Today, Oxfam America announced the appointment of Tawanda Mutasah as Vice President of Global Partnerships and Impact (GPI), where he will be responsible for providing overall strategic and operational leadership of Oxfam America’s (OUS) GPI division, and identifying, nurturing, and maintaining a wide range of strategic partnerships within and outside the Oxfam International confederation on all matters related to programmatic impact and global partnerships.
Dr. Mutasah joins Oxfam America with over 25 years of experience in international nonprofit management, fundraising, and program innovation in a vast range of areas from humanitarian response to advocacy and long-term development. He was the Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International where, among other things, he led the organization’s work on climate justice, gender justice, and disability rights. While at Amnesty, he established and operationalized their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) engagement and partnerships, including with UN entities, expanded gender and identity programming and disability rights work, and led robust and inclusive program policy development efforts.
Tawanda also has extensive knowledge and understanding of the complexities of institutional support having spent six years as the Global Director of Programs at the Open Society Foundations (OSF), where he stewarded a $400M budget. Before that, he held a variety of other positions with OSF including Chair of their Africa Advisory Board, and Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa. He also established SARW, the Southern Africa Resource Watch, which researches and advocates on fair economies and protection of human rights in the extractive industries sector.
Tawanda is no stranger to Oxfam. In addition to collaborating with Oxfam throughout his career, he worked for Oxfam Great Britain coordinating policy, communications, humanitarian and long-term development programs as part of the management team in the Southern Africa region. He has also held roles with Impact Development Associates and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches in his country of birth, Zimbabwe.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, New York University Law School, the Graduate School of Public & Development Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of Zimbabwe, Tawanda has taught at the Paris School of International Affairs on international humanitarian law and human rights laws.
Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice. We offer lifesaving support in times of crisis and advocate for economic justice, gender equality, and climate action. We demand equal rights and equal treatment so that everyone can thrive, not just survive. The future is equal. Join us at oxfamamerica.org.