Deadline: February 28, 2018
The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) invites applications for the EPHA-OSF Early Childhood Development Paid Fellowship. With the support of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Program of the Open Society Foundations, EPHA – Europe’s leading NGO advocating for better health – launches a one-year fellowship programme (2018 – 2019) to train and mentor an ECD Fellow.
The Fellowship aims to empower a Roma ECD Advocate to develop the necessary tools to engage with European policy makers. Ideally, the Fellow would be seconded from a civil society organisation based in Central or Eastern Europe. The Roma ECD fellow (and his/her sending organisation) will have the opportunity to develop their professional skills with a practical and European orientation, and develop contacts and cooperation with key EU-level actors (e.g. European Commission, Members of the European Parliament and European networks of NGOs inter-alia).
The programme provides tailored technical assistance for a Roma ECD activist on EU Health and early childhood development advocacy. The tailored assistance will include mentoring and training component on the key EU health and early childhood development processes. It will also facilitate establishing partnerships and potential collaborations with relevant EU actors.
They strongly encourage applications from persons of Roma origin, as the ECD Fellowship is aligned with the EPHA-OSF Roma Health Fellowship programme and EPHA’s work on Roma health. Experience of living or working in Roma communities would be an advantage.
Depending on the preference of the Fellow, the ECD Fellowship will include a Brussels based period of ca. 3 months (full time) and 9 months (3days/week) based in his/her home country. The Fellowship mentoring will be mainly conducted via electronic communication between the Fellow and EPHA staff so as to develop the following skills and knowledge:
- An understanding of the EU decision making and consultation processes with a focus on health and ECD actors within the EU institutions;
- Improved policy analysis and policy drafting skills, including policy recommendations for decision makers;
- Building alliances with various organisations operating in social and health sectors;
- Improved presentation and public speaking skills via face-to-face meetings with EU decision makers.
The Roma ECD Fellow will be managed and supported by the EPHA Roma Health and ECD project manager and will have a senior EPHA staff member as a mentor for his/her professional development
Benefits
The ECD Fellow will benefit from financial remuneration (consultant status).
The successful candidate will be offered a consultancy contract on the basis of a daily fee.
Eligibility
- Fluency in English, written and spoken;
- Understanding and motivation on children’s health and early childhood development issues;
- Active in civil society sector on ECD, children’s health or children’s rights for a minimum of two years’ professional or voluntary experience;
- University degree in a relevant field (medical, or social field) or equivalent experience;
- Excellent written and oral communication and strong analytical skills;
- Ability to work independently and at distance;
- Creative mindset, strong motivation and initiative
Advantageous:
- Experience of living and/or working in a Roma community;
- Seconded from a civil society organization based in central or eastern Europe;
- Previous experience in advocacy (influencing decision making at local, regional, national or European level);
- Masters level qualification in health or social sciences;
- Experience in a civil society leadership role.
They encourage applications from countries with large Roma communities (e.g. Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, BiH, FYRO Macedonia, Turkey.)
(Please note, former EPHA-OSF Roma Health Fellows or ECD Fellows cannot benefit from this programme again.)
Application
- Please send your CV (maximum 2 pages, without any photo), your personal motivation letter (maximum 1 page) explaining your interest and a cover letter (written by the organisation where you are currently working elaborating on how your organization could benefit from this experience).
- If not currently employed please provide a reference letter from your past employer or from a university professor. It is of particular interest for us to see how you are already committed to work on ECD issues and how this Fellowship could further your experience..
Send your application to [email protected] with “Roma ECD Fellowship Program- application” in the subject line
For more information, visit EPHA-OSF Early Childhood Development Fellowship.