Senior Programme Manager (Professional Pathways Pillar, Refugee-Led Research Hub)

Job title: Senior Programme Manager (Professional Pathways Pillar, Refugee-Led Research Hub)

Location: Queen Elizabeth House, Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TB

Grade and salary: Grade 8: £49,119- £58,265 per annum, pro rata

Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week)

Contract type: Fixed term until 30 September 2028 (with possibility of extension subject to further funding)

Reporting to: Head of Programmes (postholder to be appointed, in the interim you would report to the Executive Director)

Starting date: 5th October 2026 (desired) but flexible

About the Refugee-Led Research Hub:

The Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH) supports individuals with lived experience of displacement to become leaders in fields related to human rights, forced migration, humanitarian response and development, politics, and law, among other areas. We do so by delivering academic and professional development programming to a global cohort of students who have been affected by displacement—as refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs, stateless, and beyond—supporting access to graduate degrees and advanced career opportunities. RLRH also creates opportunities for researchers with displacement backgrounds to lead primary and secondary research studies, from start to finish.

RLRH’s team is comprised of colleagues who are deeply committed to advancing refugee leadership, the majority of whom have lived experience of displacement. Our network of staff, researchers, students, and other affiliates is made up of 1,400+ individuals across 80+ countries. RLRH has six active offices: our first was established in Nairobi in 2020, we have had an office at the University of Oxford since 2021, and we have since developed physical hubs in Kakuma refugee camp (Kenya), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Kampala (Uganda), and in the Oxfordshire community (UK).

From October 2025 RLRH is funded to serve as a technical partner for the Mastercard Foundations Scholars Program network, advancing an ambitious global agenda to support displacement-affected learners to access 1,000+ graduate-level scholarships at partner universities around the world. RLRH provides expert guidance and implements specialised programmes to help these learners enter university, thrive on course, and pursue meaningful and enduring careers on completion of their degrees. A complementary, refugee-led research agenda designed by RLRH colleagues produces insights to help Scholars Program partner universities and other stakeholders accelerate positive, long-lasting systems change.

The role

Overview of the Professional Pathways Pillar:

The Professional Pathways Pillar (PPP) supports individuals with displacement backgrounds to access career opportunities. We work most closely with RLRH affiliates who have completed our academic and research programmes and other students who are pursuing postgraduate degrees at partner universities. We also collaborate closely with allied organisations and universities to systematically strengthen the inclusion of refugees in the workforce. RLRH’s people-centred career advancement programming brings to life our vision of creating transformative refugee leadership in advanced professional settings throughout the world. We deliver three main interventions:

• Foundationally, we provide individualised career counselling to RLRH affiliates at any stage in their journey, helping them to identify career pathways that are well suited to their personal and professional skills, experiences, and aspirations.

• To build out core professional skills, we run a stipended six-month, in-person advanced traineeship which combines foundational professional training with deep mentorship. This is currently run in three RLRH physical hubs – in Kampala, Kakuma, and Nairobi, with plans for future expansion – in collaboration with our Research Pillar. Renditions of the traineeship are currently being piloted in our Kuala Lumpur and Oxfordshire offices.

• To develop meaningful and sustained pathways, we facilitate paid external professional placements with values-aligned partnered employers who are active and influential across various sectors of interest to RLRH affiliates. Placements provide a supportive environment for affiliates to establish themselves in the workforce, building skills and profiles that will serve them for years to come.

The PPP will grow in the coming years in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, with the aim of supporting Scholars Program graduates across 20+ universities in Africaand globally to transition to meaningful employment soon after completion of their degrees. By 2028, the programme expects to have enrolled 110 refugee graduates in the traineeship across RLRH’s physical hubs and facilitate 130 professional placements with employer partners.

Overview of Position:

RLRH is in an exciting phase of strategic growth. As our programmes expand to reach a larger global community, we are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Senior Programme Manager to assume leadership of RLRH’s mission to support displacement-affected graduates transition into meaningful and impactful employment.

The selected candidate will be responsible for leading the strategic direction and exponential expansion of RLRH’s Professional Pathways Pillar, ensuring programmes remain responsive to evolving labour market needs, organisational priorities, and the professional aspirations of RLRH affiliates. You will be responsible for building and sustaining high-impact relationships with a wide range of employer partners, including (I)NGOs, multilaterals, research institutions, and private sector actors, ensuring that these collaborations translate into supporting the delivery of RLRH's mission: advancing transformative refugee leadership in professional spheres.

The Senior Programme Manager will combine strategy and relationship leadership, systems-level advocacy, and operational coordination to embed inclusive hiring practices across different sectors. This includes overseeing a team of staff and consultants who implement individualised career counselling, managing the in-person traineeship programmes across RLRH’s global hubs, and facilitating high-level professional placements. The role will also drive data-informed decision- making by monitoring employment trends and using evidence to refine strategy and enhance accountability.

This is a unique and dynamic role, responsible for championing an exciting body of work that promises to positively influence the lives of RLRH’s large, talent-rich community. We’re searching for a candidate who is ready to embrace the demanding targets and immense potential of this portfolio, exercising independent leadership and decision-making alongside collective strategy development and programme implementation. The postholder will serve as a key member of the RLRH senior management team, coordinating closely with peer programmatic leaders in the Research and Academic Pillars to ensure that all affiliates experience a seamless journey from academic training into successful professional careers. The postholder will spend the majority of time working from the Oxford office, alongside other RLRH, Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), Department of International Development (ODID), and other University colleagues, with occasional travel and regular cooperation with PPP team members across our global operations.

Responsibilities

Pillar leadership & strategy (35%)

• Design and oversee long-term Professional Pathways Pillar expansion plan and objectives, building on current organisational and pillar strategic goals.

• Revise pillar strategy on an annual basis, including programme goals, implementation plans, and monitoring and evaluation efforts.

• Embed expert input into long-term planning and strategy, using specialist knowledge of global labour markets and refugee inclusion trends to identify innovative areas for expansion to scale professional pathways for 1,000+ RLRH affiliates.

• Provide overall strategic leadership and oversight for the PPP team to carry out all core pillar offerings, seeing full project cycles to completion.

• Collaborate with peer programmatic leaders of Research and Academic Pillars and focal points of RLRH’s offices worldwide to ensure all affiliates experience a seamless, supportive journey through RLRH programmes.

• Maintain and foster a refugee-centred programme by continually soliciting feedback from RLRH affiliates and programme participants.

• Contribute to the development of RLRH’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) portfolio, supporting data-driven insights from pillar activities that improve internal programming and contribute to MEL objectives.

Partnership stewardship, oversight of placements, and advocacy (35%)

• Support RLRH’s Partnerships focal point to build and maintain collaborations with senior leadership at partner employer organisations. Ensure the PPP team supports the seamless execution of employer partnerships and affiliates’ success while in post.

• Assess labour market opportunities and prospective employee interests to inform the development of a diverse portfolio of professional opportunities, including innovation and entrepreneurship pipelines.

• Identify new employer partnerships and conduct outreach to increase the number of professional placements for RLRH affiliates, with the goal of offering 50+ placements each year in a wide range of sectors.

• Provide expert guidance to collaborators – including employers, universities, multilateral agencies, and other key stakeholders – to collectively decrease barriers to refugee employment.

• Actively participate in University, RLRH, and external working groups to pilot new communities of practice that encourage knowledge sharing and policy contributions that stimulate cross-institutional learning and better embed refugee- responsive practices.

• Build on RLRH’s existing partnership management tools to strengthen RLRH’s ability to engage and support affiliates.

• Represent RLRH at external conferences and high-level forums to promote our strategic priorities and build brand recognition for PPP activities.

• Lead advocacy efforts and champion best practices that advance systematic inclusion of refugees in the workforce across sectors.

People management & coordination (15%)

• Line-manage and support a team composed of a Programme Officer, Career Advisor, Partnerships focal point, and additional support staff - who are based across RLRH’s hubs - setting clear expectations, monitoring performance, and providing regular supervision and feedback.

• Support the team to facilitate placements of refugee affiliates into meaningful roles.

• Identify, engage, and manage external consultancies and implementing partners to support pillar activities.

• Manage the hiring/procurement processes and onboarding of new PPP team members and contractors.

• Convene regular team and one-to-one meetings, building a culture of support and mutual accountability, and providing structures to iteratively improve programmes and activities.

• Foster a culture of feedback and growth through regular bilateral check-ins and performance reviews.

• Prioritise the professional development of pillar team members, facilitating the welfare of teammates by promoting balanced workloads.

• Create a team atmosphere that is inclusive, supportive, and productive.

Financial planning, budget management, and operations (10%)

• In collaboration with the Head of Programmes, lead the development of an annual pillar budget and contribute to organisation-wide budgeting exercises.

• Manage pillar-specific budgets and expenditures, ensuring compliance with institutional financial procedures.

• Ensure overall compliance with RLRH’s operational and governance frameworks, supporting quality assurance on pillar outputs and institutional accountability across all areas of programme delivery.

Organisation-wide strategy, learning, and documentation (5%)

• Coordinate with Head of Programmes, Director of Operations and Strategy, and Executive Director to input on annual organisation planning.

• Participate in weekly leadership convenings to influence the strategic direction of the organisation.

• Contribute to organisation and pillar fundraising and wider grant management needs, as relevant.

Selection criteria

Essential

• Substantial experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder programmes, with demonstrated experience managing programme delivery and influencing multidisciplinary teams through line management and/or matrix structures.

• Demonstrated practical expertise in refugee professional pathways, livelihoods, workforce inclusion or economic inclusion programming, with familiarity with the humanitarian and/or development sector.

• Extensive experience building relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, in particular with employers in the public and private sectors and/or senior staff in universities that translate into sustainable programme outcomes.

• Proven expertise in strategy development to align project delivery with wider organisational goals.

• Experience supporting nonprofit programme operations, budget management, advocacy, and organisational communications. Excellent written and verbal communication skills with experience of preparing reports, briefings, and presenting to senior stakeholders.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience of preparing reports, briefings, and presenting to senior stakeholders.

• Experience working with a high degree of autonomy and accountability within specialist programme areas.

• Excellent interpersonal, collaboration and people leadership skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across diverse teams and organisational contexts.

• Excellent cultural competence and cultural humility.

• Ability to travel internationally up to 10% of the time.

Desirable

• Experience in higher education work environments.

• Familiarity with global labour market trends.

• Familiarity with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and Young Africa Works strategy.

• Fluency in additional languages spoken by RLRH learners and affiliates, such as Kiswahili, Arabic, or French.

• A postgraduate degree (or equivalent professional experience). No particular field is expected, but familiarity with (Refugee and Forced) Migration Studies, Education, International Development, and related disciplines can be an advantage.