Job Advert - Volunteer Project Co-ordinator

by Caroline Joyner
(London, UK)

Hi Everyone, I work for a British based expedition company which sends groups of students to Bolivia to do volunteer work. We are currently looking for someone to help our ground staff source and set up new volunteer projects in the La Paz, Yungas and Lake Titacaca regions.

The job advert is below.


If you know anyone please pass this on!

Many thanks

Caroline
(World Challenge Expeditions, UK)


Bolivia Projects Co-ordinator*

*Part-time, Post commences November/December 2016

Small annual remuneration and expense offered*


World Challenge is a school expedition company taking over 10,000 students aged 14-18 years old to over 50 destinations around the world. Typically teams spend 3-4 weeks in a country and take part in community projects, challenging trekking and cultural activities as part of a personal development programme to teach them life skills like teamwork and leadership. In each destination we work with an In Country agent who help us to deliver high quality and safe experiences and are the face of World Challenge on the ground for us.
The cultural immersion or community project phase is increasingly the most important part of our expeditions for students and we are constantly looking to improve the way we work in this area and find new communities who would like to work with us. We pride ourselves on the high quality of our projects and our effective engagement with communities. Currently our projects’ objectives in Bolivia range from rural school classroom building to inner city orphanage interaction. Our teams’ focus is on learning and sharing and our projects explore local development challenges by participating in a projects aimed at meeting an important community need.

Bolivia is a popular destination and we are looking for someone to join our In Country Agent team with specific responsibility for projects. You must be fluent in English & Spanish with a thorough working knowledge of Bolivia and able to provide support to our Expedition Planners based in the UK. Ideally you have worked in the local development arena and have a good understanding of local/national development issues, as well as experience of facilitating groups of volunteers to undertake community work.

You will assist with the planning and safety preparations for projects in certain areas of Bolivia before the teams arrive and should then be available to facilitate projects when teams arrive. Most teams visit between July and August but potentially at any point during the year.

In return, we can offer you a salary based on the number of projects you are required to co-ordinate and basic expenses, and the satisfaction of helping us to provide the experience of a lifetime to our teams of young Challengers.

Assisting our dedicated team of Expedition Planners in the UK with the sourcing, setting up, organisation, and facilitation of both new and existing projects.
• Developing and maintaining links with schools, small communities, government departments, aid agencies, NGOs and other organisations to establish, develop and organise suitable projects for each team.
• Conducting visits to project sites in the lead up to teams’ arrival.
• Carrying out risk assessments at new project sites
• Visiting teams when they arrive at project sites to facilitate their initial orientation and help translate.
• Being in-country and available 24 hours a day while teams are at your project sites to assist with any emergency situations.
• Conducting project quality monitoring and feedback on a contact basis.
Communicating with the UK based team regularly by email and telephone.
Your profile…
• You must be fluent in English (written and spoken) and Spanish and ideally based in either La Paz, Coroico area or the Lake Titicaca area
• Passionate about empowering local communities in Bolivia
• Able to work part-time on top of your current job.
• IT literate with access to a computer, telephone and internet and ideally have access to a vehicle.
• Good knowledge of Bolivia, in particular of areas in and around La Paz, Yungas/Coroico and Copacabana.
• Experience of working with young people and expeditions is preferable.
• Experience within the local development, NGO or volunteering sector is preferable.
• Previous experience of sourcing and organising volunteer projects would be advantageous.
• Willing to travel within Bolivia for research purposes.

To apply, please contact Caroline Joyner at cjoyner@world-challenge.co.uk with a covering letter outlining your interest along with your CV.

Closing date for applications: Thursday 6th November

Skype interviews: 6-12th November. Second round interviews & training (in La Paz): 14-16th November ( La Paz) (Alternatively in Coroico or Copacabana between 16-23rd November)

**Please note dates are subject to changes