Pakistan Country Director

Reference number INT2205

Job Purpose

To contribute and implement Oxfam’s Global Strategy, by providing vision and strategic direction to all of Oxfam’s work in the Country. This includes Oxfam’s humanitarian responses, long term development programme design and implementation, advocacy and policy and influencing. Responsible and accountable for the strategic direction and effective management of the Country programming ensuring development, continued improvement in quality and impact of programmes and effective financial and human resource management in line with Oxfam Policy.

The Country Director will be responsible, with support from change groups and the Regional Director, to implement the Oxfam 2020 Vision which aims to create a stronger Oxfam that is globally coordinated and relevant in every country in which we work. In view of Vision 2020 the Country Director will lead the exciting process of Oxfam in Pakistan becoming an independent Affiliate within the confederation of Oxfam.

Country Context

With a population now estimated to exceed 182 million by UNDP and World Bank, Pakistan is ranked 146th out of 187 countries according to the UNDP HDI 2014. According to World Bank data, Pakistan’s GDP annual growth has been stable around 4%. The same sources report that from 2002 to 2011 there has been a dramatic fall in the incidence of poverty in Pakistan from 34.5% of the population living under the poverty line (as defined by Government of Pakistan) to 12.4% in 2011. This trend is mirrored using the US$1.25 per person per day indicator.

Population growth rates in Pakistan have declined from 2.5% to 1.8% from 1990 to 2010. However there is a significant youth bulge; UNICEF estimated that in 2012, 22.3% of the total population were between the ages of 10 and 19

In terms of access to health and education, a recent report described the increase in the human capital gap between the most developed and least developed districts as ‘alarming’. With a Gender Equity Index (GEI) of 29, Pakistan is behind all other countries in the region except Afghanistan. However, gender inequality appears to be improving in terms of educational attainment and participation in the labour force. Pakistan’s growing population is urbanising; about one-third of Pakistanis now live in urban centres and it is predicted this will rise to half of the population in the next decade at an annual urbanisation rate of 3%.

Oxfam works with many partners at local and national levels in all its programmes. Partnership is a cornerstone of the programmes’s operational model. Oxfam is a well respected in Pakistan and the Country Director is the key representative of the organisation with final responsibility.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Accountability

• Accountable to the Asia Regional Director, for the delivery, effective management (which includes budgets and plan), monitoring and evaluation, learning from the programme. Shaped by advice and guidance from the Country Governance Group (CGG).

Strategy

• To be responsible for developing the country strategic plan with the support of the Regional Director and Country Governance Group (CGG), having taken on board their views and feedback.
• Provides strategic leadership and management of Oxfam’s programme in country including all development, advocacy, and humanitarian programming to maximise our influence and impact.
• Successfully lead the design, communication and implementation of the One Oxfam Structure, in a participatory process with the support of the Change Management Task Force.
• Successfully lead the process of becoming an independent affiliate as Oxfam Pakistan with support from the Confederation Development Director and team within Oxfam International.

People Management

• Line manage the Country Leadership Team and manage the work in the country which will include: staff, budgets, funding and programme, ensuring that managers in country are in accordance with Oxfam’s policies and procedures, including but not limited to the Code of Conduct, Performance Management, Security, Health and Safety and local legislation.
• Creates and supports an environment which results in strong partnerships, influence, knowledge sharing and innovation.
• Responsible for Talent management and development of Oxfam staff.

Public Engagement

• Takes the lead in representing Oxfam and the country programme nationally and globally. Builds influential relationships and develops networks for effective change, both internally and externally, and is committed to maximising our influencing capability.
• Accountable for ensuring that appropriate tools and technology are in place to allow a strong flow of positive and consistent programme content to influence and communicate with internal audiences and external stakeholders including but not limited to government, media, donors, nongovernmental sector and supporters.

Programme and Delivery

• Work closely with partners in country in order to develop and deliver high quality programmes.
• Play an active role in drawing on learning from across Oxfam and external sources and sharing evidenced based learning with others.
• Ensures overall leadership of disaster preparedness, mitigation and management including humanitarian response activities for Category 3 emergencies consulting the Single Humanitarian Unit for advice and support.
• Access and use shared services for advice and support.
• Contribute to and maximise use of the Knowledge networks to share strategic thinking and learning more widely as well as within the Country Team to ensure that programming builds on learning and is evidence based, innovative and agile to respond to opportunities for change.
• Develop appropriate strategies to seek out and maintain funding sources.
• Accountable for all donor relations and contract management in country.

Technical Skills, Experience & Knowledge

Management and Leadership

• Proven track record of leading and motivating multi disciplinary, geographically remote teams and operations across a number of locations.
• Significant senior leadership and management experience in the development and delivery of high quality programme, influencing and humanitarian strategy, with and through partners or directly, in one or more challenging locations.
• Experience of managing complex change processes and relationships involving a wide range of both internal and external multi-cultural stakeholders across a variety of disciplines and geographical areas.
• A high degree of self awareness and an understanding of how to drive and support excellent team performance and individual development in line with Oxfam’s values and policies.
• Significant experience in managing an independent INGO that is successful in marketing, fundraising, positioning and delivering quality programmes and running the organisation in a businesslike manner.

Representation and Communication

• Proven track record of success in representing an organisation with partners, government agencies, private sector organisations, media and donors at senior level: nationally and globally.
• Proven track record of success in advocacy and influencing
• Demonstrable experience of working with the media and an ability to represent the organisation in the media if required.
• Demonstrable ability to convey complex messages in an appropriate manner to broad and diverse audiences.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to motivate influence and negotiate.

Finance and Funding

• Ability to maximise fundraising from diverse institutions, both local and international.
• High level financial and asset management skills to steer and efficiently manage the operational budget of approximately 5 M GBP across a number of locations

Risk

• Experience of managing security, risk and legal compliance within an INGO context.
• Proven track record of making sound judgements in uncertain and pressurised situations.
• Able to fulfil agreed standards in disaster preparedness, mitigation and management including humanitarian response activities for Category 2 & 3 emergencies.
• Able to anticipate and manage risks that could threaten the organisations reputation, operational viability and security.
• Experience of crisis management and security management.

Strategic Analytics

• Ability to manage the development of, and contribute to, the high level analysis of factors driving poverty, marginalisation and vulnerability in developing country contexts. The ability to ‘think politically’ understanding motivations, pressures, power dynamics and challenges faced by colleagues, partners, decision makers and other actors; and the ability to generate effective strategies to influence them.

Proven analytical skills, with the ability to:

• Take and manage calculated risks based on evidence based assumptions.
• Think strategically, to maximise adaptability and agility
• encourage forward thinking, new ideas and learning from experience beyond the country programme context while acting within a global framework
• Good level of IT literacy and an understanding of how new developments in technology can positively contribute to the aims of an INGO.

Values

• Committed to a rights based approach including an active commitment to putting women’s rights at the heart of all we do as well as the rights of other marginalised people in all aspects of an organisation’s work.

Travel

• Ability to travel away from home, often to remote programmatic sites within the country for 10 weeks per annum, and periodic travel aboard for global meetings.

Languages

• Fluency in spoken and written English. Proficiency in spoken and written Urdu is desirable, as well as the ability to work in an additional local dialect.

Behavioural competencies (based on Oxfam’s Leadership Model)

Decisiveness

We have the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively in any given circumstance. Decisions that settle issues and produce a definite result.

Influencing

We have the capacity to have an effect on a person’s character, development, or behaviour of someone or something. The power to persuade, inspire and shape policy or treatment of someone, especially through status, contacts, or information.

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 organisation.

Relationship Building

We understand the importance of building relationship, within and outside the organisation. We have the ability to engage with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in ways that lead to increased impact for the organisation

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 preferences.

Mutual Accountability

We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our organisational 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.

Agility, Complexity, and Ambiguity

We scan the environment, anticipate changes, are comfortable with lack of clarity and deal with a large number of elements interacting in diverse and unpredictable ways.

Systems Thinking

We view problems as parts of an overall system and in their relation to the whole system, rather than reacting to a specific part, outcome or event in isolation. We focus on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect. By consistently practicing systems thinking we are aware of and manage well unintended consequences of organisational decisions and actions.

Strategic Thinking and Judgment

We use judgment, weighing risk against the imperative to act. We make decisions consistent with organisational strategies and values.

Vision Setting

We have the ability to identify and lead visionary initiatives that are beneficial for our organisation and we set high-level direction through a visioning process that engages the organisation and diverse external stakeholders.

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

Enabling

We all work to effectively empower and enable others to deliver the organisations goals through creating conditions of success. We passionately invest in others by developing their careers, not only their skills for the job. We provide freedom; demonstrate belief and trust provide appropriate support. We give more freedom and demonstrate belief and trust, underpinned with appropriate support