Tips to be successful:

• Highlight your Certifications: Include your primary care counselor certificate, HIV testing and counseling certifications in a prominent place in your CV. These are critical for the role and would immediately catch the eyes of the hiring person.
• Language Skills: Explicitly call out your proficiency in English and Ndebele to show that you meet the language requirements.
• OI/ART Experience: As this has been mentioned as an advantage, if you have any experience in Opportunistic Infections or Antiretroviral Therapy, include this prominently in your CV.
• Capacity to Analyze and Report: Highlight your analytical skills and your experience with report writing, as this has been identified as a key requirement.
• Teamwork and Collaboration: Stress on your interpersonal skills, ability to work in health facility settings and in teams, as these qualities are important for this role.

Five important areas of the job listing:

• Job Description: Paying special attention to the job description tells you exactly what the role involves. These are tasks that you will be expected to perform and thus need to address directly in your cover letter and CV.
• Specific Certifications: If you do not have the specific certifications or qualifications, make sure to either get them or explain how your experience can compensate.
• Language Skills: If you do not speak Ndebele, this may be a deal breaker, so ensure you meet this criterion.
• Deadline: The submission deadline is crucial. Any applications submitted after this date will likely be disregarded.
• Application Method: Make sure you apply via the correct channel, in this case via email to [email protected].

Tips to standout in a flooded candidate pool:

• Value Addition: Outline specific ways you have added value or made significant contribution in your previous roles.
• Customized Cover Letter: Tailor your cover letter to demonstrate how your skills and experience align directly with what's mentioned in the job description.
• Highlight Transferable Skills: If you've worked in similar areas, underline the transferability of your skills to this specific post, particularly concerning HIV care, testing and community health practices. Experience in NGO jobs in Zimbabwe would be particularly beneficial here.

Three important overlooked elements:

• Working Experience: From my observations over the years, novice applicants often don't value their parallel experiences. Highlighting your experience with HIV care and treatment practices in Zimbabwe would do your application a great service.
• Understanding of M&E Systems: The organization places considerable importance on the understanding of the M&E systems used by Ministry of Health and Child Care. Novice applicants should give this more importance.
• Job Offers in Zimbabwe: Candidates often put the application process on autopilot, without considering the unique nuances of job offers in Zimbabwe. Recognize that roles such as these value on-ground understanding and experience of the Zimbabwean healthcare context, and leverage this in your application.