Youth Program Manager: VSO Zimbabwe
Deadline: 16 August 2013

VSO is an International development organisation that contributes towards addressing poverty and disadvantage through the placement of International skilled professional volunteers with national partners.

VSO Zimbabwe is seeking a highly motivated and ambitious development professional who will raise the profile of VSO Zimbabwe and take VSO’s country programme to the next level in terms of youth programming. You will play a leading role in the delivery of VSO Zimbabwe’s youth programming. You will possess experience in a similar programme management role and have a strong track record of successfully and consistently working with youths across the cultural in development programmes.

Key responsibilities
- Lead the design and implementation of the youth programme of the VSO country strategic plan.
- Identify funding opportunities through developing strong working relationships with donors and partners.
- Oversee the development and implementation of the youth programme in Zimbabwe and ensure that annual targets for delivery and quality standards are established and met.
- Conduct monthly and quarterly reviews with key stakeholders and implement learning continually building on the success of the youth programmes.
- Lead in the recruitment and training of the youth programme team to enable their own professional and personal development and maximise their performance team.
- Support VSO Zimbabwe’s youth programme team in the development, management and monitoring of programme budgets (including ensuring value for money) to maximise impact in line with VSO country strategic plan.
- Manage the recruitment, selection and training of national volunteers for the youth programme and support on-going engagement of national youth volunteers.
- Work closely with the programme support team to induct, orient and provide on-going support to volunteers.
- With support of the SMT members, be responsible for the duty of care and safety and security of all volunteers under the youth programme and staff and deal with any emergencies that might arises.
- Develop and establish new networks with key stakeholders (donors/other agencies/volunteers/partners etc) to strengthen programme impact and ensure that volunteer placements are viable, effective and rewarding and maximise volunteer learning.
- Lead the design and delivery of appropriate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, determine the impact and ensure continuous development and learning takes place.

The essential requirements for this post are
- Experience of designing and evaluating youth programmes
- Strong leadership experience in strategic planning and programme delivery
- Ability to develop clear and realistic plans to deliver agreed objectives within deadlines, involving key stakeholders in the process
- Ability to manage budgets and undertake accounting procedures and good writing skills
- Excellent networking, negotiation and communication skills
- A minimum of a degree in Social Sciences or in a related field
- Technical expertise in the area of youth programming
- Able to travel and work long hours, including work away from the home base, both within the country and occasionally internationally
- Zimbabwean citizen
- Clean, valid driving license

To apply
The successful candidate will be offered local terms and conditions. Interested candidates are invited to submit their application letter, CV and contact details by email to the attention of the Country Director using the following email address: info.Zimbabwe [at] vsoint [dot] org
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted and invited for interviews.

Now that it’s “official” that the Zim kwacha is not coming back anytime soon, we eagerly await the promise of a big pay day for people who lost their money when the local currency was suspended.

Mugabe promised supporters that once he wins the poll, Zimbabweans will be compensated for the loss of their savings.

Reported the Sunday Mail: “Zimbabweans from all walks of life are scrounging for Zimbabwe dollar notes following the announcement by President Mugabe that those who are still in possession of the currency must keep it as they will be compensated.”

Of course no one asked where the money will come from, but to hazard a guess, the diamond purse shall be opened wide, in fact wider than the margin with which Zanu PF own!

After all, everything under the sun has been pinned on diamonds, and one of the major rifts during that ugly GNU beast was that Tendai Biti was a scrooge who did not want Zimbabweans to benefit from the diamond riches.

(Actually, I just read Munyaradzi Gwisai allege the same!).

Now here is a beautiful picture: every household across the country turns their mattresses down-side-up, ransacks every nook and cranny in their homes, hovels and harems in search of the suspended currency (remember that wad of notes Tsvangirai waved during one of his campaign rallies), runs to banks (surely that’s where they will get “their” money not Zanu PF offices) to claim their dues at the same time civil servants are lining up to get their salaries. Now that’s something to watch!

And there is no need to dabble in elementary economics and the effect of this on money supply, consumer prices, and all that, but merchants of apocalypse-now can already see a throwback to that time many imagined was behind us.

Here is how the Sunday Mail reported it : “He (Mugabe) also said there were consultations between his Office and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono to see how people who lost their money during the switch-over from the Zimbabwe dollar to the multi-currency regime could be compensated.

A snap survey conducted by this paper revealed that most Harare residents are waiting excitedly for the “windfall”.

“Luckily for me, I did not dispose of my Zim-dollars. Since I am going to be given an equivalent of United dollars, I am going to jealously guard my treasure,” Maureen Chakandinakira, an informal trader who sells her wares in Harare’s First Street, said. In the high-density suburb of Rugare in Harare, residents, mostly youngsters, could be seen rummaging through rubbish dumps and open spaces as they sought the much-needed currency.”

Can only be Zanu PF!

My take is not on who won the 2013 election but rather the speed and efficiency ZEC discharged  its duties and short memories displayed by both AU and SADC. In 2008 announcing figures took ± 6weeks. In 2013 it was more complicated coz constituency figures had to determine senator seats as well as provincial and female representation, in under 4 days comprehensive results are given. I smell a rat! – Kubatana subscriber

A very useful perspective on the importance of voter registration – something that the MDC failed to take seriously:

MT, his leadership and 1 million people (an estimate but more later) are accountable to the nation for the trouncing by Zanu PF.

Prior to 2008, and over the last 5 years, fringe advisers to MT and his team have been telling him that this battle is about registered voters. But this advice was never taken seriously. My estimation (by taking many many small “straw polls”) has been that 30% of MDC supporters are not registered to vote – not for any draconian legislation but just because it is not easy, they are lazy and their leaders are not imploring them to register.

In the last few days I have increased my estimation. I am staggered by how many people are not registered. A 40-year old lawyer who had a beer group on a Friday evening of six mates – he is the only one registered. A father of senior school kids was wringing his hands today saying “now my kids will never get jobs” but he is not registered and therefore did not vote – for his kids! In a small NGO of 20 people 5 are not registered.

MT and his team have been told that voter registration should be on top of the agenda with SADC during the GNU days. That an extended mobile registration exercise should have taken place last year or even the year before (without the emotions of an election in sight) with SADC observing the process. This exercise should have been treated as more important than election day.

The MDC set up “voters clubs” through their ineffective structures and thought this was “job done”. Crazy, crazy, crazy. How is it possible that MT, Biti and others did not take voter registration seriously – they had 5 years to do it?

This did not escape Mugabe and his advisers. They would have seen the discrepancies between the census figures and the ward voters roll and licked their wrinkled lips. They have always had a “fast track” registration system for their supporters (and those people that the local leaders knew they could cower into voting).

Mugabe held a mockery of a voter a registration exercise just before these elections so the Observers could tick that box. But the process was deliberately slow (as we all knew it would be) and deliberately poorly advertised (as we all knew it would be). In any case it was too late to register the massive number that needed to be registered (and they knew this).

So in a nutshell MT has gone headlong into political suicide (and taken the nation with him) with 1 million of his supporters unable to vote. He had 5 years to address this. We will soon find out, when the numbers of this election come out, what a meaningful % this 1 million will be. Meanwhile MDC wring their hands and cry foul. They mislead their followers that Mugabe stole the election reinforcing the “learned helplessness – my vote does not count!”  This is highly irresponsible. He and his top team need to admit their basic, strategic blunder and they must make way for new leadership.

For sure Zanu PF got up to tricks but the voter registration battle had the overwhelming impact.

But Zimbabweans are stunned and talking, erroneously,  about the magic of the Zanu PF’s rigging machinery. Zanu PF did not have to!

A lot of people have run out of words to describe the unexpected silence in our country after this daylight theft of our election. Others have taken it as an opportunity or cover up, whichever stance people might propound, to decorate Zimbabweans as a tranquil, law abiding and understanding people. These are all true about us but they are not sufficient in explaining the silence over the 31 July rigged election. Neither do these excuses attempt to explain the silence over a public secret that was told by the late Edward Chindori Chininga that diamond remittances are disappearing and not benefiting the citizens. Zimbabweans are not silent about these evil acts against their liberties and rights but rather they are silenced. The Central Intelligence Organisation in our country has done a remarkable job in making sure that every Zimbabwean in and outside country is silent to allow the totalitarians running our country to loot our resources without any inquisition. Only God knows the anger and pain that is brewing in the silence of the people.

The assumption that ZANU-PF was idle in their plans gave MDC-T an early victory celebration before even the elections were done. Taking down a party, which has enjoyed power for 33 years, is no mean feat and half way through the journey MDC-T’s struggle train took some unnecessary stops. Many are still asking themselves questions on how the MDC-T lost the election when victory was written all over it. The election defeat of 2008 was painful for ZANU-PF but their wounds healed fast helped by the lifeline they received from the inclusive government. MDC-T was deceived into thinking that the revolutionary party was out of the game, and limping. Little did they know that hit and run guerilla tactics had been born? With almost every resource at its disposal ZANU-PF out maneuvered MDC-T in every way. Regional and continental institutions like SADC and the African Union gave MDC-T a false sense of hope, forgetting that they were going against the odds since nationalist and former liberation movements like ZANU-PF formed these institutions. The countless court cases and trips across Africa to mobilize support from regional leaders kept MDC-T busy and out of touch with the reality of what was happening on the ground.  It seems this election defeat gave former allies of MDC-T some ammunition to castigate Tsvangirai’s leadership especially when he dumped them during the constitution campaign. But credit should be given to Tsvangirai for giving his best under a hostile environment. Besides the party’s losing streak in the courts let’s hope August’s dusty wind will not erase Tsvangirai’s hopes of seeking redress through legal means.