Work at Sonke

Community Education and Mobilisation (CEM) Unit Manager

About Sonke

With offices in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga in South Africa, and Kampala, Uganda, Sonke works globally, and especially across Africa, to strengthen government, civil society and citizen capacity to promote gender equality, prevent domestic and sexual violence and reduce the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS. In this way the organisation contributes to the development of societies in which men, women, youth and children can enjoy equitable, healthy and happy relationships that contribute to the development of just and democratic societies (see https://genderjustice.org.za). This position is a member of Sonke’s Full Management Team (FMT).

About the position

Sonke is looking for a committed, suitably qualified and experienced individual to fill the position of Community Education and Mobilisation (CEM) Unit Manager. The position has the following primary responsibilities:

  1. Provides strategic oversight and management support/supervision to the CEM Managers and staff in all of Sonke’s offices in South Africa.
  2. Refines and strengthens Sonke’s community mobilisation efforts and builds Sonke’s community action team work nationally, especially our work on local government action and accountability.
  3. Works in close partnership with Sonke’s research, policy and communications units to advance our work to support citizen activism to ensure access to justice for survivors of violence and their families by monitoring the functioning of the criminal justice system and local courts.
  4. Develops and refines Sonke’s CEM tools and materials, including enhancement of new curricula, writing of case studies and articles for publication in mass media and peer review journals, and commissioning of multi-media pieces.
  5. Secures funding for CEM work, especially preparation of CEM specific proposals and donor reports and represents the organisation in national and international meetings.

Key duties and responsibilities

Project Planning: Works with CEM Managers and other unit managers as is required to convene project planning meetings for all projects, conceptualises projects and develops detailed workplans with clear targets and timeframes, ensuring that project staff understand their roles and responsibilities, including the distinct tasks involved in community education and community mobilisation.

Project implementation: Ensures that all projects are on target, meets deliverables and achieves intended impact, including community mobilisation and community action team (CAT) development activities.

Staff management: Convenes and documents weekly team meetings to review project status, conducts and documents monthly one on one staff supervision, carries out and documents 2 to 4 observations per month of training activities, and provides ongoing mentorship and support to CEM Managers, trainers and community mobilisers to ensure that their work is of a high standard, meets project goals and promotes staff development.

Reporting, monitoring and evaluation: Submits all agreed upon reports (project reports, budgets, supervision reports, observation reports, team meeting reports, stakeholder meeting reports, community mobilisation and CAT reports), on a monthly basis. Actively contributes to the development, review and sign-off of Sonke’s capacity building model for working with partner organisations, including M&E systems to assess the impact of our capacity building work.

Manage and coordinate project finances: Ensures adherence to Sonke’s procurement policies, including preparation of requisitions, quotations and payments in liaison with the finance office for all project activities. Authorise payments as per Sonke’s levels of authorisation.

Community Mobilisation: Assist with the ongoing refinement and implementation of Sonke’s community mobilisation and community action team model. Co-ordinate the necessary induction and ongoing trainings so that the training staff has the skills and knowledge needed to implement popular education methodologies with adults and youth.

Key Partnerships: Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with relevant local, national, and international partners by attending meetings and documenting key agreed upon action items with stakeholders and then following through on commitments made.

Donor relations and donor reporting: In consultation with the resource mobilisation manager develop funding proposals, ensure timely completion of accurate project reports for donor reporting purposes at least ten business days before the report is due.

Participate in management meetings: Prepares for and participates actively in monthly CEM unit meetings, and in quarterly full management team meetings.

Competencies

  • Excellent organisational and planning skills with the ability to prioritise time and work effectively;
  • Strong people skills with the ability to work under pressure;
  • Highly-motivated, confident communicator with the ability to engage with people at all levels;
  • Pays attention to detail and displays a high level of integrity;
  • Able to multi-task and is deadline orientated;
  • Ability to work independently, as well as in a team;
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work across diverse cultural backgrounds;
  • Innovative and creative, able to see new opportunities;
  • Reflective and open to learning.

Qualifications and experience

  • Recognised post-graduate university degree in Social Sciences; or equivalent experience;
  • Minimum of 10 years work experience in a relevant field in a non-profit organisation;
  • Minimum of 5years project management experience with an understanding of developing budgets;
  • Fluency in English, and in at least one local South African language;
  • Above average competence in the use of computerised packages proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite applications; i.e. Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint;
  • Budgeting and financial management skills;
  • Prior fundraising experience;
  • Very good writing skills with the ability to write clearly & concisely;
  • Excellent communication and organisational skills;
  • Experience working in the NGO environment & with international donors;
  • Willingness to travel 20 to 30% of the time.

Location

Cape Town or or Johannesburg

Salary

R798 216 per annum

Closing Date

15 February 2019