Working together to end poverty and injustice

Who we are

Oxfam New Zealand's work is made possible by a network of people committed to Oxfam's vision, including supporters, volunteers, interns, staff, board and overseas partners.

Most of our staff is based in our Auckland office. We also have a policy unit in Wellington and two field offices in Papua New Guinea. Our active group of volunteers and interns assist us in organising events and actions, or come into our offices to help out.

Oxfam New Zealand's Board helps set out the policy and strategic goals that guide our operations.

• Meet our Executive Director
• Meet our Senior Management Team
• Meet our Board of Trustees
• Meet the Oxfam Programme Committee 

Our Executive Director

Barry Coates

Oxfam New Zealand Executive Director Barry Coates.

Barry has devoted his career to poverty reduction and sustainable development, with a particular focus on tackling the root causes of poverty, injustice and unsustainability, and a commitment to supporting development in the Pacific.

Barry's commitment to the Pacific started in Samoa in 1978, initially as a volunteer, then subsequently in promoting small business development for the government of Samoa. After doing a Masters in Management Studies at Yale University, Barry was Head of Development Policy with the World Wildlife Fund, including attending the Earth Summit in 1992 on the British delegation. He then spent seven years as Director of the World Development Movement in the UK, including playing a leading role in international campaigns on debt, arms trade, corporate social responsibility and international trade.

Since joining Oxfam as Executive Director in October 2003, Barry has succeeded in raising the organisation's profile in New Zealand, providing a voice for development issues, increasing public funding, and developing exciting new grassroots programmes. Fundamental to this success has been building strong and respectful relationships with people and local groups, particularly in the poorest areas of the Pacific and East Asia where Oxfam focuses its work.

Barry has played a major role in Oxfam New Zealand's advocacy work, including working with Pacific civil society and governments in their efforts to secure a fair deal in trade negotiations with the European Union; work that will continue in the future during similar negotiations with Australia and New Zealand. Trade advocacy has also included lobbying on WTO Doha negotiations and support for Tongan and Samoan civil society as their countries work through the process of joining the World Trade Organisation.

Barry has also played a key role in raising public awareness of Fairtrade in New Zealand. The past four years has seen a huge rise in sales of Fairtrade products, with annual sales growing from NZ $200,000 in 2004, to over NZ $10 million - the fastest growth of Fairtrade product sales in the world. This has resulted in substantial benefits for farmers in developing countries

“Oxfam's work is about making a difference at the top of the cliff, not helping people at the bottom. This means working with local people to understand the causes of poverty. It means providing a hand up, not a hand out. It means building peace and promoting sustainability, to protect vulnerable people from violence and the impacts of climate change. And it means supporting people to gain their rights to basic needs like health care, education, clean water, and their rights to have a voice in society. “

Barry is Chair of the Council for International Development, Vice Chair of the Fair Trade
Association of Australia and New Zealand, and a member of the core group of Make
Poverty History Aotearoa New Zealand.

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Oxfam Senior Management Team

Kevin Clapperton, Finance and Admin Director
Kevin heads up the finance and administration team, and has been with Oxfam for eight years. For more than 17 years Kevin worked in Papua New Guinea in similar roles in a University setting, thus he brings relevant in-country experience in a focal location of our work.

Prue Smith, Communications and Campaigns Director
Prue heads up a multi-tasking team covering media, web, video and supporter communications, as well as public campaigning. Media and campaigning work focuses primarily on climate change and trade issues. Media also covers humanitarian crises, as well as developing Oxfam's profile and fundraising opportunities. Prue has a diverse media background, mainly in print. She has been with Oxfam since 2003, following two years in South Africa.

Grant Bayldon, Marketing Director
Grant leads a multi-award winning team that raises the funds vital to delivering Oxfam's work. This includes Oxfam Unwrapped, regular giving, Oxfam Trailwalker and appeals – all not just fundraising activities, but also opportunities for people to become engaged in issues of poverty and injustice. Grant passionately believes in Oxfam's mission and has been with Oxfam since 2007. He has previously worked in help management roles in both the charity and corporate sectors.

Leanne Taylor, HR Manager
Leanne provides the strategic HR focus, as well as support and advice to Oxfam's headquarters and field based staff. She is responsible for ensuring Oxfam attracts, develops and retains a pool of talented and committed individuals to fulfill the organisation's strategic goals. Leanne joined Oxfam in July 2008, after 20 years of working in the UK and Europe. Her work experience includes 14 years with the British Red Cross.

Jane Foster, Programme Director
Jane worked for CIVICUS (Global Alliance for Citizen Participation) and was Head of the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) for 5 years before returning to New Zealand in 2004. She has worked in international development for twenty years and prior to that in youth development. She has lived and worked in Fiji, South Africa and the Caribbean. Jane joined Oxfam in June 2007.

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Oxfam New Zealand is an affiliate of Oxfam international confederation. The Oxfam international secretariat, based in Oxford, UK, coordinates the strategy and international advocacy programmes of the 14 Oxfam affiliates who are bound by its constitution and code of conduct. Oxfam New Zealand is affiliated to the Council for International Development (CID), the NZ umbrella group for development and humanitarian agencies.