Oxfam Hiring Safeguarding Advisor in Africa: One-Year Opportunity for Experienced Protection Professionals|Deadline: 7 September 2026
Professionals with strong experience in safeguarding, protection, humanitarian programming, gender equality, case management, and organisational capacity building have an opportunity to join Oxfam as a Safeguarding Advisor – Oxfam in Africa.
The position offers an opportunity to contribute to safeguarding systems across Sub-Saharan Africa while working with country offices, partners, senior leadership, and international safeguarding networks. The role is advertised as a one-year fixed-term position, renewable depending on funding and organisational needs. The application deadline is 7 September 2026.
About the Safeguarding Advisor Position
Oxfam in Africa is looking for an experienced safeguarding professional who can provide strategic and technical leadership across its continental operations.
The successful candidate will help ensure that communities, staff, volunteers, and partners are protected from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEA), child abuse, and other forms of harm.
This is described as an independent, continental-level role. Although the position sits within the People and Culture Team, the Safeguarding Advisor will work closely with the One Africa Director, Oxfam in Africa Leadership Team, Country Directors, and safeguarding colleagues across country offices.
The position also has a matrix reporting relationship with the Oxfam International Head of Safeguarding.
Key Responsibilities
A major component of the role will be developing and implementing safeguarding strategies across Oxfam’s African operations.
The Safeguarding Advisor will provide technical advice, build capacity within country offices and partner organisations, and support the development of effective prevention and response mechanisms.
Responsibilities will include:
- Developing safeguarding prevention and response strategies
- Providing safeguarding advice to senior leadership and country teams
- Building safeguarding capacity across country offices and partners
- Designing community feedback and complaints mechanisms
- Establishing appropriate referral pathways
- Supporting survivor-centred case management
- Advising on investigations and allegation management
- Promoting consistent safeguarding practices across Oxfam affiliates
- Supporting organisational culture-change initiatives
- Contributing to assurance and risk-management activities
- Representing Oxfam in relevant inter-agency safeguarding forums
The successful candidate will also participate in the Global Safeguarding Network and may represent Oxfam externally, including through the IASC AAP/PSEA Task Team.
Who Is Oxfam Looking For?
This opportunity is aimed at an experienced safeguarding professional rather than someone entering the field for the first time.
Candidates should have proven experience in preventing and responding to sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment, and child abuse. Experience providing safeguarding advice, training, capacity development, and technical assistance across multiple country offices would be particularly valuable.
Oxfam is especially interested in candidates with hands-on experience in:
- Safeguarding case management
- Survivor-centred approaches
- Investigations
- Complex and sensitive cases
- Community feedback mechanisms
- Referral systems
- Confidential information management
- Ethical data management
- African safeguarding legal and regulatory environments
Experience working within an international NGO, UN organisation, civil society organisation, or similar development/humanitarian environment is considered advantageous.
Strong Communication Skills Are Essential
Safeguarding work often requires professionals to communicate highly sensitive information with different audiences. As a result, Oxfam is looking for someone who can build trust, facilitate difficult conversations, deliver training, and communicate effectively with senior leaders and frontline teams.
The successful candidate should also demonstrate resilience, discretion, integrity, strong organisational skills, self-awareness, and the ability to manage competing priorities.
Importantly, fluency in both English and French, written and verbal, is essential.
Experience with gender-transformative programming, organisational culture development, and participation in inter-agency PSEA forums will also be highly valued.
Location and Work Eligibility
One of the most important points for prospective applicants is Oxfam’s work-permit policy.
Oxfam International states that it cannot guarantee obtaining a work permit for this position. Applicants must already have, and be able to retain, the legal right to work in the location where they are based.
The organisation also states that it cannot support relocation of a candidate to an Oxfam location for this role.
This means applicants should not assume that Oxfam will sponsor relocation or arrange a work permit. Candidates should carefully assess their existing right to work in the location from which they would perform the role.
The organisation is open to discussing flexible working arrangements.
Salary and Contract
The role is classified as Internal Job Grade C1, National, with salary offered according to Oxfam’s applicable pay range.
It is a one-year fixed-term contract, renewable subject to funding availability and organisational requirements.
Unlike positions with a globally standardised salary, the wording of this vacancy does not provide a specific salary figure, so applicants should not assume a particular amount.
Why This Opportunity Matters
Safeguarding has become increasingly important across humanitarian and development organisations as agencies strengthen systems designed to prevent abuse, exploitation, harassment, and other forms of harm.
This position offers the successful candidate the opportunity to influence safeguarding practice across multiple African country operations, rather than focusing on a single programme or office.
The role also combines technical safeguarding expertise with leadership, capacity building, organisational change, risk management, community accountability, and policy engagement.
For an experienced safeguarding professional, this could therefore provide substantial regional-level exposure and an opportunity to contribute to stronger protection systems across the continent.
About Oxfam in Africa
Oxfam is a global movement working to address poverty, inequality, discrimination, and injustice. Its work spans humanitarian response, development, advocacy, gender equality, climate change, and community empowerment.
Oxfam in Africa works with civil society organisations, governments, academics, private-sector actors, and local communities to challenge structures that contribute to inequality and injustice.
The organisation’s work is guided by values including empowerment, accountability, inclusiveness, courage, solidarity, and equality.
Safeguarding is a central part of this commitment, with Oxfam stating that it expects staff and volunteers to share its commitment to preventing unwanted behaviour and protecting children, young people, and adults.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should submit an up-to-date CV and cover letter explaining clearly how they meet the essential criteria.
The application deadline is:
7 September 2026 at 23:59 GMT/BST/EAT
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, usually within two weeks after the closing date.
Applicants should ensure that their application demonstrates concrete experience in safeguarding, PSEA, survivor-centred practice, investigations, training, capacity building, community feedback mechanisms, and work across African or international humanitarian/development settings.
For experienced safeguarding professionals who meet the English-and-French requirement and already have the legal right to work where they are based, this is a significant opportunity to contribute to safeguarding strategy and accountability across Oxfam’s African operations.
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