Job
description
Do
you have a passion for and experience in Peru amd Bolivia?
Want to share that
passion while leading a team from bus to hostel, from lake to salt flat? Want
to grow as an individual and as a leader? To do it in a cool, critical way, and
learn and teach modes of ethical, responsible travel? We are a small non-profit
organization looking for experienced leaders, enthusiastic facilitators, fun
storytellers and badass backpackers to
lead our custom Healthcare in
Development Program in February, AND our BRAND NEW program in Peru and Bolivia
in the summer of 2016.
Job
Purpose
Program leaders are
the foundation of our organization. OG program leaders act as educators,
logistics gurus, and local experts for groups of 8-12 people on a trip of a
lifetime! They organize projects and work with our local partners, facilitate
activities over a variety of pertinent topics in ethical travel and
development, help lead treks and hikes, and organize bin bag fashion shows and
city-wide scavenger hunts!
PLs must be
in country at least two weeks before their first program’s official start date.
Duties
and Responsibilities
Custom
Program:
- Runs
from February 13-21st - Must be
on the ground by February 1st for Pre-Con - Must
work in conjunction with the University to delivery a thorough one-week
program in Lima.
Open
Program:
Program Lead-Up
(January – April, remote training):
Starting in
January, program leaders begin their training remotely and, in teams of two,
plan their programs and organize their teams. Most of our program leaders are
students, work full time, or are already on the road. As long as you have
internet access, this can be done from anywhere! Tasks include:
- Assist
with online marketing efforts - Provide
pre-program support and communication with your summer teams - Attend
weekly or bi-weekly training sessions with our Programs Director or
Regional Coordinator - Plan
and submit a budget and itinerary (adapted from last year’s) for the program
on provided due dates - Attend
a four-day leadership retreat outside of Toronto, ON in Jan/Feb 2016
* Workload is
4-8 hours/week on your own time.
On the
Ground (May-August)
Teams fly out in May
to complete two weeks of “preconnaissance” before our participants
arrive and the programs begin. On the ground, you will be responsible for all
the awesome, crazy things that come up when traveling abroad (with the support
of your co-program leader and OGHQ) including, but not limited to:
- Running
two, 40-day programs with groups of 8-12 participants aged 18-30. - Performing
risk assessments and regular safety checks - Organizing
logistics for your teams (accommodation, transportation, food, etc.) - Planning
and implementing program budgets - Delegating
Community Contribution donations - Organizing
volunteer projects and/or program support with local partners - Positively
and actively facilitating discussions and organized learning - Running
group activities and multi-day trips - Communicating
regularly with OGHQ (blogs, regular check-ins, final reports, etc.) - Showing
your team a side of the city/village/bus system they’d never see without
you!
What’s
in it for you?
Operation
Groundswell Program Leaders will:
- Gain
crucial and marketable leadership skills from our PL Training Program - Receive
training in the Experiential Education model in action at our Leadership
Retreat - Receive
training in marketing,group management, program planning and coordination,
partner relations and project management, budget building and tracking,
and how to make pooing your pants cool. - Receive
experienced support in ,all of the above while on-the-ground in the summer
- Have
access to OG’s partners and partnerships worldwide - Receive
$1,000 Stipend upon completion of the trip - Receive
Wilderness First Aid Training - Have
costs covered to and from the starting point of your program (Round-trip
flights if you don’t live in your country of work) - Have
in-country costs covered while running programming - Eat
unlimited beans and rice! - Experience
an opportunity of a lifetime, and see the country you love within a whole
new light. - Guide a
team of amazing people into the world of ethical travel! - Grow
within the Operation Groundswell organization
Program
Leader Qualifications
The following
criteria must be met before being considered for this position. As an OG
program leader, you must:
- Be over
18 years of age - Have a
passion for social change and desire to work with international service
organizations - Have
intimate knowledge of your region (I.e. have traveled and/or lived there) - Have
experience and/or competency dealing with emergency (medical and
emotional/mental) situations - Display
strong written and verbal communication skills (English) - Have
sufficient local language skills to: hustle for grouptransportation,
bargain for sweet deals, meet with our partners and planning/budgeting
projects, translate in community meetings or guided excursions (if
applicable), deal with any medical or general emergency - Have a
range of group leadership experience and ability to: - Facilitate
meaningful discussions and group activities, integrating OG’s Core
Curriculum and region-specific activities - Create
planned and spontaneous opportunities for learning experience - Support
conflict resolution and group cohesion - Be a
badass traveler, think on the fly, and get into the local scene with ease
How
to apply
To
apply, please complete the following:
1) Fill out the Application Form
2) Please send an
email with the following subject line: FirstLastname_PLAPP. The email should
contain:
- Cover
Letter: Titled: FirstLast_LETTER. Why Operation Groundswell? Why are you
interested in leading a program? What leadership experience do you have?
What else would you like us to know about you? Please keep cover letters
to one (1) page and for the love of Pete don’t just reiterate your entire
resume. - Resume:
Titled: FirstLast_RESUME. List your recent and applicable work/volunteer
experiences.
3) One of your
favourite travel photos of yourself. (No, this isn’t a part of our screening
process! We get a lot of applicants and literally need to keep faces to names!
We also just love seeing you having fun!)
Please address all
emails to:
jobs@operationgroundswell.com
*APPLICATION
DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 15!!
