Helen Alexander

CURRICULUM VITAE Helen Alexander-|- |- Franklin St, Claremont, Cape Town, 7708 PERSONAL INFORMATION Identity Number Citizenship - South African Driving Licence Date of Birth - August 1977 SKILLS SUMMARY Through the course of my career I have developed a wide range of skills, including: COMMUNICATION       MANAGEMENT Editing and proofreading (Oxford, APA) Developing communications strategies Writing, presentation and public speaking Media (including print, tv and radio) Developing print materials Developing content for various channels, including mobile, web and print       Strategic and operational planning Budgeting and financial oversight Proposal development Strategic and programmatic leadership Human resource management Financial management & reporting TECHNICAL PLANNING, PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH        Strategic planning Logframe development Results-based management Project management M&E development and management Qualitative research Donor reporting GRAPHIC DESIGN   Website design and development Document layout         Microsoft office: "power user" Databases: MS Access, MySQL Graphic software: Photoshop, Gimp CSS and HTML Content Management Systems: Joomla & Wordpress Layout software: Scribus and InDesign Webinar and Meeting software Google docs LANGUAGE     Excellent written and verbal English Reasonable written and verbal Afrikaans Basic French Familiarity with isiXhosa and seSotho. Last updated : October 2017 WORK EXPERIENCE FREELANCE WRITER AND EDITOR CAPE TOWN DEC 2012 - FEB 2014; FEB 2016 TO PRESENT I provide freelance writing and editing services to a range of clients. This has included:        academic editing for Masters and PHD students who are not first language English speakers; repurposing content for mobile platforms; editing and laying out business brochures; researching and developing content for publication in print and electronic media; preparing a literature review on mHealth; preparing the proceedings of the ICT4Dev 2013 conference for publication by the ACM; and editing and proofing articles for the South African Computing Journal (SACJ). GENERAL MANAGER, HEALTHENABLED CAPE TOWN, FEB 2014 TO JAN 2016 I initially helped set up the processes and structure for HealthEnabled, a small NPO, including developing a staffing structure and recruitment process. I then joined the team as General Manager, responsible for all Operations, including HR and Finance, as well as some Programmatic functions. SONKE GENDER JUSTICE NETWORK CAPE TOWN, AUG 2009 TO DEC 2012 As the Communications and Strategic Information Manager at Sonke Gender Justice, I was part of the Senior Management Team and was responsible for managing staff, developing communications strategies, implementing behaviour change communications projects, promoting the organisation through print, radio and television media, supporting the monitoring and evaluation for the organisation, and supporting organisational IT. I played an active role in developing the organisational strategy and direction, and supported the operational functions of the organisation where necessary, including finance and HR. I managed multi-million rand budgets and developed proposals and prepared reports for various donors, including CIDA and USAID. IDEOSPHERE CAPE TOWN, JUN 2003 TO JUL 2009 Ideosphere was a small company providing a range of communication and information services to non-profit organisations, including support on information technology, website development, content development and research. As a partner in the organisation, I was involved with projects through all stages of development from planning through to final implementation. A few of the company’s clients included: Sonke Gender Justice, mothers2mothers, Sustainable Energy Africa and Cell-Life. WESTERN CAPE GOV, CENTRE FOR E-INNOVATION CAPE TOWN, NOV 2003 TO MAY 2006 As the portal editor for Cape Gateway, the Provincial Government's flagship e-government project, I was involved with researching and writing new content for the Cape Gateway Portal (www.capegateway.gov.za). I was responsible for maintaining content on the Portal and managing the work of various other members of the content team (specifically the translators and various research consultants). The work required extensive interaction with the content management system and engagement with complex information management and architecture problems, as well as networking and relationship-building with staff members within various departments and projects. 2 INFONOMICS SOUTH AFRICA CAPE TOWN, JUN 2003 TO NOV 2003 Infonomics was a small research organisation, specialising in the ICT, SMME and Tourism sectors. I was originally employed by the company to develop content for the Cape Gateway website. I also participated in web usability analysis of their clients’ websites and assisted with research into information and communications technology in SMMEs for the Presidential National Commission on Information Society and Development. LARAGH COURSEWARE CAPE TOWN, FEB TO JUN 2003 I was employed by Laragh Courseware, an online learning materials company, to retrofit their MS Office e-learning materials to comply with American accessibility legislation. SWEAT (SEX WORKER EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY TASKFORCE) CAPE TOWN, MAR 2001 TO OCT 2002 As the Legal Advocacy Co-ordinator for SWEAT, I was responsible for spearheading the organisation's campaign for decriminalization of sex work in order to reduce exploitation and abuse of women through the improvement of safety and working conditions in the industry, and to facilitate efforts to eliminate child exploitation and abuse. I was involved in all stages of the advocacy programme, including networking with other non-profit organisations, preparing media releases and conducting print, radio and television interviews. I was also responsible for creating and maintaining the organisation's website and for conducting both primary and secondary research for the organisation. VOLUNTEER WORK IKAMVA YOUTH CAPE TOWN, 2006 TO 2007 In 2006/2007 I was a core volunteer for the Ikamva Youth organisation, where I held a position on the Management Committee. My role included tutoring Gr 11 and 12 learners and overseeing the organisation’s data requirements. Ikamva Youth is dedicated to assisting learners to get good matric results and enter tertiary education. SHAWCO (STUDENT HEALTH AND WELFARE CENTRES ORGANISATION) CAPE TOWN, 1998 TO 2000 Throughout my studies I volunteered for the children's sector of SHAWCO, a student non-profit organisation based at the University of Cape Town. From 1997 to 1999, I headed up the Children’s Sector (Masizame) and was a member of the SHAWCO Board in 1998 and 1999. My role included volunteer-management, strategic planning, budgeting, resource management and reporting. 3 EDUCATION MPHIL, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA PRETORIA, UNFINISHED I completed the course work requirements of an MPhil in Informatics through the University of Pretoria. This degree places a strong focus on the interaction between information, technology, people and organisations and has a particular development focus which is of great interest to me. I was initially unable to complete the degree due to health reasons, and have subsequently placed this on hold due to family and work commitments. LLM, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA) PRETORIA, 2004 - 2005 I have completed the first half of a course-work based Masters degree in Law with a focus on development law and sustainable development. I do not intend to complete this degree as I felt the focus of the course was too much on environmental development concerns and not sufficiently on social development. LLB, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN CAPE TOWN, 1998 TO 2000 My law degree focussed on constitutional law and human rights, including elective courses in alternative conflict resolution, women and the law, dignity, equality and freedom, children's rights, criminology and constitutional litigation. I was included on the Dean's Merit List. BA, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN CAPE TOWN, 1996 TO 1998 I majored in English and Private Law. Other courses included Social Anthropology, Human Resource Management and Organisational Development. I was included on the Dean's Merit List. MATRICULATED WITH SIX DISTINCTIONS FROM WILLOWRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL Pretoria, 1995 (Headgirl) Subjects: Maths, Science, English, Afrikaans, French & History REFERENCES PETER BENJAMIN KATHERINE DE TOLLY HealthEnabled -- Independent Consultant-- DESMOND LESEJANE DR HAROLD WESSO Sonke Gender Justice Network-- Acting CEO: Merake e-Skills Institute -- 4