EQUAL EDUCATION IS SEARCHING FOR A DYNAMIC YOUTH LEADER TO JOIN THE NOREC PROFESSIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

Equal Education is a movement of learners, parents and community members working for quality and equality in South African education, through analysis and activism. Equal Education is organised in five provinces: Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and the Eastern Cape. Equal Education works by identifying systemic and localised problems affecting the quality of education and addresses these problems through local and national campaigns; a commitment to robust political education and campaign strategising with members and building a strong research base through primary and secondary research.

Equal Education seeks to fill an exciting vacancy. The successful candidate must have a strong commitment to democracy, equality, intersectionality, social justice and human rights.

Position: Programmes Officer
Term: 12 months at Equal Education and 2 months homecoming at ZANEC
Location: EE’s Western Cape office in Khayelitsha, South Africa.
Closing date: 23 October 2026, 5:00pm – no late applications will be accepted.

PROGRAMMES OFFICER

Equal Education is one of the only democratically organized, youth and women-led intersectional socialism movements. We are led by our National Council (NC) that is elected by our members every three years during Congress. The Office of the General Secretary (OGS) is the link between the governance structures (National Council, Secretariat) and the operational structures of EE (various departments), which work together to implement the movement’s objectives in alignment with the movement’s Constitution and Congress resolutions. The OGS supports the mandate of EE’s General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary. The Office collaborates across departments to strategically implement our provincial and national campaigns.

The exchange professional will primarily be based in the Office of the General Secretary (OGS) with supporting tasks for the Research, Fundraising and the Communications Department (support departments to the OGS) to assist in the operations and governance work that is held by the Office of the General Secretary, ensuring key resolutions taken by the National Council (board of EE) regarding the running of the movement and campaigns are effectively undertaken across provinces. The exchange professional’s work will be centred in the Office of the General Secretary but will work closely with National Council and Secretariat members to ensure governance is handled effectively for the movement’s running.

Key Responsibilities of This Role Include

1. Organisational Work

• Resource Mobilization to further EE’s strategic advocacy activities in line with the organizational vision 2028.
• Together with the General Secretary, lead the development of long-term strategies to achieve long term goals for EE.
• Design and implement adequate indicators, surveys, and monitoring tools for the evaluation of programmes and campaigns. Promote knowledge management and institutionalisation of past experiences.
• Strategies and proposal writing from their host organization and explore opportunities for national and regional collaborations, projects, and programs.
• Together with the Fundraising Department, enhance EE’s endowment contributions and explore opportunities for institutional sustainability.
• Together with the Finance Department, ensure that budgets are cost-effective and realistic and aligned with organisational fundraising and other planning.

2. Office of the General Secretary

• Assist and contribute to furthering the department’s goals, objectives in line with EE vision 2028 & congress resolutions.
• Strong administrative support to the General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary & Governance Coordinator within a fast-paced environment.
• Assist in the management for General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary ‘s Office.
• General administrative support to the Office of the General Secretary.
• Support the Office of the General Secretary with fundraising, including researching potential donors, drafting funding proposals and leading on putting together funding reports.
• To develop popular educational materials, i.e political education.
• To coordinate, develop and submit specific funding proposals.
• Research and prepare congress materials for members of the organization.
• Responsible for any other ad hoc tasks/projects from the Office of the General Secretary.
• Governance: Key logistical support to governance structures: National Council & Secretariat. with administrative support provided to the Audit and Risk Committee and the National Council and Secretariat.

3. Governance Work

• Work closely with EE board members from different membership spaces (eg. Parents, learners, professionals).
• Assist with building and capacitating a strong board membership at EE with programmatic and administrative work.

4. Campaign Work

• Supporting community engagement in the provincial EE office (Western Cape office), including visiting schools, and communities in the province.
• Youth movement building – research and identify issues that relate to movement building in South Africa.
• Internal liaison between the Office of the General Secretary and campaign work.

5. Exchange

• Exchange professionals will seek opportunities to collaborate and engage with partner work, as well as champion the NOREC exchange through engagement with partner organisations.
• All A4A NOREC exchange professionals are expected to participate in relevant Equal Education events and activities as part of their placement.
• Document and share research methodologies, campaign tools, lessons and promising practices with EE and partner organisations, contributing to reciprocal learning and organisational capacity strengthening beyond the exchange.
• Equal Education’s work is dynamic and requires flexibility. As such, participants may occasionally be required to work over weekends, depending on organisational and programme needs.

Qualifications, Skills and Capacities Required for the Role

• A university degree – preferably at postgraduate level in Education or Social Sciences.
• Very strong research, writing and editing experience.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills.
• Knowledge of education policy or previous experience in a social movement, community-based organization or public interest law center would be beneficial.
• Digital media skills are highly advantageous.
• Proficient in MS Office Suite and Google Workspace.
• Must be able to work efficiently and independently, and to manage multiple projects concurrently.

Applicants must be between the ages of 20–30 years old.

THE EXCHANGE

This opportunity is part of the 2027/28 regional exchange between The Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust in Zimbabwe, the Zambian National Education Coalition in Zambia and Equal Education in South Africa, supported by the Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation (Norec).

The exchange will last for a period of 14 months (February 2027 – April 2028), with 12 months abroad in South Africa, Cape Town and followed by 2 months of follow-up work with your ‘sending’ organisation, ZANEC in Zambia.

Through international exchange, the overall objective is to empower young people to have agency and means to meaningfully participate in the pursuit of access to quality and inclusive education for all.

The Following Expenses Will Be Covered by Equal Education

• Housing costs, including gas, electricity, water, etc.
• Travel insurance and health insurance for the whole exchange, including during the training period.
• Monthly stipend/salary.
• Travel costs to and from your home country, and to and from mandatory Norec Preparatory and Homecoming training.
• Departure/start-up funds that may cover passport fees, visas, necessary vaccinations, work permits, etc.

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