Cara-Jean Petersen

Experience

• 

  The Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture

  Jul 2011 - Dec 2011

  Intern Counselor

  Individual and group counseling with ages 7-70 years old, debriefing, crisis management, trauma counseling, psychological assessments, working with boys and men focusing on violence and aggression, assisting in the promotion of domestic violence awareness campaigns

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  HIV and AIDS Programme University of the Western Cape

  Mar 2013 - Jul 2016

  Project Coordinator and Facilitator

  1) Research Fieldwork coordinator for Global Early Development Study in collaboration with World Health OrganizationCore competencies: Liaising with national and international partners, building strong working relationships with community members, conducting training and interviews, strong administrative skills, research materials design, working independently and within a team2) Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for UWC Peer Education ProgrammeCore competencies: Data capturing, conducting focus groups, monitoring and evaluation of several projects.3) Project Assistant for City of Cape Town Youth Development ProgrammeCore competencies: Facilitation and training with in school and out of school youth, materials development, building fruitful working relationships with internal and external partners (City of Cape Town and schools) Show less

• 

  City of Cape Town

  Aug 2016 - Feb 2018

  Assistant Professional Officer

  Assistant Professional Officer (Project Coordinator) including:1) SDECD Youth Development ProgrammeCore competencies: Conceptualisation and coordination of the implementation of various city-wide youth-focused programmes/projects/interventions such as the #YouthStartCT Entrepreneurial Challenge for young local entrepreneurs. Liaising with city departments, internal and external partners regarding various youth development programmes/projects/interventions. Building and maintaining relationships with new internal and external partners. Providing monitoring and evaluation support and training to SDECD city officials working with youth. Recruitment, mentorship and supervision of core team. Capacity-building training with city officials working with youth. Report writing and administration tasks linked to roll out of deliverables.2) Transversal Youth Development Strategy ProjectsCore competencies: Developing project plans and coordinating implementation of pilot projects across various departments. Pilot projects include Career Expos, Girls Who Code and Accredited Training for out of school youth. Liaising with various departments, internal and external partners regarding implementation of youth-focused projects. Consultations and training with various departments regarding content and quality of youth-focused programmes/projects/interventions3) Transversal Youth Development DatabaseCore competencies: Capacity building training and meetings with city officials across departments regarding youth development database which tracks youth and links them to additional opportunities within the city. Recruitment, mentoring and supervision of youth database capturing team. Induction and coordination of capacity building training for team. Overseeing database capturing process, weekly, productivity and monthly report writing. Liaising with various departments regarding database submissions and partnership opportunities such as during holiday programmes and youth camps. Show less

• 

  Feenix.org

  Mar 2018 - now

  Includes (but not limited to):1) Driving our 4 key departmental Strategic Focus Areas, namely Improving Student Lifecycle, Growing Feenix Student Database, Enhancing University Partnerships and Provide Quality Organisational Support. This includes overseeing and providing support to related projects and daily operations2) People management (4 team members) which includes providing guidance and leadership to direct reports, guidance on Student Ambassador Programme (extension of Feenix team), Professional Development, KPIs, Performance Reviews and HR related matters 3) Strategic input within Feenix Executive Management Team and collaborating to drive organisational strategy 4) Responsible for strategic inputs to determine annual Student Advancement Budget and oversee budget adherence 5) Lead relationship management strategy with university partners across various departments within all 26 South African Public Universities 6) Strategic collaboration with Head of Fundraising for stakeholder engagement (individual donors, corporate donors, SBSA, universities) 7) Maintain contact with professional bodies and other organisations to identify and evaluate wrap around services to enhance student lifecycle8) Monitor and maintain an awareness of current legislation, trends and developments within the youth empowerment and tertiary education space9) Act as Feenix spokesperson- Strategic collaboration with Public Relations Agency (HWB) to represent Feenix in public-facing communication such as television interviews, radio interviews and press releases (currently one of two spokespeople)10) Ad Hoc consultations with Feenix Social Enterprise, WaFunda on product development, namely BlackbullionSA and Impact Sharing Agreement (ISA)11) Upholding core values of organisation and championing within Student Advancement Department (includes facilitating constructive meetings, leading positive company culture etc.) Show less

  • Chief Executive Officer

    Sept 2022 - now

  • Student Advancement Manager

    Mar 2018 - Aug 2022