Equal Education (EE) Recent Available Employment Vacancy

Equal Education (EE) is a movement of learners, parents, teachers and community members working for quality and equality in South African education, through analysis and activism. Equal Education is organised in five provinces: Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and the Western Cape.

Equal Education works by identifying systemic and localised problems affecting the quality of education, and addresses these problems through local and national campaign; a commitment to robust political education and campaign strategising with members; and building a strong research base through primary and secondary research.

 

 

 

Job Title: Parliamentary Researcher
Location: South Africa

Equal Education’s Culture

Equal Education aspires to be a place where all of our members become conscious and active participants in society who strive to resist patriarchy, tribalism, ageism, sexism, racism and other forms of discriminatory practices that operate in our homes, communities and places of work.

As a member of staff, one must commit to upholding EE’s principles for a safe and welcoming work environment. Our principles aim to create an environment that enables growth, and inclusive and safe for all who pass through the organisation.

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

Parliamentary Researcher

Level: This is an entry to mid-level position depending on the successful candidate.

Position: This is a position within EE’s Research Department. The Parliamentary Researcher plays an important role in EE advocacy work in the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The Parliamentary Researcher also serves as EE’s budget expert and provides support to other researchers with access to and analysis of data.

The core role of EE’s Research Department is to produce research in support of provincial and national advocacy campaigns. In support of this mandate, the department produces reports and briefing notes, makes presentations to National Parliament and provincial legislatures; drafts submissions on proposed policy and legislation; assists the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) in drafting legal documents; contributes to developing popular education material in collaboration with the Internal Education and Training Unit (IETU); and supports the Communications Department with media advocacy. The work of the Department is informed and guided by the lived experiences of the movement’s members.

Key responsibilities:

The key responsibility of the Parliamentary Researcher at EE is to work with the Co-Heads of the Research Department to ensure that the following work is done:

• Establish a strong link between EE and the Parliament of South Africa by engaging Members of Parliament (MPs);
• Lead on EE’s efforts to influence law-making and oversight processes;
• Attend, monitor and engage with activities in the National Assembly and NCOP that pertain to the work of EE, including but not limited to, basic education, education and recreation, appropriations, transport, and finance;
• Be proactive in sharing EE’s research with MPs, coordinating learning opportunities for MPs, and identifying opportunities for EE’s members to attend parliamentary meetings;
• Lead on and contribute to the drafting of submissions to Parliament;
• Share information retrieved from Parliament with the research department and with EE’s staff and members;
• Coordinate learning opportunities for members of EE about Parliament;
• Stay abreast of all education budget related information and education policy developments, presented to Parliament;
• Keep track of Parliamentary questions and responses and share the information with the research team and staff;
• Prepare analysis on and responses to important events such as the State of the Nation Address (SONA), the budget speech, Matric results release, and others;
• Serve as EE’s budget expert, from the school level to the national fiscus.
• Lead, where necessary, on media statements and analysis related to national and provincial expenditure.
• Monitor the progress in the implementation of Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure, with a particular focus on infrastructure expenditure;
• Draft media statements, op eds for newspapers, and content for social media;
• Generally support the work of EE and the Research Department