Contract type: 2-year fixed-term contract
Internal grade: B1, International
Remuneration: in accordance with Oxfam International’s salary scale. This offer includes basic social benefits as well as the comprehensive benefits package applicable to internationally recruited and relocated staff. We believe that flexible working arrangements are essential to building the Secretariat of tomorrow. We are therefore willing to discuss arrangements that may suit you.
The position
Oxfam in Africa is seeking an experienced individual with proven leadership and strong influencing skills to lead its Advocacy and Liaison Office with the African Union (AU), based in Addis Ababa.
As a member of the Africa Platform Leadership Team, you will lead Oxfam’s engagement with the African Union and its institutions. You will develop and implement high-impact advocacy strategies to influence policies and practices across the continent. You will represent Oxfam at the highest level with the AU, build strategic relationships, and help position Oxfam as a credible and trusted partner.
This position plays a central role in fulfilling Oxfam’s mission in Africa: it establishes a link between continental policy-making spaces and national realities, while ensuring that advocacy actions are consistent, impactful and rooted in the realities experienced by communities.
This position reports to the Africa Directorate, with a matrix reporting structure to the Advocacy, Campaigns and Engagement (ACE) Directorate.
Desired profile
We are seeking an individual recognized for their leadership in advocacy and influence, with a strong track record of working with the African Union or similar multilateral institutions. You have demonstrated your ability to design and implement impactful influence strategies, combining policy analysis, advocacy, media relations, and partnerships to drive significant change.
You excel at relationship building and negotiation, navigate complex environments involving multiple stakeholders effectively, and exert influence at the highest levels. Your strategic thinking and political analysis skills enable you to translate AU processes into concrete opportunities for influence and impact for member states and partners.
Your leadership experience enables you to lead diverse teams and work within a global network, while fostering collaboration and accountability. You have in-depth knowledge of the African socio-political context and adhere to feminist, decolonial, and partner-led approaches.
Professional proficiency in English and French is essential.
Why join us?
This role offers a rare opportunity to influence policies and practices at the highest continental level. At Oxfam, you will shape our engagement with the African Union, lead advocacy on key issues such as inequality, poverty, and justice, and collaborate with governments, diplomats, and international institutions to achieve tangible change. As part of a diverse and collaborative leadership team, you will help bridge the gap between continental policies and the realities on the ground, ensuring that decisions made at the highest level translate into tangible results for people across Africa.
What we offer
At Oxfam, we believe that every aspect of our work can contribute to positive change. If you share this belief and have the skills to meet the challenges of this role, it will offer you great opportunities for personal growth and excellent career prospects. Oxfam is committed to providing fair pay, based on a 36-hour work week.
About Us
Oxfam is a global movement of people acting together to end the injustice of poverty.
This means we are tackling the inequalities that keep people in poverty. Together, we save lives, protect communities, and help them rebuild their lives. When disaster strikes, we help people build a better future, for themselves and for others. We take action on issues such as land rights, climate change, and discrimination against women. And we will not stop until every person on the planet can live free from poverty.
We are an international confederation comprised of 22 affiliated organizations and the Oxfam International Secretariat. Together with our partners and local communities, we carry out humanitarian work, development programs, and campaigns in more than 76 countries.
Oxfam in Africa (OiA) is a continental platform that coordinates Oxfam’s country offices across Africa and collaborates with civil society organizations, academics, governments, and the private sector to contribute to a more equitable Africa by challenging the power structures that perpetuate inequality and injustice. To this end, Oxfam in Africa provides dynamic intellectual leadership and a space for collaboration among its partners. Oxfam in Africa plays a leading role in supporting local communities and empowering them, promoting gender equality, advocating for policy changes, and building the capacity of local civil society organizations.
All of our work is guided by our core values: Empowerment, Accountability, Inclusion, Courage, Solidarity and Equality.
Our commitment to safeguarding (protection against harassment, exploitation and sexual abuse)
Oxfam is committed to preventing all forms of inappropriate behavior at work, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, breaches of integrity, and financial irregularities, as well as promoting the well-being of children, young people, and adults. Oxfam expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment and adhere to our Code of Conduct. We place paramount importance on recruiting individuals who share our values ​​and put them into practice.
Note: Any offer of employment will be conditional upon receipt of satisfactory references and may be subject to appropriate checks, including criminal record checks and terrorist financing checks. Oxfam International’s Secretariat also participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In accordance with this scheme, if an applicant has previously worked for another member organization, we will request information from that organization regarding any evidence of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment that occurred during their employment, as well as any incidents that were still under investigation at the time of their departure. By submitting their application, the applicant confirms that they have read and understood this recruitment procedure.
How to apply
How to apply
If you are interested in influencing continental policies and strengthening engagement with the African Union to foster lasting change in Africa, we encourage you to apply. Please submit an up-to-date CV and cover letter via this link: https://oxfam.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/4325897?cid=3360 , clearly demonstrating how your profile meets the key criteria outlined in the job description for Advocacy and Liaison Officer at the African Union.
Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, generally within two weeks of the closing date.