Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty.

Do you have 5 years of programme management experience, including at least 3 years in a senior leadership role?

Do you have Proven experience managing complex humanitarian and development portfolios valued at EUR/GBP 5 million or more?

Do you have Demonstrated experience working through partner led implementation and localisation approaches?

If the answer is yes, then we would like to hear from you.

The Role:

Oxfam Syria is looking for an Area Manager

This role is designed for Oxfam's Partner Led Implementation (PLI) model, requiring a fundamental shift in how leadership is exercised. The Area Manager is jointly accountable with partners for delivering portfolio results, achieved through genuine collaboration, co-creation, and shared decision making. Success requires balancing active stewardship of programme quality and compliance with deliberate empowerment of local partners to lead. The AM's effectiveness will be measured not only by what is delivered, but by how it is delivered specifically, the strength of partnerships, the transfer of decision making power, and measurable progress on localisation commitments. The role leads multidisciplinary Hub teams and coordinates closely with Country Office Programme Quality (PQ), Technical Leads, Finance, HR, Operations and the Funding Team through a matrix management approach, to ensure technical excellence, operational effectiveness, and achievement of the Oxfam Country Strategy (OCS) 2026–2031. The Area Manager represents Oxfam at Area level, strengthens strategic partnerships with local organisations and government institutions, and drives adaptive management to deliver sustainable impact for crisis affected communities.

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:

ESSENTIAL

• Sound judgement, listening, decisiveness, self-awareness.
• Master’s degree in development studies, Humanitarian Action, Public Administration, Social Sciences, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible programme management experience, including at least 3 years in a senior leadership role.
• Proven experience managing complex humanitarian and development portfolios valued at EUR/GBP 5 million or more.
• Demonstrated experience working through partner led implementation and localisation approaches.
• Strong knowledge of institutional donor requirements (ECHO, EU SIDA, DANIDA, GAC, EU, UN agencies and similar).
• Proven leadership of multidisciplinary teams within a matrix management environment.
• Excellent financial management, risk management, and strategic planning skills.
• Strong representation, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to safeguarding, gender justice, and inclusive leadership.
• Fluency in English and Arabic

Desirable

• Experience leading organisational change or localisation initiatives.
• Experience in conflict-affected or fragile contexts.
• Professional qualifications in programme or project management.

We offer:

We offer a competitive salary and a range of additional benefits to staff including flexible working options, generous pension scheme, annual leave, additional leave allowances, company sick pay, life assurance and a range of other benefits. 

From the day you join Oxfam we invite you to stretch and learn in your role. Our wide range of Learning & Development opportunities includes in-house courses, e-learning modules, on-the job learning opportunities, coaching and mentoring, and much more. 

You can read more about all Oxfam has to offer here.

How to apply:

As part of your online application, please upload your up to date CV and Cover Letter explaining your suitability against the essential criteria in the job profile.  

Our values and commitment to safeguarding

Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults and beneficiaries with whom Oxfam GB engages. 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.

The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. Oxfam GB also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.  In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organisation and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.

About us

Oxfam is a global community who believe poverty isn’t inevitable. It’s an injustice that can be overcome. We are shop volunteers, women’s right activists, marathon runners, aid workers, coffee farmers, street fundraisers, goat herders, policy experts, campaigners, water engineers and more. And we won’t stop until everyone can live life without poverty for good.

Oxfam GB is a member of international confederation of 21 organisations working together with partners and local communities in the areas of humanitarian, development and campaigning, in more than 90 countries. 

A thriving diverse Oxfam:

It’s people power that brings about change. To play our part as a global organisation working to overcome poverty and inequality, we need equality, diversity and inclusion across our community of staff, partners and volunteers. Together, we’re committed to becoming a more diverse workforce, better able to tackle the global challenges that face our world today.

To do that:

• We need to dismantle the unequal power structures that exist everywhere, this including Oxfam and the wider development and charity sectors.
• We need an inclusive Oxfam where everyone can bring who they are to our work and feels celebrated for the differences they bring.
• We want and need everyone, and that means we need you.