DESK OFFICER MOROCCO, TUNISIA, SENEGAL

POSITION: Desk Officer for Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal
DUTY STATION Florence, Italy
STARTING DATE: February 2019
DEPARTMENT Department of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid
LINE MANAGER: Global Portfolio Manager
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: January 20th, 2019
NOTE: Pending approval of a project by the donor
Interested candidates should send their CV, and a short letter, reasoning their motivation and explaining how their previous experience is in line with this job description.
Applications will be submitted to [email protected], specifying in the subject: “Desk Officer_Morocco_Tunisia_Senegal_2019_Name_Surname”, by January 20th 2019
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Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty.
We tackle the inequality that keeps people poor. Together we save, protect and rebuild lives. When disaster strikes, we help people build better lives for themselves, and for others. We take on issues like land rights, climate change and discrimination against women. And we won’t stop until every person on the planet can enjoy life free from poverty.
We are an international confederation of 20 organizations (affiliates) working together with partners and local communities in the areas of humanitarian, development and campaigning, in more than 90 countries.
All our work is led by three core values: Empowerment, Accountability, Inclusiveness.
Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behavior at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and promoting the welfare of anyone. 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.
Note: All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and may be subject to appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks.

DESCRIPTION
The Desk Officer for Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal, under the supervision of the Global Portfolio Manager, will lead and ensure project management support and oversight of the initiatives Oxfam Italy (OIT) implements in Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal. More specifically, he/she has a direct responsibility for the management and supervision of initiatives in three main sectors: (i) socio-economic development; local governance; (iii) diaspora engagement and co-development.
He/She is in charge of liaising with Oxfam in-country staff and connecting across affiliates, as well as with external actors to ensure the best impact of programs and influencing activities as OIT and One Oxfam.
He/she supports moreover the definition and implementation of strategies and programs both, at countries and HQ level.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONS:
Line manager: Global Portfolio Manager
Other reporting lines: Matrixed management with the Knowledge Coordinator (for the functions related to his/her thematic expertise)
Main functional relations (mainly for transversal / crosscutting functions with matrix relations): Institutional Fundraising Office, Humanitarian Aid Office, Grant Managers

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
• To coordinate and monitor the implementation of projects in Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal in strong coordination with Oxfam country teams; (ii) to develop and maintain good relationships with Oxfam in-country staff; ii) giving strategic steer to country programs including campaigns; iii) promoting program quality, learning and relevance;
• To lead and support the design of new project proposals in the three countries to be submitted to national and international donors;
• To define and update the annual / multi annual strategy for Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal, according to the annual strategic guidance provided by the Program Director and in coordination with the IFR Coordinator, the Humanitarian Coordinator and the Finance Team, and to provide advice on OIT annual and multi annual budget allocation for the above countries;
• To maintain a strategic overview on programs and influencing activities by liaising with key staff in the HQ.
• By facilitating strong linkages between Country Directors and relevant teams in in HQ, the Desk Officer will contribute to address emerging issues, enhance program quality in country, strengthen back-donor fundraising, identify potential bottlenecks and play a proactive role in arranging solutions;
• To participate to OI thematic working groups at Country and Regional level, as well as to Confederation Knowledge Hubs, when relevant and compatible with his/her work plan (decision to be taken by the GPM in consultation with the Knowledge Coordinator).
• To collaborate with the other Departments and Offices to define and implement MEL at the countries level and to coordinate with the knowledge hubs and technical international partners

REQUIREMENTS
• Substantial (at least 5 years) experience in developing and managing multi-stakeholders and multi-disciplinary work;
• Substantial understanding and experience working in fragile states/situations or conflict affected contexts, especially in Maghreb and West Africa regions;
• Strong competence -knowledge and work experience- in socio-economic development, migration, entrepreneurship and local governance ;
• Sound knowledge of the 2020 process and of the inter Oxfam affiliates coordination mechanisms;
• Excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills and outstanding diplomacy and networking skills to motivate, influence and negotiate with ability to represent OIT with key stakeholders (decisions makers, donors);
• Strong programs and projects development experience including developing proposals and negotiating with different stakeholders;
• Good team player with strong initiative;
• Strong business skills including proven experience in contract management with attention to details to support the financial management and monitoring;
• Proven analytical skills and capacity to think strategically and work collaboratively in a complex context;
• Target oriented and problem solving and proactive attitude. Proven ability to work creatively, innovatively and effectively. Flexibility and proven ability to manage time effectively and adapt priorities to respond to changing demands and tight deadlines;
• Excellent written and spoken Italian, English and French. Arabic as an asset;
• Strong computer literacy with a full knowledge of MS Office;
• Culturally sensitive and able to understand and work in very complex contexts;
• Ability to regularly travel including overnight stays;
• Strong commitment to Oxfam’s mission, aims and values;
• Public speaking skills as an asset.

SELECTION PROCESS
CVs will be pre-selected according to their coherence with the required profile. Selected candidates will be contacted for a written test and those who are considered eligible will be called for interviews. Interviews will be held in Florence, Italy. Travel costs on account of candidate. For candidates who are not in Italy the first interview will be conducted through phone or Skype.
We thank all those who apply, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Note: for more information about the organization, please consult our webpage: www.oxfamitalia.org