Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Jobs at RSPN

Hello you readers, you! Things have been quite busy in the relief world. Firstly, a quick update on this avid R&R guy's life...

Just finalized some new contracts for relief and rehab for AJK and NWFP, which will commence in the coming days and will be implemented in Rawalakot (AJK) and Mansehra and Battagram (NWFP)

Going to the US tomorrow for a little break. Since October 8th, the quake has been my life pretty much and I have not even had time these last few weeks to update this blog. I can tell that the readers have slowly faded...tis sad, but oh well.

Anyway, since I will be officially MIA, you can definately not expect any updates until i get back (4th of Jan - My bday)

Here are some job openings at my organization if anyone is interested, kindly follow the procedure:

RURAL SUPPORT PROGRAMMES NETWORK

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

The Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) is seeking dynamic, creative and committed professionals for the following positions. The RSPN provides strategic support, policy linkages and programme stopping services to its ten member RSPs. RSPN works closely with government and NGOs in order to mainstream ‘social mobilisation’ into poverty reduction initiatives in Pakistan.

1. Chief Operating Officer

  • Act on behalf of and represent the CEO in his/her absence
  • Assist the CEO in providing strategic guidance to the RSPN team
  • Oversight of RSPN Special Projects
  • Resource mobilisation for RSPN sustainability, in consultation with the CEO
  • Oversee Finance, Administration and Human Resource Management at RSPN

Specific criteria: Ten years experience in development programmes. Sound management and team leading abilities. A minimum of a Masters degree, preferably in the Social Sciences.

2. Specialist Policy Research and Advocacy

  • Undertake a strategic assessment of key public policies in order to work towards strategic alliances between government and RSPs
  • Foster linkages with government and non-government agencies in order to promote social mobilisation as a critical tool for poverty alleviation, based on hands-on experience of the RSP best practice
  • Bring in intellectual input from reputable learning institutes and identify new areas of research collaboration for input into public policy for poverty alleviation programmes
  • Build working partnerships with international and national academic institutions and the private sector for research
  • Facilitate policy dialogues, workshops and seminars between RSPs, government, donors, elected representatives, other NGOs and the private sector
  • Build a repository of policy research documents of a high caliber at the RSPN

Specific criteria: Ten years experience in development programmes. Sound management and team leader abilities. Public sector experience is an added advantage. A minimum of a Masters degree, preferably in the Social Sciences.

3. Rural Economist

  • Design baseline and impact assessment studies to assess Rural Support Programme impact
  • Manage data analysis of baseline and impact studies through specialised computer programmes and ensure high quality analysis and documentation.
  • Identify, with the M&E Specialist, research areas relevant to RSPs and supervise studies in the field.
  • Train RSP M&E staff in M&E skills
  • Ensure documentation of studies and organise their dissemination both within and outside the RSPs.
  • Conduct special evaluation studies for RSPs through third party validation and ensure completion on time and proper dissemination
  • Plan and organise workshops and seminars to dissemination documented work on baselines, impact assessments, research studies and special evaluations
  • Any other assignments given by the Specialist M&E of RSPN


4. Manager Governance & Decentralisation

  • Provide policy level input to identify and strengthen linkages between RSPs and local
  • government structures
  • Identify areas of policy dialogue between RSPN, the RSPs and organisations and government
  • agencies working directly on devolution.
  • Explore and identify linkages between Local Support Organisations (clusters of Community
  • Organisations) and local government structures
  • Analyse and assess the role and linkages of Community Organisations with local government
  • structures.
  • Explore linkages between CCBs and RSP-fostered community organisations and their cluster
  • bodies
  • Identify capacity building needs of RSPs and local governments in order to strengthen linkages between RSPs and local governments.
  • Provide inputs to the RSPs for their work with district governments ie new and effective
  • partnerships and modes of service delivery (social sector and other services)
  • Document and disseminate best practices in the area of community governance mechanisms and
  • their linkages with governments

Specific criteria: A Master degree in the Social Sciences. 4-5 years of work experience in a development agency or NGOs or as a consultant in work related to devolution. Familiarity with the local government system. Excellent oral/written communication skills in English.


5. Manager Human Resources

  • Review and modify procedures for management of RSPN’s human resources
  • Determine and enforce through functional groups – legal, regulatory and safety requirements in accordance with current regulations
  • Assist member RSPs in reviewing and updating their human resource departments, rules and regulations
  • Ensure administrative support to all the programme sections of RSPN.
  • Supervise and administrate the support and RSPN auxiliary staff
  • Maintain and update required documentation of personnel employed in RSPN
  • Work with employees to ensure conformity with quality human resource management systems.
  • Any other assignments given by the Supervisor

Specific Criteria: Applicants should have a degree in Human Resources Management with at least five years experience in managing human resources personnel and activities and a minimum of three years in human resources management.

6. Two Programme Officers Social Sectors (One for Education & One for Health)


  • Assist the Specialist for Social Sectors in strategic planning, programme development and resource mobilisation for education, health and family planning programmes for RSPs
  • Plan advocacy initiatives related to social sector programming with government and other specialised social sector agencies
  • Assist the Specialist Social Sectors in coordination with government for special initiatives between government, other agencies and the RSPs
  • Establish and maintain effective working relationships with relevant government ministries, district/local governments, NGOs (technical, academic and professional groups), international NGOs and agencies UN agencies, and other partners for programme development and policy-relevant research
  • Establish partnerships nationally and internationally with reputed technical and research institutions for assistance in RSP social sector programme development and government-RSP linkages
  • Documentation, evaluation and dissemination of RSP special initiatives in the social sectors
  • Promote effective programme learning through technical input into RSP programmes
  • Identify and contribute to training opportunities for RSP social sector staff

General Requirements

  • Computer proficiency is essential for all the posts.
  • Strong team work skills and abilities are essential
  • Extensive travel is a requirement of all posts

Candidates fulfilling the above criteria may send their applications to The Rural Support Programmes Network, House # 7, Street 49, F-6/4, Islamabad or through email to: info@rspn.org.pk latest by 20th December, 2005. Only short-listed candidates will be called for interviews. Applicants who have applied previously need not reapply.

RSPN is an equal opportunity employer.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Paper work sucks

Once again I managed to stay M.I.A. for sometime.

Getting involved in the NGO world is not always what one might perceive it to be. Unfortunately, there is a lot of catching up to do before getting thrown into the field. It's funny that I always thought that field work was not something I was meant to ever do. Some part of me still agrees with that, but the majority of me is very content.

Officially, I have only made a couple trips up north -- one with a donor and one to do distribution monitoring in Bagh.

Since many of you may still not know what exactly it is that I do, I am a project manager for two earthquake related projects, being implemented in Bagh, Mansehra and Battagram.

One project, with CARE International, is just distribution of emergency relief provisions to some 2000 identified households in Battagram, Mansehra and Bagh. This is just giving them preassembled CARE packages of basic household needs (including tents) to get people on their feet with rebuilding their lives.

The other, the bigger one, is a housing project for people in the same districts (in NWFP and AJK). We have yet to commence that as the project was recently approved. This one is with Department for International Development.

The last couple of weeks have been spent mainly catching up with whats going on, getting information and being buried in tons of paperwork and contractual agreements, etc.

This is definately a great start to a wonderful and very rewarding career. I hope that things materialize faster for the needy than they are right now because, well...we don't want there to be no one left to save by snowfall...that would be very upsetting and careless.

I will be rather infrequent about my posts for some time, at least until I get my shit together because work between the office and the field keeps me away from luxury and citizen reporting very often.

Ciao

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Phew

Just to let you know that I am still alive. The projects are really quite something, if they work the way they have been proposed. I am looking forward to getting into them head on. It's quite exciting that I will be responsible for the management of these projects.

I will be traveling to Bagh tomorrow for the day, Mansehra for the day on Friday and then to Mansehra and Allai on Monday for the night.

good times...!

Friday, November 11, 2005

New Contact Info

I would like to inform everyone that my career path has taken a tremendous change. I will be commencing work with an NGO, RSPN, to do relief work in the North. I will be managing the Relief & Rehab project for 6 months in NWFP and AJK.

My new contact info (cell number) is posted above. Please take note of it.

Thanks and welcome to the world of sustainable development?

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Out with the Private, In with the NGO

I am officially now out of the private employment service. Because of the impact this quake has had on me, and the circumstances otherwise, I have decided to avail an opportunity to work with an NGO, heading a project for Relief and Rehabilitation in NWFP and AJK.

I gave in my resignation today and will be starting work with the NGO (RSPN) on Monday Nov 14.

I will now be officially doing whatever I have done and what I will continue to do so. I hope that I can do a good job helping people regain their lives, rekindle the sparkle of life in their eyes and give them a promise that our generation will not fail Kashmir. When we say we want what is best for Kashmir, we will mean it for the people, not the land.

I know there will be difficulties and obstacles, but without them you cannot appreciate the achievements and milestones during this time of need.

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Balakot n back

Just returned from an overnight trip to Balakot yesterday. Here are the updates:

1. U.A.E. military and medical team have an enormous setup just a kilometer short of Balakot
2. Camps, camps and more camps setup all along Balakot, just up to the main bridge
3. Quakes & Tremors are still popping in for the occasional visit

New Pictures available in Flikr Album >> scroll below to see them on the right

The morning we woke up, there was a tremendous quake at about 7 am (November 6, 2005) and it really shook up everyone. I was on the phone with someone who was in Balakot while i was at the SRSP office in Mansehra and we both felt it pretty bad. My travelmate was occupied at a very awkward moment when the shakes came and he was worried about not being allowed in to heaven because angels wouldn't touch him in the state he was in. I was outside the building (atop a small hill) when it happened and i was worried about the roof caving in on him while i was outside enjoying the cool morning breeze.

Anyway, things have changed a lot. I learned that about 75% of the Balakot population has perished completely. What remains is, well, rubble and bruises with some broken bones. I went all the way to the end of Balakot this time and saw what used to be a 5 story hotel, leveled with the river below.

Winter is setting in and the effects are visible, especially at night. Day time is still quite warm though.

Get those donations and volunteers to pour in!

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Eid Mubarak

In the midst of the dust, we should not forget that today the moon has shown itself and that marks the end of the Holy month of Ramzan for the entire Muslim world (give or take a day or two) so I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my readers and those who have really broken their backs trying to help Pakistan get back on its feet.

EID MUBARAK!

Spread the word! Campaigns will keep this cause alive

Hey ya'll!

It seems that the media is now beginning to focus on other global matters and that is utterly important. However, the media does have the power of informing the world on a larger scale, that which we as citizen reporters cannot, and that is Television - one in every household (ideally).

The fact is that there are still plenty of rocks unturned and we may not have even found half the dead yet so we don't know if 70,000+ is even remotely the closest number to the already dead. The issue at hand is also that we have around 3,000,000 homeless people right now and many of them are suffering from cold, disease, hunger, sorrow / misery (for loss of loved ones and belongings), greed, displacement and so forth.

We, as the people, must constantly reinvent methods and ways of carrying on this cause to help alleviate these people, hopefully on a permanent level. Take the tsunami for example, I have not heard a little bit on it for months now and I am quite sure that the damage is still no where near cleaned up and bodies still remain lost or unidentified. That damage was immense, but the media has forgotten about it. As unfortunate as it is, unless we can string our efforts on a combined basis to promote the same awareness for the sake of
humanity then we have much at stake. People always tell me how happy they are to see how moved the youth of Pakistan is about quake relief work and how they are glad that we are so dedicated and involved. The youth has financial limits along with family concerns. Parents don't like their children to be too involved because of the fear of disease, clashes with victims, exhaustion and many other issues.

I would like to invite you to help promote a campaign

- BeGivingBeHuman -

I would like to create awareness amongst the people of the global community to remember that this is still an issue at hand and we need continual help. I am getting some wristbands made that will have SHAKETHEQUAKE printed on them. If anyone is interested in helping promote, bring to light or to pass on the word about this, please let me know. I don't want to bomb people with spam emails or harass. I want to make information available to people discreetly, yet obviously so they are not bothered by it but notice it - like the candy on the cashier counter at a gas station.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

Highest Donor

I would like to take a moment to thank my good friend ****, who has just donated $1000 US (One Thousand Dollars) to the Earthquake Relief Effort. **** and I became friends at **** University and when he found out about the earthquake, he promptly called me from the US to find out how I am and now my family is. I think that the trust we developed over those years allowed for him to believe that providing the money to our effort was the most appropriate as he had the choices of larger, more established organizations such as ICRC, CARE, UNICEF, UNHCR, RELIEF and others to donate to.

Thanks ****, you the man! Your money is going to not only help boost our effort, but also provide for more people than we hoped.

Google Earth Dynamic overlay for Pakistan

Thanks to Anne Wright & Randy Sargent from the Global Connection team who have been working on the GEarth overlay of affected areas & sent us more good news via email:

A Pakistan dynamic overlay containing 1-meter imagery and maps for
* Muzaffarabad
* Abbottabad
* Mansehra
* Murree

is available at
http://jaga.gc.cs.cmu.edu/rapid/pakistan/

Contents:
* 10 maps from DLR / Space Imaging, available from
http://www.zki.caf.dlr.de/

The dynamic overlay is now public!
(Please fee free to redistribute the overlay and images)


Source: QuakeHelp

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