Volunteer coordinator Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières

Title: Volunteer Coordinator (4 positions)
Department: A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City exhibit
Reports to: Administrative Coordinator
Position Status: PT, Temporary, Volunteer, Unpaid
Locations: St. John’s, Halifax, Moncton, Québec (different volunteer coordinator needed for each location)

Context:
In the fall of 2011, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) will bring the Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City exhibit to Eastern Canada on a four-city tour. The goal of the exhibit is to raise awareness about the plight of the world’s 43 million refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) uprooted by war and conflict.
The Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City exhibit is an outdoor reconstruction of an actual refugee camp, where experienced MSF staff (doctors, nurses, logisticians) guide visitors through a 40 to 60 minute interactive tour explaining the crucial elements for survival in a refugee or IDP crisis. During the tour, each visitor will learn some of the challenges a refugee or IDP faces in trying to access food, shelter, water and medical care.
The Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City was first launched in France in 1995, and has toured in more than 15 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. The 2008 and 2010 editions in Western and Central Canada attracted more than 33,000 visitors. MSF expects to attract more than 15,000 visitors throughout the four-city tour of Eastern Canada this year.
The exhibit will be open to the public on the following dates:
St John’s: September 8 – 11
Halifax: September 15 – 18
Moncton: September 22 – 25
Québec: September 29 -October 2

Objective:
MSF seeks four highly motivated Volunteer Coordinators, one for each city on its four-city tour. The Volunteer Coordinator will help recruit, train and supervise ten on-site volunteers. These volunteers will assist the tour guides and other event staff with general logistics before, during and after the event in order to ensure that visitors’ needs are suitably accommodated and that the objectives of the event are successfully met. Based on the attendance in 2008 and 2010, it is expected that approximately 4,000 individuals will tour the exhibit in each city, therefore the coordination of the on-site volunteers is an important part of the event.

Responsibilities:
The Volunteer Coordinator:
– gives feedback on the list of (school/community) groups being invited to the exhibit and/or suggests additional groups to be invited.
– finds local volunteers who can help during the exhibit (set-up, breakdown, welcoming of groups etc.). In coordination with the administrative coordinator, the volunteer coordinator provides a briefing to the on-site volunteers
– assists with the logistics of setting up and breaking down the event
– helps promote the event by:
o identifying locations/local events to be used/contacted for promotion of the event
o assisting in distributing promotion material in the weeks leading up to the event
– gives feedback on local options for advertisement, accommodation, catering, etc. (as listed by the coordination team) and suggests additional options.

QUALIFICATIONS
– Previous coordination of volunteers and/or the organization of events is preferred
– Excellent interpersonal and oral communication skills, organizational skills
– Available at the event location during the exhibit and during the set-up/breakdown (1 day before, 1 day after the event). The person should be in or near the city in the weeks leading up to the event.
– Familiarity with the local area, knowledge of available local resources and services is essential
– Knowledge of and interest in refugee issues and the humanitarian aid sector. Fluency in English essential in St. John’s, Halifax and Moncton. Fluency in French essential in Moncton and Québec.
– Experience or familiarity with MSF is an asset
– Last but not least…. highly motivated and enthusiastic

INFORMATION:
This is an unpaid volunteer position, requiring a commitment of 6 days from the volunteer coordinator.

APPLICATION:
For more information on the exhibit please visit http://www.refugeecamp.ca. for more information about Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) please visit http://www.msf.ca
Interested candidates should submit a letter of motivation and CV to Sean Gallagher at sean.gallagher@msf.org. Only electronic applications will be accepted. The deadline for applications is June 3rd, 2011.