Question everything – including us! Kubatana is undergoing an evaluation to review our work, measure our impact, and look for ways to improve. To do this, we need your help!

Please take 5 minutes and complete our short survey.

Thank you for your time, energy and support during 2013. You add, we multiply!

So pleased I got out to Njelele Art Station for the opening of Afropolicity on Saturday. There was some brave, inspiring art on display, and it’s fantastic to see this corner of Harare’s CBD transformed into a vibrant, colourful art space.

Check out some photographs from the opening here

And do yourself a favour – Get down to Njelele soonest!

His Excellency, by Gareth Nyandoro – Currently on display at Njelele

We’re going to be there . . . Are you?

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Senior Communications Programme Officer: NANGO
Deadline: 30 October 2013

Vacancy Notice: 2013/04CU
Duty Station: Harare, Zimbabwe
Organizational Unit: Directorate
Classification: Officer
Type of Appointment: Fixed-term, with possibility of extension
Estimated starting Date: 20 Nov 2013

General functions
Under the direct supervision of the Directorate in Harare, and in coordination with relevant units at NANGO Headquarters and Regional offices, the successful candidate will work with management for the implementation of the NANGO Communication and Engagement Strategy.

The selected candidate will be expected to work on the full-time basis during the assigned period. In particular he/she will:

-Development and implementation of a NANGO Communications Strategy based on the existing Association’s information and communications policy; providing continuous feedback on the performance of the Strategy
-Providing timely information to the Executive Director and Management Committee for management decision making
-Maintain a continuous dialogue and ensure the internal information flow between the different NANGO-units (Executive Director, programs department, regional offices etc.) in order to harmonize communication activities
-Research about NANGO’s stakeholders and their needs in order to maximize the impact of NANGO’s communication’s
-Facilitate the creation and strengthening of the NANGO Corporate identity (including the Corporate Image) through different measures. The NANGO brand has to be strengthened through the development of appropriate mechanisms (NANGO House Style and Editorial policy)
-Support of current communication platforms: The homepage, Social Network Profiles, etc – Developing ways of creating synergies for knowledge sharing between NANGO departments, Regions and also with members
-Enhancement of visibility and information sharing about all NANGO projects
-Managing content development and maintenance of the Association’s website
-Maintaining media relations through press releases, press conferences, media packages and other measures
-Facilitating the development of advocacy strategies and measures
-Building the capacity of staff and members in communications and media relations
-Organise and manage the NGO Expo as well as other exhibitions
-Publish the CSO magazine and promotional materials
-Publishing the NGO directory
-Editing the Zimbabwe Development Journal
-Developing a communication monitoring and evaluation plan
-Planning and implementation of innovative measures in order to ensure the future self-sustainability of the Unit: Examples are a printing unit at NANGO or the CSO magazine offering chances for income
-Perform any other duties as NANGO may reasonably require commensurate with the post-holder’s abilities and responsibilities

Desired qualifications

Education
The incumbent should possess a Master’s degree in Media, Communication Studies
and/or Journalism

Skills and experience
Substantial work experience of several years in the field of Public Relations; Practical journalistic experience within Media Houses, as Freelancer etc; Working practice in the development context, preferable within NGOs; Strong “story-telling”-skills: Writing of articles, press releases, reports, etc.; Social Media Skills: Facebook, Twitter, Blogging etc; Experience in the administering of Websites; Graphic Design skills with regards to the digital production of newsletters, brochures, magazines etc; Good computer skills e.g. Word for Windows, Excel, PowerPoint; Strong Networking skills according to different groups of stakeholder; High degree of cooperation ability with regards to the NANGO programmes and the regional offices; Previous experience of working with and through partners; Ability to establish good rapport with partner organizations and donors like UN or international NGOs; Ability to manage more than one project at various stages of completion; Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines, resistance against stress; Strong presentation and facilitation skills; Experience in supervising, guiding and training people, individually or in groups; Ability to work in a multicultural environment; Ability to work effectively with limited supervision; Possess experience and training for analytical and research skills; Sound knowledge of the human developmental needs in Zimbabwe; Demonstrated sensitivity to the needs of marginalized populations

Languages: Thorough knowledge of English. Knowledge of both Shona and Ndebele is an advantage

Method of application
All applications should be addressed to: machinda [at] nango [dot] org.zw and copy cephas [at] nango [dot] org [dot] zw as well as bastian.beege [at] giz [dot] de or posted to the CEO, 5 Meredith Drive, Eastlea, quoting the above vacancy notice number.

Some people become activists through passion while some find themselves on the streets because they are just tired of getting screwed by the system. When Martin Luther King took to the streets he wanted to share his dream of a society where race was not an issue. The general socio-economic and political conditions we now live in demand action and solutions to our day to day needs. Every time we turn on news channels its about protests and uprisings as more and more people continue to demand solutions to contemporary problems affecting them.

South Africa was recently dubbed “the protest capital of the world” as the streets have become permanent homes for activists. Living in a world faced with a lot of injustice and inequality mainly driven by greed, profiteering and ignorance, calls for a collective effort from everybody. Activism is about affecting social change and championing a cause whether big or small. Small things like a change of mindset won’t even require government or big donor funding for a start and that’s the reason why we often read about the great works by Wangari Mathaai of Kenya who managed to share knowledge on environment conservation with rural communities. A young girl from Pakistan almost lost her life because she wanted other young girls in her country to have access to education. Even the young school children of South Africa became active in 1979 demanding better education. Artists as role models for the young generation have also become heavily involved in activism especially towards raising awareness on behavior change targeting drug abuse and safe sex.

Activism comes with its own challenges with many activists the world over being persecuted for championing people’s rights. Zimbabwe is one such country where activists and social movement groups have been labeled enemies of the state. A crack down on dissenting voices has resulted in many people shying away from being active in the community on issues that affect them due to fear.

One of Zimbabwe’s aspiring activists Wadzanai Motsi was awarded the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and she conducted research on youth’s contributions to activism. At a Food for Thought session hosted by US Embassy Public Affairs section, Wadzanai and Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa shared their experiences on various forms of activism and the different ways each person can contribute to make the society we live in a better place.