The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (CHALN) announces a vacancy for the position of a coordinator.

The coordinator will support the CHALN project funded through the Canadian Agency of International Development and envisioning carrying out activities in Georgian prisons. The project aims at prevention of HIV/AIDS spread in the Georgian penitentiary institutions through provision of advocacy and harm reduction activities (including implementation of needle exchange projects and substitution treatment for intravenous drug user prisoners).

The coordinator's work initially will focus on organizing prison advocacy meeting in Tbilisi, scheduled for June 7-11, 2008 and then providing support to all CHALN prison-related activities in Georgia.

It is a part-time position and the selected person is expected to work from May, 2008 until March, 2009.

The ideal candidate will be expected to communicate extensively with the department of execution of punishment (penitentiary department), Ministry of Justice, AIDS and Infectious Diseases center, Institute of Narcology, civil society organizations, etc. 

Essential qualifications and requirements:

• Public health related background and/or experience in working in public health/legal assistance related fields;
• Fluency in Georgian, Russian and English languages (both written and oral);
• basic knowledge of Georgian legislation related to HIV/AIDS and drug use;
• Report writing skills;
• Computer literacy with user/practical knowledge of MS Word and Excel;
• Possibility to work from home computer connected to internet.

Professional experience:

- Prior work experience (minimum 2 years) in public health/legal assistance fields with a particular emphasis on any of the following fields: HIV/AIDS, drug use, harm reduction, prison health, marginalized groups, patient rights protection, public health advocacy issues. Priority will be given to candidates having professional experience in prison/prison health work.

Personal qualities:

• Ability to work independently;
• Self-disciplined;
• Organized;
• Attentive to details;
• High sense of responsibility, punctuality and accuracy.
  
  

Applicants having required qualifications and background should submit their CV and a cover letter (both of them in English). The cover letter should describe candidate's prior similar experience and long-term career goals.

Interested candidates should provide their qualification data (CV and a cover letter) in an electronic format. CV and a cover letter should be submitted in one file (MS Word format) and named with a surname of a prospective candidate. The subject of the e-mail letter should be a ‘CHALN vacancy'. CV should contain names of 2 referees who will be contacted for the selection purposes.

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for the written test and interview.

The selected person will be expected to start work from the third week of May, 2008.

The deadline for submitting applications is 17.00 of May 7, 2008. Please forward your applications to teaa@osgf.ge