ESC vacancy at SPEA, Lisbon, Portugal

Associação Spin, acting as the Coordinating organization, is currently looking for 1 ESC  volunteer for a ESC project with our local partner, Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves, starting in November, 2019!

Hosting: SPEA
Coordinator: Associação Spin
Activity start date: 1st November 2019
Activity end date: 31st October 2020
Activity duration: 12 months
Vacancies: 1 (for residents in EU or EFTA countries)
Application deadline: 8th Spetember, 2019 (extended)
Application consists of: Filling this google form + CV and project ­specific motivation letter
Application sent to: evs.spea@a-spin.pt

The Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds is a non­-governmental non-­profit environment organization that promotes the study and conservation of birds and their habitats in Portugal, funded in 1993. It is the Portuguese member of BirdLife International.

PROPOSED ACTIVITIES:

The volunteer will be mostly involved in environmental education actions (around 75% of the time), and conservation work (around 25%), integrated in several different projects of 2 SPEA departments (Environmental Citizenship Dep. and Terrestrial Conservation Dep.), with a diversity of tasks including:

– Environmental education: support the preparation and realization of actions for schools – for students and/or teachers (including preparation of materials, etc);
– Events: support to the organization of events for the general public (e.g. nature days; nature festivals), including  birdwatching activities;
– Field work: bird surveys/census; prospection of birds under powerlines, etc.;
– Office work: database input; data analysis (with Excel, ArcGIS, etc), etc.;
– Support other staff members of SPEA with their projects;

SPEA intends to support the volunteers to create their own events or
initiatives, in accordance with their principles and upon Board’s approval.

LOGISTICS & PRACTICAL INFO:

• Accommodation – Coordinating & hosting organization, Associação Spin, will provide the lodging in a flat as close to the office and the city center as possible. If the apartment is located in the city center, the volunteers will spend around 35 minutes to reach the working place. The volunteers will have to share the room with another volunteer/student/young person (room and connected expenses are paid by Associação Spin). They may also – if so wished by the volunteer – receive a monthly accommodation allowance and be solely responsible for finding and paying for their own accommodation.
• Food & transportation – A monthly allowance of 180€ will be provided by Associação Spin to cover food expenses and local public transportation.
• Pocket money – Every month the volunteer will receive 150€ as pocket money.
• Working hours – The volunteers are expected to spend 30-35 hours a week working. The daily timetable includes time for language learning, lunch, social activities and development of own project ideas, etc.
• Days off – Volunteers are entitled to two days off per week (usually on Saturday and Sunday) as well as 2 extra days of vacation for every month of their voluntary work.

VOLUNTEERS’ PROFILE: WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

We are looking for young motivated volunteers aged 18-30, open minded, eager to learn about new cultures and lifestyles, as well as to participate in the project activities. It is not required to have any particular degree of formal education, but to have positive and proactive attitude, show tolerance, flexibility, motivation and enthusiasm. In this project, patience and the capacity to work in a team will be highly appreciated. We encourage applications especially from youngsters who already have some experience in volunteering or in working with environment related issues, namely
environmental education, available to commit to a long term experience of volunteer work abroad and willing to know more about the work developed in ornithology and environmental preservation in Portugal. Any knowledge of Portuguese is a plus, however it is not a requirement.

All candidates must be registered with the European Solidarity Corps.

SELECTION PROCESS:

In order to be considered for the vacancies, each candidate has to fulfill this Google form and send  (in only 1 single e-mail):

1. up-to-date CV,
2. project-specific Motivation Letter

The complete applications (CV + project-specific Motivation Letter) should be sent to evs.spea@a-spin.pt no later than September, 8th 2019.

Final remarks (please read carefully):

• only candidates from or residing in EU or EFTA may apply;
• please make sure you are registered with the European Solidarity Corps;
• we only accept complete applications that contain all the required documents;
• due to the high number of candidates, we are only able to contact the short-listed candidates (in order to invite them for a brief Skype interview);
• all the other candidates will be informed about the selection results by September, 25th through our website.

GOOD LUCK!