The Role:

Oxfam Humanitarian Action Programme Manager,

The Humanitarian Action Programme Manager provides strategic, technical, and operational leadership for emergency preparedness, anticipatory action, response, and recovery across the SAF Cluster. The role ensures that humanitarian interventions are timely, principled, and aligned with organisational standards.

What we are looking for:

We’re looking for a candidate who cares about Oxfam’s mission to end poverty and is personally aligned to our feminist principles and values of empowerment, accountability and inclusion in all you do.

An ideal candidate for the role will also be / have:

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Humanitarian Leadership & Positioning (15%)

The role provides strategic direction for humanitarian action across the Cluster, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities, humanitarian principles, and the triple nexus approach. It supports positioning Oxfam as a credible and effective humanitarian actor in the region.

• Define humanitarian priorities across preparedness, response, and recovery
• Support integration of humanitarian action within cluster strategy

People Management & Leadership of Humanitarian Function (20%)

A central responsibility of the role is the direct leadership and management of the humanitarian team across the Cluster, ensuring that the function operates effectively and is capable of responding to emergencies.

• Line manage humanitarian staff, including emergency response and programme roles
• Establish strong performance management systems, including objective setting, feedback, and accountability

Emergency Preparedness & Anticipatory Action (15%)

The role strengthens the Cluster’s ability to anticipate and prepare for crises, ensuring readiness across teams and partners.

• Develop and maintain preparedness plans and contingency frameworks
• Support anticipatory action approaches linked to early warning systems

Humanitarian Response & Multi-Country Coordination (15%)

The role ensures effective coordination and delivery of humanitarian responses across countries, particularly in complex or large-scale emergencies.

• Coordinate multi-country responses and ensure alignment across teams
• Provide technical guidance during emergencies

Humanitarian Standards, Quality & Accountability (10%)

The role ensures that all humanitarian interventions meet recognised standards and uphold accountability to affected populations.

• Promote adherence to humanitarian principles and standards
• Strengthen quality assurance and accountability mechanisms

Partner Support & Localisation (10%)

The role works closely with partners to strengthen their capacity and leadership in humanitarian action.

• Support partners in preparedness, response, and recovery programming
• Promote localisation and equitable partnerships

Integration with Programme & Influencing (10%)

The role ensures that humanitarian action is integrated with development programming and influencing efforts.

• Support alignment with climate, economic, and gender justice programmes
• Contribute to nexus approaches linking humanitarian, development, and peace efforts

Experience, Knowledge and Competencies

The role strengthens learning and evidence generation to improve humanitarian effectiveness.

• Capture and document lessons learned from responses
• Support knowledge sharing across teams and partners

• Define humanitarian priorities across preparedness, response, and recovery
• Support integration of humanitarian action within cluster strategy
• Line manage humanitarian staff, including emergency response and programme roles
• Establish strong performance management systems, including objective setting, feedback, and accountability
• Develop and maintain preparedness plans and contingency frameworks
• Support anticipatory action approaches linked to early warning systems
• Coordinate multi-country responses and ensure alignment across teams
• Provide technical guidance during emergencies
• Promote adherence to humanitarian principles and standards
• Strengthen quality assurance and accountability mechanisms
• Support partners in preparedness, response, and recovery programming
• Promote localisation and equitable partnerships
• Support alignment with climate, economic, and gender justice programmes
• Contribute to nexus approaches linking humanitarian, development, and peace efforts
• Capture and document lessons learned from responses
• Support knowledge sharing across teams and partners

• Strong technical expertise and ability to integrate programme design with influencing and policy work.
• Proven experience in managing teams and working across multi-country or multi-stakeholder environments.
• Strong communication, analytical, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to build strong, credible relationships with internal and external individuals and organisations.
• Excellent personal communication skills, in written and verbal English, with strong influencing and persuasive skills.
• A high level of self-awareness, personal energy, stamina and flexibility.
• Proven experience as a team worker and demonstrably cooperative with members of other teams.
• Commitment to Oxfam’s safeguarding policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible.
• Excellent personal communication skills, in written and verbal English and ideally Portuguese.

• Master’s degree in Humanitarian Studies, Public Health, Development Studies, Environmental Studies or equivalent qualification. A Bachelor’s degree combined with relevant postgraduate or professional qualifications and significant experience of at least 10 years may be considered.
• 6 years of relevant experience in in humanitarian programming, including emergency response, preparedness, and coordination.
• Strong technical knowledge of humanitarian standards and principles, including at least 3 years in a team leadership or management role.
• Commitment to Oxfam’s overall aims and policies and experience of promoting gender equity and diversity and the interests of marginalized people in all aspects of Oxfam’s work.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly, at times at short notice, locally and regionally.