ESC vacancy at SPEA, Lisbon, Portugal

Associação Spin, acting as the Coordinating organization, is currently looking for 1 ESC volunteer for 1 project with our local partner, Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves, starting in October 2024!

Hosting Organisation: SPEA
Supporting Organisation: Associação Spin
Activity start date: 1st October 2024
Activity end date: 30th September 2025
Activity duration: 12 months
Vacancies: 1 (open to residents in EU or EFTA countries)
Application deadline: 15th July 2024
Application consists of: filling this Google form + CV and project ­specific motivation letter
Application sent to: esc.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:

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

The volunteer will be mostly involved in environmental education actions (around 50% of the time), and biological conservation work – on the field and at the office (around 50%), integrated in several different projects of SPEA’s Conservation Departament – Terrestrial Area, with a diversity of tasks including:

– Environmental education: support the preparation and realization of actions for schools (at schools and field visits) – for students and/or teachers (including preparation of materials, etc);
– Events: support the organization of events for the general public (e.g. nature days), including birdwatching activities;
– Field work: bird surveys/census, prospection of birds under powerlines, etc;
– Office work: database input; data analysis (with Excel, QGIS, 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:

• Travel cost – The two-way travel (from place of residence to Lisbon and back) will be reimbursed up to the limit given by the distance band of the place of residence, according with ESC rules;
• Accommodation – Coordinating & hosting organization, Associação Spin, will provide the lodging in a flat as close to the office and the city centre as possible with all expenses included. If the apartment is located in the city centre, 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. 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 in Lisbon.
• Food & transportation – A monthly allowance will be provided to cover food expenses (180€) and  local public transportation in Lisbon (30€). While doing field work, food, accommodation and transportation will be provided by SPEA.
• Pocket money – Every month the volunteers will receive 180€ 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, sometimes in a isolated Island environment, 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 with birds (e.g. birdwatching), environmental education, simple design (e.g. CANVAS) and GIS software, 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 fill 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 esc.spea@a-spin.pt no later than July 15th 2024.

Final remarks (please read carefully):

• this is an open call with no assigned sending/supporting organization (we will partner up with the sending organization of the selected volunteer);
• only candidates residing in EU or EFTA countries may apply 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 August 15^th through our website.

GOOD LUCK!