AFRO-NETS> Vacancy: Regional Co-ordinator for Equinet

[Firoze Manji <firoze@fahamu.org>]

Vacancy: Regional Co-ordinator for Equinet
------------------------------------------

The Regional Network for Equity in Health in Southern Africa 
(EQUINET) is seeking a dynamic and committed public health profes-
sional as a regional co-ordinator to drive the development of 
EQUINET. This network has played a critical role over the past three 
years in highlighting issues of equity in halth in southern Africa. 
The position for which we are recruiting, the co-ordinator, will work 
closely with network members in EQUINETs new phase of work. This will 
focus on consolidating analystic and policy work and developing the 
advocacy work of the network.

EQUINET is dedicated to influencing both national and regional poli-
cies of the countries of the Southern Africa Development Community 
(SADC) to ensure equity in health. It does so by networking profes-
sionals, civil society and policy makers to promote policies for eq-
uity in health, undertaking research, initiating conferences, work-
shops, and discussions through the internet, and providing inputs at 
the SADC forums.

In 2001-2003 EQUINET will carry out work to network country level re-
search activities on resource allocation, governance, monitoring and 
health system issues relating to equity in health, to build the ca-
pacity to analyse and influence policy processes, to network civil 
society advocacy with technical information and inputs to inform pol-
icy, and to develop information dissemination and a regional resource 
base for equity in health in southern Africa.

EQUINET is currently co-ordinated through a secretariat based at the 
Training and Research Support Centre Zimbabwe (project leader Dr R 
Loewenson). TARSC devolves areas of work (research, website manage-
ment) to organisations within EQUINET. EQUINET has a steering commit-
tee with members from different countries and institutions in the re-
gion that give direction to and review its work, and has formal links 
with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Health Sector 
and with the Southern African Trade Union Co-ordinating Council 
(SATUCC).

RESPONSIBILITIES: In the 2001-2003 phase EQUINET the co-ordinator 
will be responsible for the following activities, answering to the 
steering committee through the project leader at TARSC:

1. Co-ordinating the implementation of the workplan set by the 
EQUINET steering committee and reporting on the day to day management 
of the implementation to the project leader at TARSC. 

2. Preparing briefings on project progress, documents for steering 
committee meetings, minutes of steering committee meetings and inputs 
to project reports for those areas of EQUINET work under their re-
sponsibility. 

3. Communicating with and supporting the institutional co-ordinators 
for the different research areas carried out under EQUINET in rela-
tion to their support by EQUINET, information dissemination on the 
research progress and results, publication of research findings as 
EQUINET policy series and financial reporting on research. 

4. Compiling the terms of reference for small grants, co-ordinating 
their circulation to the steering committee for decision on grantees, 
communicating with grantees and ensuring the timely implementation 
and publication of their work. 

5. Providing information on EQUINET issues and activities for the 
website and mailing list and co-ordinating on this with the website 
manager. 

6. Ensuring the production of quality policy series, briefings and 
guidelines on EQUINET work, including contracting appropriate edito-
rial support for their production in liaison with the project leader. 

7.Sourcing information on stakeholders relevant to EQUINET work, in-
cluding media, policy and civil society links. Communicating to these 
stakeholders as mandated by the steering committee/ project leader. 

8. Preparing information and reports for links with SADC, communicat-
ing to SADC (especially the Health Sector) and participating in SADC 
Health Sector interactions as mandated by the steering committee/ 
project leader. 

9. Organising and facilitating the monitoring and evaluation of 
EQUINET as set by the steering committee. 

10. Liaising with institutions seeking information / publications 
from EQUINET, EQUINET interactions, meetings etc and networks that 
EQUINET links with (particularly the Equity Gauge network (GEGA), 
strengthen links with SATUCC, WHO(AFRO) and ensure that issues relat-
ing to these links are communicated to relevant steering committee 
and EQUINET members or relevant implementation institutions of 
EQUINET. 

11. Co-ordinating dissemination and sale of EQUINET publications. 

12. Supporting country EQUINET group communications with and linkages 
to regional activities through country co-ordinators. 

13. Assisting in organizing country level activities, linked with 
other national networks, eg public health associations 

14. Assisting in fundraising for and 

15. Organising a regional EQUINET conference in April 2003.

QUALIFICATIONS/ SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE POST:

* Masters level qualification in a field of relevance to public 
  health
* Knowledge of and experience in public health, equity issues and re-
  search and/or policy experience 
* Proven ability to manage a programme of work, based on short brief-
  ing and set objectives, to take initiative and work independently ú
* Proven experience of working within networks 
* Ability to relate well with senior officials, researchers, and 
  civil society organisations 
* Proven ability to write well and to synthesise and summarise infor-
  mation succinctly 
* Ability to use electronic and internet communication 
* Willingness to travel extensively.
* Must be either a citizen (preferably) or resident of one of the 
  southern African countries 
* Ability to work from home or own office base (costs of communica-
  tion will be borne by the project).

REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

This is a full time position for, in the first instance 2 years. The 
remuneration package is negotiable.

APPLICANTS

Applicants should submit their CVs and names of three referees. You 
should also provide a letter outlining the skills and experience you 
offer to EQUINET, explaining how these enable you to carry out the 
responsibilities outlined above. You should also provide three recent 
documents you have written that provide evidence of research, reports 
on meetings or advocacy work done. Applicants should familiarize 
themselves with the Equinet website:
http://ww.equinet.org.zw

Applicants should send their responses to TARSC (electronic or hard 
copy) to reach TARSC by September 15 latest. Shortlisted respondents 
will be interviewed in early October and the contract is projected to 
commence by mid/late October 2001.


TARSC 
47 Van Praagh Ave, Milton Park
Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263-4-708-835 
Fax: +263-4-737-220
mailto:tarsc@icon.co.zw
http://www.equinet.org.zw


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