Roma Education Fund Seeks a Country Coordinator for the Roma Health Scholarship Program in Romania

Roma Health Scholarship Program (RHSP) is a joint initiative of the Roma Education Fund and 

Roma Health Scholarship Program (RHSP) is a joint initiative of the Roma Education Fund and OSF Roma Health Project, implemented since 2008. The Program has two major components, one consisting of scholarships (with additional support for foreign language courses and conference grants), managed and implemented by REF Scholarship Program, and the other components: mentorship, advocacy training, and media are implemented under OSF/Roma Health Program’s coordination.

About REF’s Scholarship Program

The Roma Education Fund’s Scholarship Program (REF SP) offers scholarships for Roma students at the university level. Eligible candidates are individuals of Roma ethnicity who are citizens or permanent residents of one of the Program countries, accepted at state-accredited universities in their home country or country of residence, pursuing their studies for Bachelor, Master or Doctorate degree. 

Implementation of Country Coordination Activity

The Roma Education Fund is partnering with local organizations, tasked for Country Coordination, to support implementation of the Scholarship Program in the Program countries. The task for Program’s country coordination activity includes coordination, implementation, monitoring and reporting on activities which are relevant and necessary for the implementation in the respective country. 

Description of the RHSP Coordinator’s Role

The RHSP Coordinator shall work in close cooperation with the Higher Education Program Manager and/or assigned Program Officers of the REF SP.  In its respective country, the RHSP Coordinator shall be responsible for the overall implementation of the administrative and program-related tasks, as well as with the organizing and unfolding of the RHSP scheme’s outreach and information campaign, as well as with the promotion and visibility of RHSP scholarship scheme. Furthermore, the RHSP Coordinator shall be responsible for the preparation and provision of support to the National Selection Board (NSB) evaluation process. The RHSP Coordinator shall also attend and participate in the REF-organized annual meeting of the Country Coordinators.

The RHSP Coordinator shall be responsible for the task of reviewing the applications and conducting the Eligibility Check, as well as with maintaining and regularly updating as accurately as possible the information and data in the Scholarship Program’s Online Application System.

Background of the OSF Roma Health Program Component of RHSP

OSF’s Public Health Program Roma Health Project (RHP) works to advance the health and human rights of Roma people by building the capacity of Roma civil society leaders and organizations and advocating for accountability and a strong civil society role in the design, implementation and monitoring of policies and practices that most impact on the health of Roma. 

OSF’s Roma Health Project is recruiting for a country coordinator in Romania to provide technical assistance, coordinate and monitor the mentorship, media and advocacy components of the Roma Health Scholarship Program and coordinating with other collaborators involved in the implementation of the program.

Mentorship component

Experiences from other scholarship programs have demonstrated that minority and historically disadvantaged students often require continuous mentorship to avoid isolation and high drop-out rates. For Roma students, the mentorship offers the chance to develop and explore a new set of ideas and relationships with professors and peers.

Mentors provide support to navigate social and academic challenges in the university setting. Mentors also address academic and professional needs and identify professional opportunities for students (involve students in their clinical work to familiarize them with the different aspects of medical work; conference participation, publication of articles, etc.).

Advocacy component

Advocacy trainings are provided for students and mentors from each cohort. An advocacy camp, bringing together prospective students and their mentors, is organized by a Roma NGO, and run in the summer before the beginning of the school year or in the winter holiday. The advocacy camp is conceived as a way for scholarship recipients to get a broader perspective on human rights issues impacting the health of Roma communities and the role health advocates can play on local, national and international levels. 

The camp also provides the opportunity for networking and relationships development between scholars. Throughout the year, a moderated electronic forum offers students an opportunity to stay in touch, share news and advice, and discuss issues of common concerns.

Media component

The media component is essential to disseminate information about the existence and availability of the scholarship, and used to contribute to increasing the pool of applicants. It also serves a broader purpose of creating a positive image of Roma individuals and potential scholarship recipients and consolidating the buy-in of national partners.

Tasks of the country coordinator

• Monitoring  the implementation of the mentorship component; supervising the mentorship process;
• Providing information, technical support and guidelines to the NGO working on communication and media campaign for the development of the program-related media and communication strategy;
• Providing recommendations on the development of an advocacy camp program component;
• Providing feedback on the project proposals submitted by all partners before sending them to Roma Health Program/OSF for financial support;
• Coordinating the implementers of media, mentorship and advocacy to send reports and new proposals upon a developed calendar;
• Assessment of interim and final reports, submitted by organizations, implementing the components of communication and public outreach, advocacy camp and mentorship component together with RHP;
• Distribution of information on the scope of the program to wide audience, institutions and potential scholarship recipients;
• Supervise closely scholar’s reporting process, mentors reporting process, provides feedback/intervention to specific cases if needed;
• Conducts a wide range of advocacy initiatives related to the provision of Program sustainability, with the support of Roma Health Program;
• Participating in the annual RHSP meeting, organized by RHP.

Staffing requirements 

For the successful implementation of the Country Coordinator role the following set of skills is essential:

• Bachelor or equivalent degree;
• Relevant experience and sound understanding of the higher educational programs and relevant policy frameworks and their implementation;
• At least three years of work experience in academic program administration /coordination;
• Experience and competencies in working in a multicultural environment; 
• Extensive program administration and planning skills, experience in operating Microsoft Office package, in particular excel and databases; 
• Fluency in English and in the country language;
• Knowledge of Romani language is considered an added value; 
• Excellent communication skills;
• High level of computer proficiency.