TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT 1. NETWORK SERVICES SUPPLY MANAGER – GABORONE OUTER Job Purpose

To organise and control the construction, operation and the maintenance of distribution lines and substation equipment to ensure network capacity, availability, quality of supply and operational safety at lowest overall cost.

Position Requirements Qualifications

• A minimum of a Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent from a recognised University.

• Membership of a professional engineering institution will be an advantage.

Experience

• A minimum of ten (10) years post qualification experience in the power environment of which at least three (3) years should be in a power utility industry at a middle management level.

• A proven track record of effective people, operations and maintenance management is required.

2. AREA ENGINEER – JWANENG Job Purpose

Top plan coordinate,optimise and manage the provision of technical support in projects, operations, and maintenance of the system to ensure network availability, quality of supply, operational safety and efficient customer service delivery in area of responsibility.

Position Requirements Qualifications

• Recognised Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent.

• Must be a member of a professional engineering institution.

• Any qualification in Customer Service/Business Management/ Project Management/Risk Management would be an added advantage.

• Valid Class B driver’s license Experience

• Seven (7) years post qualification experience in power environment is required.

• Atleast two (2) years of which will have been in the system operations and maintenance in power utility industry and one (1) must have been in customer service environment.

3. CONTACT CENTRE MANAGER – GABORONE Job Purpose

Manage and direct all aspects of

BPC Contact Centre Operations by conducting needs assessments, capacity planning and cost/benefit analyses; identifying and evaluating state of the art technologies; defining user requirements; establishing customer-service standards; monitoring and evaluating system performance; and implementing quality assurance programs to enable realization organisational business plans and reviews.

Position Requirements Qualifications

• Recognised Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management/ Administration/Marketing, Degree in Electrical Engineering or related field, from a recognised University.

Experience

• Minimum of Seven (7) years post qualification of which three (3) years should have been at Supervisory level in a Customer Service or Contact Centre environment.

• Experience in Power utility environment will be an added advantage.

4. SENIOR ENGINEER NETWORK MAINTENANCE SOUTH – GABORONE Job Purpose

To plan, organize, coordinate, and control the maintenance and operational activities of the Transmission and Distribution network equipment within the designated area through implementation of best maintenance practices to ensure operational safety, plant and equipment availability and quality of supply.

Position Requirements Qualifications

•

Recognised Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent. Professional Membership of the Engineering Registration Board (ERB) is required.

• Senior Authorisation is compulsory up to 66kV or 400Kv.

• Valid Class B driver’s license. •

Experience

• At least Seven (7) years’ post qualification experience in High Voltage Environment, two (2) years of which will have been in systems operations /maintenance in a power utility industry.

5. OPERATIONS SUPERINTENDENT (X1) (RE – ADVERTISEMENT) – GABORONE Job Purpose

To plan, organize and coordinate operations activities to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-efficient distribution of supply to customers in accordance with BPC’s engineering standards, procedures, and financial regulations.

Position Requirements Qualifications and Experience •

Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent and at least 4 years post qualification experience in the electricity supply industry; OR

• Diploma in Electrical or equivalent with at least 8 years post qualification experience in the electricity supply industry; OR

• National Craft Certificate in Electrical with at least 20 years post qualification experience in the electricity supply industry.

• Senior Authorisation is compulsory at Distribution level – 66Kv.

• Degree and Diploma holders must be registered with Engineers Registering Board (ERB).

• Valid Class B driver’s license.

• The required experience should be in the Distribution transmission line and distribution operations and maintenance activities.

6. CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPERITENDENT - GHANZI Job Purpose

To lead, supervise, monitor and control all the operations and maintenance of the Distribution network to ensure network availability, quality of supply and operational safety. The incumbent will also be responsible for supervising all customer service activities for efficient customer service delivery in the area of responsibility.

Position Requirements Qualifications and Experience

• Degree with five (5) years post qualification experience in the power Transmission and distribution environment; OR

• Diploma with seven (7) years post qualification experience in the power transmission & distribution environment.

• Class B Driver’s license required.

• Senior Authorisation is compulsory at Distribution level – 66kV.

• Registration with Engineers Registering Board (ERB) is compulsory at Professional level.

7. SENIOR TECHNICAL OFFICER OVERHEAD LINES MAINTENANCE (X1) – FRANCISTOWN Job Purpose

To supervise and carry out maintenance activities on Distribution network to ensure safe, reliable, stable and costefficient distribution of electricity supply to customers in accordance with BPC’s engineering standards, procedures and regulations.

Qualifications and Experience

• Recognized Diploma in Electrical Engineering or equivalent with Five (5) years post qualification experience in the power transmission & distribution environment, OR

• National Craft Certificate in

Electrical with Eight (8) years post qualification experience in the power transmission and distribution environment.

• Class B Driver’s license required.

• Senior Authorisation is compulsory at Distribution level – 66kV.

• Professional Membership of the Engineering Registration Board (ERB) is required for Diploma holders.

8. ASSISTANT CRAFTSMAN(X2) – NATA Job Purpose

To provide support in construction, maintenance, and repairs of overhead lines, underground cables,and ancillary equipment in accordance with Procedures, Regulations and Safety Standards.

Position Requirements

• BGCSE

• Class B Driver’s License is required.

• License in operation of Crane / Earth moving equipment will be an added advantage.

Experience

• Direct Entry.

PROJECTS DEPARTMENT 9. SENIOR ENGINEER – PROJECT CONTROLS (RE – ADVERTISEMENT) GABORONE Job Purpose

To develop and manage project controls for BPC projects/programs to ensure they are delivered on time, within budget while ensuring scope and quality management in accordance to BPC Projects Framework.

Position Requirements Qualification

• Recognised Degree in Engineering or in Project Management with a Certification in Project Management from a recognised project management institution (PMP/ Prince 2 etc).

• A valid Practicing Certificate from Engineering Registration Board (ERB) is required for an engineering qualification.

Experience

• Seven (7) years post qualification experience in project management, three (3) of which should have been in a project control environment.

• Experience in managing multiple strategic programs with a value over P100 million is essential.

• Software proficiency in project management software for project scheduling and financial management is a requirement (Microsoft Project, Primavera etc).

Development Goals; Good Health and Well being, Gender Equality and Reduced Inequalities.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Botswana experience stigma, discrimination, and violations of their basic rights in their daily lives. They report verbal abuse and harassment-derisive, humiliating words, hate speech and public calls for rejection, exclusion and even violence coming from their most intimate family members, those service providers they rely on for their health and safety and right up to the nation’s top political and religious leaders. They are beaten, murdered, sexually assaulted and raped. They are bullied at school and shunned by the religious community.

They are humiliated in the workplace, sometimes not hired and other times dismissed because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. In the healthcare setting, they are ridiculed or shamed, their confidentiality is breached, they receive inferior and sub-standard care, conditional access to services, and at times, outright denial of health care and threats of police reports. Law enforcement officials are reportedly a source of various forms of stigma, discrimination and rights violations, including harassment, intimidation, threats of violence, physical and sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, extortion or blackmail.

In Botswana, sections 164 (a) and (c), 165 and 167 of the Penal Code effectively criminalised adult consensual same-sex sexual activity. These laws infringed upon the rights of LGBT persons to be treated equally and without discrimination, violating their rights to dignity, privacy, personal liberty and freedom of expression and impacted on their health rights.

Although the above-mentioned Penal Code sections have since been repealed (11 June 2019), their impact is still felt amongst the LGBT community. The criminalisation of consensual same-sex sex furthermore appeared to contribute to stigma, discrimination and violence against LGBT persons by allowing government officials and the broader public to violate the rights of LGBT persons with a sense of impunity. The criminal provisions, although “gender neutral”, disproportionately impacted upon LGBT persons. As a result of the criminal laws, the stigmatised context they created and the way in which the laws were enforced, LGBT persons don’t seek out justice for these human rights abuses.

Experiences of stigma, discrimination, exposure and threats of reports also discouraged the LGBT persons from accessing healthcare services. When accessing healthcare, they often conceal their sexual orientation and don’t speak openly about their health issues, which may result in misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment and care. They feared complaining about poor treatment from health care providers and the reprisals that may follow. This placed their health at further risk.

Existing evidence shows that LGBT persons experience high levels of stigma and discrimination, violence and other human rights violations. In 2017, Afrobarometer reported that while Botswana is an increasingly tolerant nation, with people who affirm basic freedoms and human rights of all persons to say what they think, associate with any organisation they choose to and vote for the candidate of their choice, many do not support freedom of sexual orientation. The results of the Afrobarometer survey noted that 56 percent of Batswana either strongly disliked or somewhat disliked the idea of living next to a neighbour who is homosexual. This is echoed and arguably legitimised by more public, derogatory statements made by political and religious leaders, who stated that homosexuality is not only unlawful, but is foreign to Batswana culture.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana in its “crusade” against homosexuality, called on “all Christians and all morally upright persons within the four corners of Botswana to reject, resist, denounce, expose, demolish and totally frustrate any effort by whoever to infiltrate such foreign cultures of moral decay and shame into our respectable, blessed and peaceful country.”

All these, put together paint a picture of the heart wrenching abuse against LGBT persons and we call upon the government and its relevant departments to strengthen legal mechanisms for reporting cases of violence, abuse and victimisation, including by strengthening legal support services and alternative and alternative complaints mechanisms for LGBT persons to report violations within the work environment, health care sector and law enforcement environment.

Source: “The Law needs to change, we want to be free” – The impact of laws criminalising same sex relationships in Botswana (2018).