Program Coordinator

Oxfam is an international confederation of 21 organizations networked together in 77 countries. As part of a global movement for change, we are working together to end world poverty and injustice. We work with thousands of partners in countries around the world and employ staff in a wide variety of sectors and expertise. We work directly with communities as well as with the powerful to facilitate an enabling environment wherein the most marginalized can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a voice in decisions that affect them.

The Fair Finance Asia (FFA) Program: FFA is funded by Sida through the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. The program completed its first phase between 2018 and 2022. In January 2023, FFA began its Phase 2 implementation, which runs through to December 2026.

FFA is a network of over 90 civil society organizations (CSOs) in Asia working to ensure that financial institutions operating in Asia are transparent and accountable to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria in their business activities and investment decisions. FFA aspires to reduce inequality in Asia by creating an enabling policy environment for the integration of social and environmental considerations among financial institutions (FIs) in the region and ensuring that FIs advance the interests and needs of local communities towards their well-being.

Currently, FFA is operational at the regional level and in 8 countries across Asia, namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. FFA’s regional Executive Team (ET) is multi-located internationally but primarily hosted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The I-FOREST Intervention: I-FOREST (Investing and Financing Outcomes in Regional Ecosystems and Sustainable Trade) is a regional intervention that combines financing and sustainable trade approaches to address deforestation. Running till 2031, it works through regional, international, and national partnerships, and is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through its Forest Governance, Markets and Climate 2 program.

The intervention generates evidence on the financial flows and financial sector policies linked to deforestation and to negative impacts on women, girls and other vulnerable groups; engages financial institutions and financial and trade regulators to adopt sustainable, gender-responsive and inclusive policies and regulations; strengthens the technical capacity of key stakeholders; and raises public and stakeholder awareness on deforestation-linked commodities. Its core products include financial flow mapping of forest-risk commodity value chains, bank policy assessments, policy briefs and regulatory reviews.

Job Purpose: The Program Coordinator will facilitate the day-to-day delivery of the I-FOREST intervention so that research, advocacy, capacity-strengthening and communications activities are delivered on time, on budget and to the quality expected by partners and the donor. A central part of the role is to connect the project’s evidence to its advocacy: helping to turn research findings into clear asks towards financial institutions, financial and trade regulators and other decision-makers, and coordinating the engagement through which those asks are pursued. Working under the supervision of the Fair Finance Asia Program Lead, and in close collaboration with country teams, technical specialists, partners and the FFA Executive Team, the post-holder combines a solid grounding in sustainable finance with strong project cycle management and practical advocacy experience.

Accountability and Decision Rights:

The post is a coordination role. It carries delegated authority for the day-to-day running of the intervention, and does not carry line management of, or budget authority over, the teams delivering the country components. Decision rights are distributed as follows:

• The Program Lead retains strategic direction, overall donor accountability, and approval of material changes to scope, budget, work plans and partnership arrangements.
• The Program Coordinator holds delegated authority for integrated planning across components, implementation tracking, day-to-day coordination between teams and partners, preparation of routine donor deliverables, and the timely escalation of delays, risks and issues.
• Country Teams remain accountable for delivery, budgets, compliance and partner relationships within their countries.
• Technical Specialists retain responsibility for technical standards, methodology and the quality of technical content.
• The Steering Committee provides strategic oversight and approves major changes where applicable.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Coordinate integrated planning and implementation tracking across all project components including annual planning, consolidated work plans and budget phasing, implementation tracking, reporting and close-out – so that country plans, regional objectives and donor milestones remain aligned.
• Facilitate and track delivery of the research agenda across all components, including the mapping of financial flows to forest-risk commodity value chains, bank policy assessments applying the agreed methodology, and country contextualization studies; manage timelines, partner review rounds, and the validation and dissemination of findings, with technical specialists and research partners remaining responsible for technical standards and content.
• Act as the main focal point between the country teams, the regional and international components, and research partners: convene coordination meetings, maintain a shared view of progress across components, record agreements, and follow up on action points.
• Facilitate the delivery of the project’s advocacy and influencing agenda across the country, regional, and international components in close collaboration with the Program Lead, and maintain the overall advocacy plan and calendar, facilitate coherence between country, regional, and international influencing efforts, and track engagement with financial institutions, financial and trade regulators, and other target audiences from first contact through to follow-up on commitments.
• Support country teams and partners in preparing for influencing moments across all components — developing advocacy messages, asks and briefing notes, securing and shaping sessions at high-visibility regional and international platforms, and building the alliances with civil society, coalition members and allies needed to carry the project’s recommendations further.
• Facilitate the development and quality assurance of policy briefs, recommendations, and other advocacy and knowledge products, so that they carry clear, evidence-based calls to action for their intended audiences, working with country teams, technical specialists, and the regional communications team on publication, launch, and amplification.
• Coordinate capacity-strengthening activities at the country, regional, and international levels for financial institution officers, regulators, journalists, and civil society organizations, sequencing them so that training draws on the evidence generated by the research components.
• Coordinate the preparation and consolidation of routine donor deliverables covering all components – quarterly technical reports, milestone and indicator tracking, and the alignment of narrative with budget – in close collaboration with the MEAL Coordinator and finance colleagues, and coordinate responses to donor and partner comments, for review and approval by the Program Lead.
• Track progress against logframe milestones and targets across all components; identify delays, risks, and constraints early, including those arising from partner contracting, project licensing, and regulatory compliance requirements in the country; propose mitigation measures and escalate promptly to the Program Lead and, where applicable, the Steering Committee.
• Support partner management across the intervention, including partner onboarding, agreements, and due diligence follow-up, and regular performance and learning conversations, in coordination with the relevant Oxfam affiliates and country offices, which remain accountable for partner relationships and compliance in their countries.
• Support country teams, technical specialists, and partners to embed gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI) considerations in research design, stakeholder engagement, and capacity-strengthening activities across all components, and to make them visible in project outputs and reporting.
• Coordinate project cycle activities for country, regional, and international workshops, trainings, study visits, and other project events – including event concepts, logistical coordination, minutes, summary reports, and follow-ups – and support other relevant needs of the project leadership.

Travel Expectations: The post-holder should expect to travel regularly. On current plans, this means around 2-4 international trips a year, typically of 3–7 days duration, with some travel arranged at shorter notice around research milestones, engagement meetings and influencing moments. Travel volumes will vary between quarters and are mostly set in the annual work plan, so they can be anticipated well in advance. Oxfam recognizes that travel commitments interact with personal circumstances; we operate flexible working arrangements and encourage candidates to raise any questions about travel during the recruitment process so that these can be discussed openly.

EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE & COMPETENCIES

ESSENTIAL

1. • University degree in international development, economics, finance, environmental policy, or a related field; a postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
   • At least five years of experience in project or program coordination, a substantial part of it in multi-country or regional programs delivered with several implementing partners.

• Demonstrated command of the full project cycle – planning and budgeting, implementation monitoring, risk and issue management, donor reporting against logframe milestones, and adaptive management of work plans and budgets.
• Good working understanding of sustainable finance, including the environmental and social policies and practices of financial institutions, green taxonomies, and sustainable finance regulation and disclosure requirements, sufficient to engage credibly with researchers, financial institutions and regulators.
• Experience coordinating research or evidence-generation processes with external research providers and country partners, from inception through review to validation and dissemination.
• Experience working with institutional donors and consolidating high-quality narrative reports, with attention to consistency between narrative, results framework and budget.
• Excellent oral and written communication, presentation and facilitation skills in English, including the ability to translate technical research into persuasive advocacy messages and briefing materials for senior audiences; excellent report and proposal writing skills are highly desirable.
• A high degree of initiative and independence, efficient time management, the ability to prioritize competing demands across countries and time zones, and the resilience to cope with high-pressure environments.
• Demonstrated experience in policy advocacy and influencing — developing advocacy strategies and asks, engaging public or private sector decision-makers, and working through coalitions or networks to achieve policy or practice change.

DESIRABLE

• Knowledge of deforestation-linked commodity value chains in Asia, such as palm oil, rubber and cashew, and of the financial flows behind them.
• Familiarity with the regional regulatory and civil society operating environment and the role of regulations shaping sustainable trade and finance in Asia.
• Working knowledge of a relevant regional language in addition to English.

How to apply

Please upload an up-to-date CV and a cover letter, clearly explaining your suitability against the essential criteria in the job profile through the website:

https://jobs.oxfamnovib.nl/job-invite/14465/

Kindly note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted- usually within 2 weeks of the closing date.

Our commitment to safeguarding

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 committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. 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. Oxfam International Secretariat also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.  

In line with this Scheme, if a job applicant has been employed by another member of the scheme, we will request information from that organization 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.