Oxfam has announced that its UK chief executive Dame Barbara Stocking will be leaving the charity in February 2013.

Dame Barbara has held the role since May 2001, and a spokesperson for the charity told civilsociety.co.uk that she was stepping down to “seek a new challenge”.

“After 12 years of great service, she feels it’s time to move on – both for her and to let Oxfam bring some fresh blood in,” the spokesperson said. Dame Barbara had not yet chosen her next move, the spokesperson added, but would be using the time between now and February to decide what she will do.

Oxfam will begin the recruitment process to fill the vacant role “shortly”.

Reinvention ‘essential to relevance’

Dame Barbara said in a statement that “It is essential that Oxfam keeps developing and reinventing itself to remain relevant in the world, and able to deliver fully on its purpose of bringing about a world without extreme poverty.”

She added: “I have loved leading Oxfam and would like to sincerely thank not only the thousands of dedicated staff working in some of the most difficult areas of the world, but also the public who have supported Oxfam in so many ways and campaigned tirelessly to help us achieve real change.  

"I am looking forward to watching Oxfam continue its vital role as the voice of the millions of people unjustly living in poverty around the world."

Dame Barbara received a CBE for health services in 2000 and was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) for humanitarian services in 2008.

Role in international aid

During her tenure as Oxfam CEO, Dame Barbara led the charity’s responses to international tragedies including the southeast Asian Tsunami in 2004, and the earthquakes in Pakistan and Haiti.

She oversaw humanitarian work in, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, and East Africa, alongside Oxfam's role in the Make Poverty History, Make Trade Fair, and Control Arms campaigns. 

Her position took her to meetings with leaders of the G8, UN, IMF/World Bank and World Economic Forum and she also sat on a range of UN committees overseeing development and humanitarian work.  

In December 2010 the Cabinet Office appointed Dame Barbara as a non-executive board member, the only paid member of civil society it introduced to its boards that year.

In January this year she oversaw the launch of an investment fund with social and financial returns, the Small Enterprise Impact Investment Fund (SEIIF), a joint initiative between Oxfam and asset management group Symbiotics.