Volunteer Coordinator At Samos Volunteers

Samos Volunteers (SV) is an independent group of volunteers providing non-formal education, psycho-social support, NFI distribution and hygiene support to people living in the CCAC on Samos.

The Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for our volunteers’ journey, from recruitment, to induction, to timetabling. We typically have a team of 20 – 30 volunteers, made up of external volunteers (who travel to Samos specifically to support us), local volunteers (Samos locals) and community volunteers (who are currently going through the asylum process on the island).

The Volunteer Coordinator takes responsibility for the management of all volunteers, including general well-being and making sure that the organisation’s working values are understood and upheld. Moreover, making the weekly schedule is a major part of the role.

Key Responsibilities

1) Recruitment of Volunteers

• Publishing calls for new volunteers on different volunteering platforms and on SV social media in coordination with the Communications & Advocacy Coordinator;
• Managing the SV recruitment process, interviewing and selecting new external volunteers as well as community volunteers;
• Ensuring the size of the volunteer’s team is optimal to cover all SV’s activities;
• Coordinating with partner organisations supporting our activities through volunteer placements (e.g. Indigo Volunteers and other NGOs on the island);
• Aim towards recruiting a diverse volunteer team.

2) Training and support of volunteers

• Conducting inductions for external and community volunteers;
• Checking up formally and informally on the well-being of new volunteers, external and community volunteers alike;
• Supporting volunteers in creating positive and professional working relationships with other volunteers and ensuring that the Code of Conduct is followed;
• Addressing breaches of the Code of Conduct as part of the Volunteer Committee;
• Acting as a focal point between the organisation and volunteers;

3) Overseeing the Community based approach from a volunteer perspective

• Ensuring the implementation of SV’s community based approach from a volunteer perspective, supported by the MHPSS Coordinator
• ensuring community volunteer substantial participation in the creation, implementation and evaluation of our services, supported by respective coordinators

4) Scheduling of all activities

• Organising and publishing the weekly schedule for volunteers;
• Liaising with other coordinators about the roles and responsibilities of volunteers

5) Volunteer related administration

• Updating the Volunteer Handbook and the application process when necessary;
• Managing the housing allocation and quarantine for the SV shared houses;

Key Requirements

• Minimum commitment of 6 months;
• Aged over 24;
• Previous experience of managing or coaching a group of volunteers and/or working with vulnerable people, ideally in the refugee context in Greece
• Highly organised and excellent volunteer management skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, ability to interact with various actors and express ideas and concepts in written and oral form;
• An understanding of the complexity and challenges of humanitarian work, ideally with experience in a similar organisation or environment;
• Fluent in written and spoken English;
• Flexibility. Living and working on Samos is constantly changing and adapting, and no two days ever look the same. The ability to be adaptable and flexible is extremely important.

Desirable but not mandatory skills, knowledge, experience

• Farsi, Dari, Arabic, Greek or French speakers;
• Good understanding of the asylum process in Greece;
• Awareness of the cultural diversity of the camp community