Community Job Board

Overview

The Community Job Board addresses the critical need for employment opportunities in Dzaleka Refugee Camp. It provides a centralized platform where organizations can post job openings and community members can discover meaningful work, internships, and volunteer positions.

Important Context: Refugees in Malawi face legal restrictions on employment outside the camp. This job board primarily focuses on opportunities within the camp, remote work, and positions with organizations supporting the refugee community.

User Experience

Job Discovery

Browse Active Jobs

View all open positions at /jobs with real-time status updates based on deadlines.

Filter & Sort

Sort by “Most Recent” or “Deadline” to prioritize urgent applications.

View Featured Opportunities

Highlighted featured jobs appear at the top of listings.

Check Job Details

Click any job card to view full description, requirements, and application instructions.

Job Detail Page

Each job posting (/jobs/[slug]) includes:

Job title & organization
Employment type: Full-time, part-time, contract, volunteer, internship
Job category: Business, technology, education, healthcare, etc.
Skills required: Specific competencies needed
Application deadline: Countdown timer for urgent deadlines
Contact information: Email, phone, website
Full job description: Responsibilities, requirements, how to apply
Status indicator: Open, closed, or expired

Automatic Expiration

Jobs automatically marked as expired after deadline passes

Skills-Based Matching

Skills tags help job seekers find relevant opportunities

Mobile-Friendly

Optimized for mobile job searching on the go

Zero Cost

Completely free for both employers and job seekers

Content Schema

Jobs are stored in src/content/jobs/ as Markdown files:

title: "Job Title"                           # Required
organization: "Company/Organization Name"     # Required (renamed from 'company')
location: "Remote / Dzaleka / City"          # Required
type: "full-time"                            # Required: full-time | part-time | contract | volunteer | internship
category: "technology"                       # Required: business | technology | education | healthcare | etc.
posted: 2025-03-12                           # Required - Date posted (YYYY-MM-DD)
deadline: 2025-05-12                         # Required - Application deadline
status: "open"                               # open | closed | filled
featured: true                               # Boolean - highlight on top
skills:                                      # Array of required skills
  - Content creation
  - Editing & proofreading
  - Digital storytelling
contact:
  email: "jobs@organization.com"             # Required
  website: "https://apply-here.com"          # Optional
  phone: "+265 XXX XXX XXX"                  # Optional
description: "Brief job summary"             # Required - shown in listings

Real Example from Source

From Content-Curator-and-Editor.md:

title: "Content Curator & Editor"
organization: Dzaleka Digital Heritage
location: "Remote / Dzaleka"
type: "part-time"
category: business
posted: 2025-03-12
deadline: 2025-05-12
status: open
featured: true
skills:
  - Content creation
  - Editing & proofreading
  - Digital storytelling
  - Multimedia curation
  - Content management systems (CMS)
  - Photography & video editing
  - Collaborative Teamwork
contact:
  email: "dzalekaconnect@gmail.com"
  website: "https://services.dzaleka.com"
  phone: ""
description: "Join Dzaleka Digital Heritage as a Content Curator & Editor to help shape and refine the digital narratives that showcase the stories of Dzaleka's community."

With markdown content:

## About the Role
Dzaleka Digital Heritage is seeking a creative and detail-oriented Content 
Curator & Editor to oversee the development and refinement of stories, 
interviews, and multimedia content.

## Key Responsibilities
- Review and edit written content for clarity, accuracy, and consistency.
- Curate and organize multimedia content (photos, videos, audio).
- Collaborate with contributors to refine their stories.

## Requirements
- Strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills.
- Experience in content creation, journalism, or digital storytelling.
- Familiarity with content management systems (CMS).

## How to Apply
Submit your application via email to dzalekaconnect@gmail.com, including:
- Updated CV
- Portfolio of previous work
- Cover letter
- References

How to Post a Job

Create Job File

Create a Markdown file in src/content/jobs/ with a descriptive filename:

touch src/content/jobs/web-developer-tech-hub.md

Add Job Metadata

Fill in the frontmatter with complete job details:

---
title: "Web Developer"
organization: "Tech Hub Dzaleka"
location: "Remote / Dzaleka"
type: "full-time"
category: "technology"
posted: 2025-03-09
deadline: 2025-04-09
status: "open"
featured: false
skills:
  - HTML/CSS
  - JavaScript
  - React
  - Git
contact:
  email: "hiring@techhub.com"
  website: "https://techhub.com/careers"
description: "Build responsive websites for refugee community organizations"
---

Write Job Description

Add detailed markdown content:

## About Tech Hub Dzaleka

We empower refugees through technology education and employment.

## Role Overview

We're seeking a talented web developer to join our team...

## Responsibilities

- Build and maintain websites for partner organizations
- Implement responsive designs using modern frameworks
- Collaborate with design team on UX improvements

## Requirements

- 2+ years of web development experience
- Portfolio of live projects
- Strong problem-solving skills

## What We Offer

- Competitive salary
- Flexible remote work
- Professional development opportunities
- Meaningful impact on refugee communities

## How to Apply

Email your CV and portfolio to hiring@techhub.com with subject line 
"Web Developer Application - [Your Name]"

Test & Preview

Start dev server and check your listing:

npm run dev
# Visit: http://localhost:4321/jobs

Job Submission Flow

Employers can submit jobs via /jobs/post:

Fill Form: Enter job details through web interface
Submit: Form data sent to admin email
Review: Admin verifies and creates job listing file
Publication: Job appears on the board within 24 hours
Confirmation: Employer receives notification at /jobs/submitted
Applications: Job seekers apply directly via provided contact info

Technical Implementation

Deadline & Expiration Logic

Jobs automatically detect expiration:

src/utils/dateHelpers.ts

export function isJobExpired(deadline: Date): boolean {
  const today = new Date();
  today.setHours(0, 0, 0, 0);
  
  const deadlineDate = new Date(deadline);
  deadlineDate.setHours(0, 0, 0, 0);
  
  return deadlineDate < today;
}

Used in job listings:

Filtering Active Jobs

const allJobs = await getCollection('jobs');

// Filter active jobs (not expired and status is open)
const activeJobs = allJobs.filter(job =>
  job.data.status === 'open' && !isJobExpired(job.data.deadline)
);

Sorting Options

Users can sort by:

Job Sorting

let sortedJobs = [...allJobs];

if (currentSort === 'recent') {
  // Sort by posting date (newest first)
  sortedJobs.sort((a, b) => 
    new Date(b.data.posted).getTime() - new Date(a.data.posted).getTime()
  );
} else if (currentSort === 'deadline') {
  // Sort by deadline (soonest first)
  sortedJobs.sort((a, b) => 
    new Date(a.data.deadline).getTime() - new Date(b.data.deadline).getTime()
  );
}

JobCard Component

Displays job summary with status:

src/components/jobs/JobCard.astro

---
interface Props {
  job: any;
  featured?: boolean;
  isExpired: boolean;
}

const { job, featured = false, isExpired } = Astro.props;
---

<a href={`/jobs/${job.id}`} class="job-card">
  {featured && <span class="badge-featured">Featured</span>}
  {isExpired && <span class="badge-expired">Expired</span>}
  
  <h3>{job.data.title}</h3>
  <p class="organization">{job.data.organization}</p>
  <p class="meta">
    {job.data.type} • {job.data.location}
  </p>
  <p class="description">{job.data.description}</p>
  
  <div class="skills">
    {job.data.skills?.map(skill => (
      <span class="skill-tag">{skill}</span>
    ))}
  </div>
  
  <div class="footer">
    <span class="deadline">
      Deadline: {formatDate(job.data.deadline)}
    </span>
  </div>
</a>

Pagination

Jobs paginated at 6 per page:

Pagination Logic

const jobsPerPage = 6;
const currentPage = Number(Astro.params.page) || 1;
const start = (currentPage - 1) * jobsPerPage;
const end = start + jobsPerPage;
const paginatedJobs = sortedJobs.slice(start, end);
const totalPages = Math.ceil(sortedJobs.length / jobsPerPage);

SEO & Structured Data

Jobs include Schema.org JobPosting markup:

Job Structured Data

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "JobPosting",
  "title": "Content Curator & Editor",
  "description": "Join Dzaleka Digital Heritage as a Content Curator...",
  "datePosted": "2025-03-12",
  "validThrough": "2025-05-12",
  "employmentType": "PART_TIME",
  "hiringOrganization": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Dzaleka Digital Heritage"
  },
  "jobLocation": {
    "@type": "Place",
    "address": {
      "@type": "PostalAddress",
      "addressLocality": "Dzaleka",
      "addressRegion": "Dowa",
      "addressCountry": "Malawi"
    }
  },
  "baseSalary": {
    "@type": "MonetaryAmount",
    "currency": "MWK",
    "value": {
      "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
      "value": 50000,
      "unitText": "MONTH"
    }
  }
}

This enables Google Jobs integration and rich search results.

Job Categories

Supported categories:

business - Administration, management, operations
technology - Software, IT, digital roles
education - Teaching, tutoring, training
healthcare - Medical, nursing, counseling
creative - Design, photography, writing
community - Social work, advocacy, outreach
other - Miscellaneous opportunities

Employment Types

full-time - 40+ hours per week, long-term
part-time - Less than 40 hours per week
contract - Fixed-term project-based work
volunteer - Unpaid community service
internship - Training and learning opportunity

Best Practices

Realistic Deadlines

Give applicants at least 2 weeks to prepare quality applications.

Clear Requirements

Specify must-have vs. nice-to-have skills to avoid discouraging qualified candidates.

Transparent Compensation

Include salary range or stipend amount when possible to save everyone’s time.

Detailed Application Instructions

Clearly state what documents to send and how to submit them.

Common Issues

Job showing as expired but deadline hasn't passed

Check the date format in frontmatter. Must be YYYY-MM-DD:

deadline: 2025-05-12  # Correct
deadline: 12-05-2025  # Wrong - will cause parsing errors

Skills tags not displaying

Skills must be a YAML array with proper indentation:

skills:  # Colon after 'skills'
  - Skill one  # Dash, space, then skill name
  - Skill two
  - Skill three

Job not appearing in active listings

Verify:

status: "open" is set
deadline is in the future
File is saved in src/content/jobs/ directory
Frontmatter YAML is valid (check indentation)

Statistics Dashboard

View job board analytics at /jobs/stats (admin only):

Total active jobs
Jobs by category breakdown
Average time to fill positions
Most in-demand skills
Application trends over time

Jobs About Page

Learn about the job board mission, policies, and tips for job seekers.

Services

Organizations offering employment

E-Learning

Courses to build job skills

Get Started

Core Features

Cultural Heritage

Content Management

Overview

User Experience

Job Discovery

Job Detail Page

Automatic Expiration

Skills-Based Matching

Mobile-Friendly

Zero Cost

Content Schema

Real Example from Source

How to Post a Job

Job Submission Flow

Technical Implementation

Deadline & Expiration Logic

Sorting Options

JobCard Component

SEO & Structured Data

Job Categories

Employment Types

Best Practices

Realistic Deadlines

Clear Requirements

Transparent Compensation

Detailed Application Instructions

Common Issues

Statistics Dashboard

Jobs About Page

Services

E-Learning

​Overview

​User Experience

​Job Discovery

​Job Detail Page

Automatic Expiration

Skills-Based Matching

Mobile-Friendly

Zero Cost

​Content Schema

​Real Example from Source

​How to Post a Job

​Job Submission Flow

​Technical Implementation

​Deadline & Expiration Logic

​Sorting Options

​JobCard Component

​Pagination

​SEO & Structured Data

​Job Categories

​Employment Types

​Best Practices

Realistic Deadlines

Clear Requirements

Transparent Compensation

Detailed Application Instructions

​Common Issues

​Statistics Dashboard

​Related Resources

Jobs About Page

Services

E-Learning

Overview

User Experience

Job Discovery

Job Detail Page

Content Schema

Real Example from Source

How to Post a Job

Job Submission Flow

Technical Implementation

Deadline & Expiration Logic

Sorting Options

JobCard Component

Pagination

SEO & Structured Data

Job Categories

Employment Types

Best Practices

Common Issues

Statistics Dashboard

Related Resources