Oxfam America rapid deployment team register - Humanitarian livelihoods technical specialist

Background

Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Its activities encompass humanitarian response, development work, and campaigning to change the global policies and practices that keep people in poverty.

Primary responsibilities

- Provide technical support and knowledge for the identification, design, and implementation of livelihoods work with local NGO partners and at community level. Tasks may include supporting the team in: performing livelihoods analysis and assessments, developing grant proposals and budgets; providing training and capacity building; and supporting the provision of goods and services.
- Work with local staff and partners to implement emergency response programming based on their areas of expertise and the identified needs, and in conjunction with other specialists in the team.
- Work with team members to provide recommendations for Oxfam responses in the short, medium, and long term that are aligned with Oxfam’s approach to humanitarian disasters.
- Support provision of information on livelihoods responses and issues to feed into Oxfam policy and communications work; support timely reporting to donors.
- Build and/or strengthen the capacity of local staff and partners in technical elements of expertise.
- Ensure that program activities related to livelihoods programming incorporate technical knowledge and best practices to ensure appropriate and effective interventions. Support the development of indicators and to ensure that these activities are properly monitored and measured, and adjusted when needed in accordance with feedback from all stakeholders. Participate in Oxfam International Real Time Evaluations (RTEs) if and when needed.
- Work in close collaboration with other team members to ensure cohesive work that addresses needs.
- Maintain links and coordinate with other agencies and experts in the field that are responding to the emergency.
- Ensure that programming is implemented in a consultative, participatory, and gender-sensitive manner.
- Ensure that risk reduction is integrated into livelihoods responses as appropriate.
- Ensure that projects promote gender equity, protection, HIV/AIDS, and other cross-cutting issues as appropriate.
- Ensure appropriate standards in financial management are met to ensure accountability and transparency.

Qualifications

Required:

Education:
- A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in fields related to food security, nutrition, agriculture, veterinary science, humanitarian response and/or other relevant areas of study.

Experience and core competencies:
- Knowledge of and experience in one or more areas of humanitarian livelihoods and emergency food security intervention, including cash- transfer projects, food-based responses, market-based interventions, agriculture and livestock programs, and other methods of livelihood support in emergencies.
- Experience in core areas of relevant competency including conducting rapid and in-depth analysis and assessment of food security, livelihoods, and markets in emergency situations, and effectively communicating findings and recommendations.
- 1-3 years of practical field experience in developing countries implementing emergency livelihoods and food security programs
- Commitment to working in a participatory manner with local NGOs and communities to develop interventions.
- Familiarity with disaster risk reduction programming and in gender analysis.
- Training/counterpart development skills.
- Experience and/or ability to work in insecure environments and under pressure.
- Proven analytical and planning skills and the ability to think strategically.
- Good oral and written reporting skills.
- Good communication skills and the ability to work well in a team.
- Experience in budgeting and budget monitoring.
- Diplomacy, tact and negotiating skills.
- Ability to travel at short notice and work in difficult circumstances.
- Familiarity and compliance with the NGO/Red Cross Code of Conduct, the People in Aid Code, and other regulatory codes/protocols (e.g. Sphere Minimum Standards and InterAction Field Co-operation Protocol).
- Sympathy with the aims and objectives of Oxfam.
- Commitment to humanitarian principles and action.
- Good written and spoken English essential. Fluency in a second language may be required for some deployments.

Preferred:

- Master’s degree in a relevant field.
- Spanish, French, Portuguese and/or Arabic language skills are highly desirable.
- Familiarity with Oxfam International procedures.