Justice Coordinator

Staff reporting to this post: 2 direct reports (1 Project Manager and one Senior Project Officer)

Annual budget for the post: 1 to 2 million USD

Key relationships/interactions: Human Rights and Economic Justice Coordinator, Human Rights Program Manager, SEE Change Coordinator, Beirut Response Coordinator, Beirut Response Projects Manager, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Coordinator, Gender Advisor, Funding Coordinator, Grants Manager, Policy Lead, Research and Policy Advisor, Deputy Country Director for Programmes.

Screening checks: All successful candidates will be screened through Refinitiv World-Check One to comply with counter terrorism and financial sanctions regulations.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Oversight

• Directly line-manage 1 Livelihoods Project Manager and one Livelihoods Senior Project Officer, while ensuring implementation of Oxfam’s performance management policies and procedures;
• Support the implementation of economic justice activities, and the early recovery activities of the Beirut Response, including ensuring coherence, standardized approaches, and programme quality, and quality reporting to donors, across the economic justice programme as a whole and advise on economic justice elements in other programmes;
• Exercise budgetary oversight over all economic justice projects in their portfolio;
• In collaboration with the Human Rights and Economic Justice Coordinator, and the Human Rights Program Manager, the Livelihoods Project Manager and the Livelihoods Senior Officer, support the integration of programmes and policy to ensure that programmes are working towards achieving same aims, and leveraging impact in line with Oxfam’s Country Strategy for Lebanon;

• Support team and partner risk analysis related to programme activities before implementation and provide strategic steer on amending activities and approaches where necessary;
• Support economic justice programme teams and partners in developing and applying appropriate monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) tools in relation to Oxfam’s economic justice work in Lebanon;
• Lead on the development and implementation of evaluations, learning events and specific programme-related research activities;
• Work with the pillar lead and the Gender Advisor in ensuring all efforts are made by economic justice programme staff and partners in mainstreaming gender throughout Oxfam Lebanon’s work;
• Support the pillar lead in the identification of capacity building needs and opportunities for Oxfam staff and local partner organisations; support the development and implementation of capacity-building plans and design and deliver trainings as appropriate;
• With support from the communications team, advance the visibility of Oxfam’s economic justice activities in Lebanon

Programme Design and Strategy

• Support the development of a comprehensive economic justice strategy for Oxfam in Lebanon, which includes elements of economic justice and social solidarity economy programming, and advocacy and policy, working towards a transition into longer-term programmes that links closely with the economic justice change goal, and has a strong partnership approach. This includes defining the strategy, designing approaches, identifying key partners and supporting (or leading when relevant) programme teams and partners in developing (funding) proposals and reviewing and revising current projects to meet changing needs and requirements;
• Lead on programme design and proposal development for economic justice projects that fall under the Human Rights and Economic Justice pillar of work, and/or support the proposal lead on integrated multisector interventions;
• Provide specialist economic justice technical advice and support to the implementation of Oxfam’s interventions and approaches in Lebanon (e.g. economic development, agricultural value chains, rural and urban; agricultural value chains, social safety nets); 
• Supervise and coordinate implementation of projects and programmes that fall under her/his portfolio
• Participate in-country planning, strategy development and reviews;
• Maintain an up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of livelihoods issues in Lebanon and ensure that programme teams are operating according to emerging evidence on what works, and what does not work, within the Lebanon context and the legal framework;

Representation & Relationship-Building

• Represent Oxfam externally in relevant UN/(I)NGO or government coordination fora; develop alliances with organisations and other relevant stakeholders working on economic justice with a view to enhancing coordination, and adopting complementary approaches including active participation in relevant coordination and planning mechanisms;
• Represent Oxfam internally, in meetings with affiliates, the regional office, and other country programs;
• Attend donor meetings when relevant and organize field visits as required;
• Build a network of partnerships (formal and informal) to engage with on programmes and for policy, advocacy and influencing.

Policy and Influencing

In collaboration with relevant Policy Advisor(s), and in coordination with the Human Rights and Economic Justice Coordinator, Human Rights Program Manager, and Policy Advisor:

• Support advocacy and campaigning on economic justice issues, and advise on relevant research so that influencing and policy work is based on sound programmatic economic justice evidence;
• Provide feedback and support on economic justice approaches to be strengthened within the Lebanon Country Office Influencing Strategy;
• Be the focal point to liaise with technical staff from other country programs in the region to identify opportunities for collaboration and joint learning;

Your commitment to Oxfam

• Required to 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, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles

Person Specification        

Note to candidates: Shortlisted candidates will be assessed on our organisational values and attributes at the interview stage. The successful candidate(s) will be expected to adhere to our code of conduct. We encourage candidates to read and understand our code of conduct here.

Key Organisational Attributes                                                                                          

• 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 undertake Oxfam’s safeguarding training and adherence of relevant policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible

Organisational Values                                                                                                       

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions
• Empowerment – Our approach means that everyone involved with Oxfam, from our staff and supporters to people living in poverty, should feel they can make change happen
• Inclusiveness – We are open to everyone and embrace diversity. We believe everyone has a contribution to make, regardless of visible and invisible differences

Oxfam Leadership Competencies                                                                 

• Decisiveness: We are comfortable to make transparent decisions and to adapt decision making modes to the context and needs.                                                                             
• Humility: We put ‘we’ before ‘me’ and place an emphasis on the power of the collective, nurture the team and play to the strengths of each individual. We are not concerned with hierarchical power, and we engage with, trust and value the knowledge and expertise of others across all levels of the organization.                                                                                                             
• Relationship Building: We understand the importance of building relationship, within and outside the organization. We have the ability to engage with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in ways that lead to increased impact for the organization.                                         
• Listening: We are good listeners who can see where deeper levels of thoughts and tacit assumptions differ. Our messages to others are clear, and consider different preference
• Mutual Accountability: We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our organizational values.  We are ready to be held to account for what we do and how we behave, as we are also holding others to account in a consistent manner.
• Self-Awareness: We are able to develop a high degree of self-awareness around our own strengths and weaknesses and our impact on others. Our self-awareness enables us to moderate and self-regulate our behaviors to control and channel our impulses for good purposes.

Essential - Experience, Knowledge, Qualifications & Competencies

• 4 to 5 years of experience leading economic justice and economic recovery programming (e.g. in local economic development, poverty reduction, agricultural value chains, urban/rural development, the solidarity economy, social entrepreneurship, etc);
• Strong experience in project design, proposal development and concept note development (including budgets) of economic justice interventions;
•  Sound knowledge of economic justice issues and priorities in Lebanon, including an understanding of Lebanon’s social, economic and political context;
• Strong knowledge of and engagement with Lebanese civil society, and an understanding of/experience with the private sector in Lebanon;
• Excellent communicator in English and Arabic, with proven ability to build relationships with a variety of stakeholders (local partners, municipalities, etc);

Desirable

• Master’s degree in relevant area (e.g. economics, development studies, political science)

• Experience in working with and developing the capacity of staff and partners; 
• Proven ability to analyse complex environments at the local and national level, monitor changes and translate into appropriate strategic advice;
• Demonstrated experience in integrating gender and diversity into economic justice programming;
• Experience in supporting research, advocacy and influencing efforts on economic justice issues in Lebanon;
• Knowledge of and/or experience in governance and human rights programming.