Walking the streets, it is easy to see how absorbed everyone is in their own lives. Very few people look up from what they are wrapped up in to look at what’s happening around them. This seems to be a result of the capitalist world we live in, where people are judged in terms of wealth and success, creating the competitive standards that disregard sympathy and concern. The result is that we become self absorbed and resistant to helping others.

Before the use of money there was a sense that everyone needed everyone else, since no one could sustain himself or herself entirely. The butcher needed someone to make his clothes, while the tailor needed someone to make his needles. A system of bartering created a need to support other people, otherwise a service would disappear. However, with the use of money there is no longer a direct link between the things we need and where it comes from. After all, as long as we have money we can buy it in the shops right? But people seem to miss, in their rush to become rich, the importance of different jobs in society.

It is important not to take for granted what money can buy for us, but in a capitalist world it can be very difficult not to get absorbed in the money making game. Sometimes it is good to take a step back and remember what you want rather than what everyone else expects of you.

Hey! Need a job? Want to work in the NGO/development sector in Zimbabwe? Check out the job vacancies below and apply today. If you want to receive regular civic and human rights information, together with NGO job vacancies and other opportunities like scholarships by getting our regular email newsletter, please email join [at] kubatana [dot] net

Programme Officer: PADARE / ENKUDLENI
Deadline: 26 April 2013

Duty Station: Bulawayo

PADARE / ENKUDLENI is seeking a dynamic programme officer to boost its provincial work in the Bulawayo and the surrounding provinces in an effort to mobilise men and boys in search for practical ways to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls. The Programe Officer will be part of the National Secretariat that coordinates supports and promotes the organization’s national activities. The successful candidate will play a key role in the growth of ENKUNDLENI in the province. The position is initially offered for a period of one year, but may be extended if the partnership continues to develop successfully.

Responsibility
To carry out community advocacy initiatives and training activities which mobilises communities, men and boys in addressing all forms of discrimination against women and girls. Working closely with the provincial structures of men’s groups to enable them carry out local level practical interventions that enable the participation communities, men and boys in responding to the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS and work towards a society with gender justice, where women and girls and young people enjoy their sexual and reproductive health rights. The Programme Officer will be will be responsible for implementing PADARE / ENKUNDLENI programs in Bulawayo and the surrounding provinces.

Strong writing and communication skills, experience in community mobilisation, research and policy analysis, and administrative skills are essential. Experience in gender issues, and in building and working with coalitions is highly desirable. Candidates must be fluent in English, excellent written and spoken Ndebele is highly desirable. The Programme Officer will report to the National Director.

Key responsibilities
-Developing and administrating the organisations community advocacy activities in Bulawayo and surrounding provinces that examine, re-evaluate and challenge sexist thinking in men and society.
-Implement activities in co-ordination with men’s groups, identified stakeholders and implementing and actively participate in relevant gender working groups at district and provincial level.
-Assist in designing and developing plan that create discussion forums for men and boys to analyse and challenge gender discrimination and offer practical community approaches that create and enabling environment for women to participate fully in our society.
-Monitor major policy developments related to advancing gender equality at provincial level and develop appropriate strategies for the community level interventions.
-Assist in producing written materials to support the organisation’s work, including research briefs, website content, advocacy materials, activity reports for all activities undertaken and monthly programme reports.
-Provide logistical and administrative support for the implementation of activities and identify possible fundraising initiatives.
-Assist in developing PADARE / ENKUNDLENI ‘s membership base, including liaising with members, managing the contacts database and identifying potential member organisations.
-Help to develop and implement information-sharing practices between members, their groups and member organisations.
-Manage requests and expressions of interest from the membership, affiliated organisations and the public.

Skills and attributes
-Graduate qualification in a relevant area (such as public policy, development studies, international relations, human rights or gender issues) or proven experience in a related field
-Demonstrated expertise in policy analysis and advocacy on national issues, experience in gender issues and in building and working with coalitions is highly desirable
-Excellent writing and communication skills
-Strong project management skills
-Experience in administrative support and events management
-Willingness to work in a collaborative team and with diverse alliances, including an ability to work in different cultural environments
-Ability to work with minimal supervision, and with a keen eye for accuracy and detail and potential implementation challenges
-Ability to use discretion and maintain confidentiality
-Excellent written and spoken English, fluency in Ndebele is highly desirable

How to apply
Please send a concise CV and one page cover letter demonstrating how you meet the criteria for this position to kelvin [at] padare [dot] org and jobs [at] padare [dot] org.zw clearly stating “Programme Officer” in the subject line.

Due to the large number of applications expected, we regret that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

How to celebrate your countries Independence?

For some it is seen as a day that can finally be spent at home, sorting all the things pushed aside for too long, or maybe just kicking back and enjoying a day off. But thirty-three years on, what do we celebrate as an independent country?

As I watch the Independence celebrations on ZBC, I notice there is not much enthusiasm – the crowds are small and barely awake throughout the long, hot day. Even away from the main event there seems to be little interest.

Times have changed, thirty tree years ago, it was a big deal. Even Bob Marley came out to celebrate with us! Yet the excitement is gone, and I wonder … is it that Zimbabweans have forgotten their great struggle, or maybe they are just tired of dwelling on the past and would now rather look to the future?

I read a Herald headline that said, “Manicaland: Be decisive, Zanu PF urged” and imagined it could have easily read: “Manicaland: Be divisive, Zanu PF urged,” because that is exactly what is happening.

Perhaps the “stalwarts” behind the Manicaland divisions are staring reality in the eye that there really isn’t much to be done about their impending confinement to the much loved “dustbin of history” metaphor. You can only browbeat the peasantry to an extent, that constituency of course being the favourite of Zanu PF’s claim of popularity in the rural areas, yet we know from the violence of March 2008 that this is very much thanks to cudgels and sjamboks as the party’s preferred tools of political persuasion.

After all, some political theorists long noted that divisions that emerge within African political parties are their ultimate Achilles heel that author their attrition and thus harbinger or point to their loss of relevance to the national political ethos, Jonathan Moyo should have told them!

But then here we are dealing with a cabal that seeks to defy all laws, from gravity to commonsense, yet we do get solace in knowing that when the big guns fight for the control of the party, it gives other political parties ample time to regroup, set up their own Praetorian guard for the new political dispensation project and invest their energies in the most pressing matter at hand, that is winning the election. It could indeed be yet another lost opportunity if Zanu PF opponents do take advantage of the party’s squabbles. Else, not just history, nay, none but ourselves shall judge hashly the political strategists of these parties.

Caretaker: Christian Aid
Deadline: 16:00 hours, Sunday 21 April 2013

Based: Zimbabwe, Harare

Poverty is an outrage against humanity.  It robs people of dignity, freedom and hope, of power over their own lives. Christian Aid has a vision – an end to poverty – and we believe that vision can become a reality.  We are striving to bring lasting change to the lives of the poorest communities.  We work wherever there is great need, helping people to find their own solutions to the problems they face, irrespective of their religion, race or creed.  If you’re passionate about positive change across the world, then this job might be for you.

The Job
As Caretaker, you will provide a safe work environment for staff, visitors and Christian Aid property (including vehicles and equipment) by guarding and managing entry and exit of all people, packages and vehicles to the office of Christian Aid.  You will ensure that any potential entry points are locked and alarmed appropriately and that any threats to security are raised with management for action and recorded appropriately. This job also exists to maintain a clean, hygienic and safe work environment by keeping offices and garden tidy and presentable.

Essential skills and experience
Elementary level of education is required with a general aptitude for basic manual work. You should have ability to apply logical thinking and common sense to routine tasks and find solutions to day to day issues.  You should have ability to take initiative.  Cleaning and gardening experience is desirable.

Benefits
We value the contribution each person makes to the success of our organisation.  That’s why you can expect a wide range of rewards and benefits, including generous leave days and flexibility that will ensure you enjoy a good work/life balance.

Apply
To apply for this position, you need to submit a Curriculum Vitae (CV) to:
zimbabwerecruit [at] christian-aid [dot] org

or by post to:
P.O. Box CY 1629, Causeway, Harare quoting reference number for the post.

Job reference: ZIM/CT-413/NR

Interview date: Week commencing 22 April 2013

Christian Aid values diversity and aspires to reflect this in its workforce.  We welcome applications from people from all sections of the community, irrespective of race, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

Zimbabwe has been a source of fascination for many from scholars to pseudo-intellectuals to lay analysts who turn kombis into their offices as they pontificate about what went wrong, what should be done and only succeed in making fools of themselves. Some writers have gone as far as “analyzing” presidential candidates of the coming polls, gazing into their own crystal balls (there I said it, balls) profiling them and attempting to provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of these men for whom politics is a career. Bollocks, I say. Here is my own take on some candidates. Those who don’t appear here have been deliberately left out!

Robert Mugabe: Bob ain’t your uncle
Morgan Tsvangirai: Idiot
Welshma Ncube: Cretin
Simba Makoni: Clown
Job Sikhala: Anarchist
Paul Siwela: Walter Mitty