Madagascar: Volunteer Coordinator and Logistics Officer

An incredible in-country field and office placement with leading Development and Conservation NGO in southeast Madagascar

Title: Volunteer & Logistics Intern; change of title and responsibilities to Volunteer and Logistics Officer following successful completion of probationary period**

Probationary Period: 3 Months

Contract type: One year, voluntary post (food and transport paid in the field)

Location: Anosy Region, Madagascar

Reporting to: Director of Programmes and Operations

Position Overview:

The role of Volunteer and Logistics Intern/Officer offers the right candidate a unique and exciting opportunity to work across both field and office environments providing planning, logistical and pastoral support to all of SEED Madagascar’s volunteers. The officer will work alongside both local and International teams based in the town of Fort Dauphin and also spend time in the field in basic rural conditions in the beautiful area of Anosy, southeast Madagascar.

The role of the intern/officer is to ensure the smooth functioning of SEED’s short-term programmes, acting as a key liaison between project and volunteering teams in both the field and the office base, to provide logistical support for all long-term volunteers and to ensure that programmes are marketed and externally visible.

Duties and responsibilities:

Pioneer and Short term construction volunteers (Office based):

• Working alongside the Volunteering and Project teams to plan the Pioneer and short termers schedule
• Co-ordinate with project teams and write project summaries of each project to be undertaken, including their rational and impact, as well providing a general overview of SEED Madagascar's work
• Work alongside the London and Madagascar based teams providing support to volunteers prior to departure
• Conduct welcome talks, orientations and activity briefings to ensure volunteers are fully informed about project work, local culture etc.
• Update and review all volunteer information including orientation guide, orientation talks and all documentation in the Co-ordinator’s file
• Lead on social media content for the programmes including pioneer blogs, collation of photographs and video
• Support the London team with marketing the programmes
• Provide feedback and copy for reports from the field-based projects to the project teams within the office
• Work alongside the project development team in monitoring and evaluating projects
• Lead on the collection, analysis and dissemination of feedback from the programmes
• Ensure all handbooks, procedures and risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated
• Work with the Head of Construction to maintain tools database for the programmes
• Maintain tent log and the restocking of equipment as required

Pioneer and Short term construction volunteers (Field based):

• Settle volunteers into work in the field placements, working alongside the team leader to ensure successful communication between volunteers, project teams, guides and the construction team (including debriefs and feedback sessions)
• Ensure support and care are provided to maintain the physical and mental welfare of volunteers
• Provide guidance and intervention to ensure all staff and volunteers act in a positive and culturally/ environmentally sensitive way
• Ensure risk assessments are in place for each activity
• Ensure social media content for the programmes including pioneer blogs, collation of photographs and video is collected

Long term Volunteer Liaison:

• Provide logistical support with hotels, flights, accommodation once arrived, etc. for new volunteers
• Provide information and advice on a range of pre-departure considerations including health, packing, visas
• Work within a team providing initial settling-in support including airport pick-up and orientation
• Provide support with all recruitment of long term staff and volunteers, including sourcing partnerships
• Support in reporting to local authorities on all long term volunteers
• Maintain all long term volunteer databases

Person Specification:

Practical requirements:

• Have a positive disposition and be able to motivate teams of volunteers
• Be physically and psychologically robust and able to cope with isolated conditions
• Have experience of or ability to develop marketing skills

Attitude and aptitude:

• Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to SEED Madagascar’s ethos and approach and be a good ambassador for SEED Madagascar at all times
• Have passion, curiosity and motivation for the job and the ability to enthuse others
• Have a very positive and engaging approach to working with volunteers at all times
• Have the ability and desire to work with teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers
• Have the ability and desire to build capacity and share skills across cultures
• Demonstrate proven ability to recognise and appropriately deal with challenging situations
• Demonstrate an awareness of and comfort with increased social and professional responsibility, working at all times with cultural sensitivity and respect
• Demonstrate the ability, social skills and confidence to give clear guidance and support to other members of the team in respect of the philosophy and procedures of SEED Madagascar in order to protect both their safety and the reputation of the NGO
• Be punctual and be able to work to tight deadlines in an organised manner and to a high standard
• Have a flexible and patient attitude with excellent problem-solving skills
• Be able to work both independently and as part of a team

Practicalities:

The ideal candidate will:

• Be able to financially support themselves for the duration of their contract
• Hold a recent, valid first aid certificate
• Have a suitable laptop computer (non-tablet) and tent

Organisational background:

SEED Madagascar is an award-winning British registered charity (number 1079121) partnered with an independent Malagasy NGO. SEED Madagascar works within Fort Dauphin and surrounding rural communities across the Anosy region of south east Madagascar. SEED Madagascar aims to alleviate extreme poverty and protect unique biodiverse but greatly endangered forest environments by empowering the poorest people to meet their basic needs, improve their health and well-being, and establish sustainable livelihoods for themselves. At the heart of SEED Madagascar’s work is an integrated approach to community development and environmental conservation, sensitively built around what are directly expressed as the most pressing needs of the local population and which maximises their participation. Project activities are focused on the fields of health and sanitation, livelihood diversification, and natural resource management as priority intervention areas for the region identified with the participation of local communities. All projects align with and contribute to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people have benefited from SEED Madagascar’s projects over the past decade.

SEED Madagascar has almost 20 years of project experience in the Anosy region, during which time the organisation has grown hugely in size and reputation. SEED Madagascar employs 3 staff members in the London office who are responsible for strategic planning, financial management, international awareness raising, fundraising, and promoting SEED Madagascar's international volunteer schemes. The Madagascar office now employs over 40 Malagasy personnel, who are supported in-country by 4 expatriate permanent staff of SEED and through a network of international specialist volunteers sourced by SEED Madagascar. The NGO currently works across three rural and one urban commune within Anosy, and is a recognised regional specialist at community capacity building. SEED Madagascar has funding relationships with numerous donors including Comic Relief, AusAID and the Big Lottery Fund, and collaboration agreements with government ministries, international NGOs including CARE International and agencies such as the World Food Programme.

Application procedure:

Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter outlining how their skills and experience match the requirements in the job description criteria to SEED Madagascar Director of Programmes and Operations, Lisa Bass, by email on lisa@seedmadagascar.org

Short-listed applicants will have an initial informal skype chat with Madagascar based staff and a face-to-face interview with the London team, including the Managing Director, Mark Jacobs, in person.

Applications deadline: Ideal start from June 2017 onwards, recruitment ongoing until right candidate is found.