Oxfam, a globally respected humanitarian and development organization, is seeking an experienced and strategic Public Health Engineering Lead to strengthen its global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) response capacity. This senior leadership role offers an opportunity to influence humanitarian engineering standards while contributing to Oxfam’s mission to tackle poverty, inequality, and injustice worldwide.
The Public Health Engineering Lead plays a critical role within Oxfam’s Global Humanitarian Team, providing strategic direction and technical oversight across emergency response, preparedness, and long-term programming. This position is designed for professionals who combine deep technical expertise with the ability to lead, influence, and innovate at a global level.
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Role Overview
The Public Health Engineering Lead is responsible for ensuring that Oxfam’s public health engineering and WASH interventions are safe, effective, sustainable, and aligned with humanitarian principles. The role focuses on strengthening technical quality across diverse contexts, including rapid-onset emergencies, protracted crises, and recovery settings.
In this position, the successful candidate will provide high-level technical advice to country programs and emergency teams, support complex response operations, and contribute to the development of organizational strategies, standards, and tools. The role also involves promoting learning, innovation, and accountability across Oxfam’s global engineering practice.
This is a flexible role with hybrid working arrangements. The post can be based in any country where Oxfam is legally able to employ staff. International travel is expected and may involve deployment to challenging or insecure environments, depending on operational needs.
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Key Responsibilities
- Lead the development and implementation of public health engineering strategies across humanitarian responses
- Provide senior technical oversight to ensure quality, safety, and effectiveness of WASH and engineering interventions
- Support emergency preparedness and response through rapid technical guidance and deployment
- Strengthen organizational capacity by mentoring, coaching, and supporting engineering teams globally
- Contribute to proposal development, donor engagement, and fundraising efforts
- Represent Oxfam in external coordination mechanisms, partnerships, and technical forums
- Promote innovation, evidence-based practice, and continuous learning within public health engineering
Candidate Profile
Oxfam is seeking a highly experienced professional with a strong track record in humanitarian WASH and public health engineering. The ideal candidate will bring both operational experience and strategic leadership capability.
Essential requirements include:
- Extensive experience delivering and leading public health engineering or WASH programs in humanitarian settings
- Proven experience managing senior technical teams and providing strategic direction
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
- A postgraduate qualification in public health engineering or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
- Demonstrated experience in proposal writing and supporting resource mobilization
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders
- Willingness and ability to travel internationally, often at short notice
Desirable attributes include:
- Experience contributing to global technical standards or sector-wide initiatives
- Knowledge of advocacy approaches related to humanitarian WASH
- Proficiency in additional languages such as French, Spanish, or Arabic
Why Join Oxfam
This role offers a unique opportunity to shape humanitarian engineering practice at a global scale. As Public Health Engineering Lead, you will help ensure that vulnerable communities have access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services during times of crisis, directly contributing to public health protection and human dignity.
Oxfam provides a values-driven work environment that emphasizes inclusion, accountability, and collaboration. Staff benefit from opportunities for professional growth, global exposure, and the chance to work alongside dedicated teams addressing some of the world’s most complex humanitarian challenges.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should submit a current CV and a tailored cover letter outlining how their skills and experience meet the requirements of the role. Applications must be completed through Oxfam’s official recruitment platform before the stated closing date.
