Job Opportunity: People Culture and Organisational Development Lead (INT11688).

JOB PURPOSE:

The People, Culture & Organisational Development Lead provides senior strategic and operational leadership for Oxfam’s people agenda across the Southern Africa (SAF) Cluster, ensuring that workforce systems, leadership practices, organisational culture, and HR structures are fully aligned with Oxfam’s transition to a regional, partner-led, systems-focused operating model.

The role is responsible for shaping and driving a coherent People & Culture strategy that supports organisational transformation, workforce sustainability, feminist leadership, localisation, and long-term institutional resilience. It acts as the principal architect and integrator of people systems across multiple countries, ensuring that staffing structures, talent pipelines, organisational culture, and leadership capabilities are fit-for-purpose within a complex, decentralised, and rapidly evolving regional structure.

Operating under the direct leadership of the Cluster Director, the role serves as both a strategic adviser to senior leadership and the lead manager of cluster-wide HR systems. It ensures harmonisation of policies and practices, supports workforce planning, drives organisational change, strengthens partner-centred HR approaches, and safeguards compliance with labour laws, donor standards, and Oxfam’s internal frameworks.

The role also directly leads and develops HR Officers across the Cluster, ensuring strong performance, consistent policy application, people-centred leadership, and high-quality service delivery.

Through strong strategic leadership, organisational development, workforce transformation, and culture stewardship, this role significantly strengthens Oxfam’s ability to sustain a cohesive, high-performing, inclusive, and future-fit workforce capable of delivering Oxfam’s 2026–2030 strategy across Southern Africa.

As a member of the Cluster Leadership Team, contribute to the collective strategic leadership, governance, and management of the SAF Cluster, sharing responsibility for organisational performance, risk management, and delivery of the Cluster Strategy. Where domiciled within a programme hub, act under delegated authority as the senior Oxfam representative in that country, providing organisational stewardship and representing the Cluster in engagements with government institutions, partners, donors, coordination platforms, and other internal and external stakeholders, while ensuring alignment between regional priorities and country-level implementation.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Master or equivalent degree in Human Resources, Organisational Development, Psychology, 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.
• Six (6) years progressive HR leadership experience in HR leadership, organisational development, or people strategy roles
• Proven experience in organisational transformation, workforce planning, change management, multi-country labour systems, strategic HR leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leadership and drive strategic outcomes.
• Strong, coaching, and interpersonal skills.
•  High emotional intelligence and ability to manage sensitive issues.
•  Strong analytical and systems thinking capabilities.
• Excellent leadership and people management abilities, with motivational, talent development and change management skills. Able to manage and develop other people’s professional standards and potential.
• Good knowledge and experience of using tools and methodologies for conducting needs analysis, training programme development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Strong project management and organisational skills, with experience using formal project management techniques.
•  A strategic perspective and approach with ability to develop long term plans and implement them effectively. Ability to work with others to develop vision into strategy and communicate and influence this to a wider audience.
• Ability to build strong, credible relationships with internal and external individuals and organisations.
• A high level of self-awareness, personal energy, stamina and flexibility. Ability to work creatively, effectively and in an innovative manner, adjusting to constantly changing situations while maintaining focus on delivery and follow-through.
• 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.
• Experience in working with and supporting multi located teams with a good understanding of the local labour laws.

Organizational Values

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions.
• 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 behaviours to control and channel our impulses for good purposes
•  Decisiveness- We are comfortable to make transparent decisions and to adapt decision making modes to the context and needs.
• Relationship Building- We understand the importance of building relationship, within and outside the organization. We have the ability to engage with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in ways that lead to increased impact for the organisation.
• 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.

Desirable

• Portuguese language capability.
• INGO or partner-led model experience.
• Southern Africa regional expertise.
• Localisation and decolonial systems experience.

The closing date is Thursday, 06th August 2026.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Oxfam is an equal opportunities employer, we are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organisation.

If your qualifications meet the requirements, and believe in Oxfam values- please apply by visiting our website at : https://jobs.oxfam.org.uk/jobs/vacancy/people-culture-and-organisational-development-lead-int11688/24854/description/