Programme Officer - Long term (6 months+) volunteer position supporting education and youth empowerment NGO in Honduras

ABOUT EDUCATE.

educate. is a grassroots non-profit organisation that works to empower children and young people in Honduras through supporting community-driven initiatives focused on education.

Honduras has the highest rate of economic inequality in Latin America, and over 60% of the population live in poverty. Only half of all students carry on their education past 6th grade, and the prospect of university is off the cards for most of the country's youth. Without opportunities to study, young people are disproportionately affected by the country's debilitating poverty, overwhelming violence and systematic inequality. educate. provides opportunities for ambitious, high-potential youth from low-income backgrounds to pursue secondary and tertiary education, and we work to support locally led spaces of community engagement.

In the rural coffee-growing department of Trinidad, Santa Barbara we run a Youth Center and Public Library, a high school and university scholarship programme, and ongoing leadership and youth empowerment programmes on themes such as arts, computer literacy, environmental protection, gender and sexual health and rights, and communication and storytelling, as well as peer-to-peer mentorship and tutoring.

In a country deeply affected by political and social crises, educate. believes in the power of young people to drive long-lasting change in their communities.

WHAT DOES VOLUNTEERING AT EDUCATE. INVOLVE?

We are looking for a long-term volunteer (minimum 6 months) to come and work with us in Honduras as an integral part of our team on the ground. You’ll be involved in running programmes with and for our community of local youth, supporting with fundraising and project administration, carrying out impact assessments, and seeing the direct impacts of your work throughout your time with us. We can also provide university credit as an internship.

Main activities will include:   

• Teaching and organizing activities and trainings with children and youth at the educate. Youth Center. This can be around arts, theatre, sports, environment, gender, creative writing or other themes, depending on your area of expertise.
• Visiting and working with our network of primary schools in the surrounding villages to lead activities in the educate. libraries
• Supporting our impact measurement processes by visiting communities to carry out surveys and interviews with project participants such as students and families at our network of libraries.
• Help write fundraising applications and grants for educate.’s scholarship programme, Youth Center programmes and library initiatives (primarily in English but possibly in Spanish as well) and developing narrative reports about projects happening in Honduras to share with donors.
• Support with the organization and carrying out of monthly “Literacy Day” events, organized together with teachers at the educate. libraries and at the Youth Center.
• Support with the communication of educate.’s work through developing articles, blog posts, video and other creative media.

Volunteers work an average of 35-40 hours per week and have 2 days off per week, as well as at least 2 weeks of holidays every 90 days for travel/visa runs.

We are flexible when it comes to starting dates, but need at least 1-2 months’ notice.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for someone who is interested in both the hands-on (teaching, running activities with youth, working in rural communities and getting your hands dirty etc.) as well as the more “behind the scenes” work (project administration, grant writing etc.) that goes into running impactful programmes on the ground in the contexts where we work.

You’d be perfect if you:

• Are 22 years or older
• Speak Spanish
• Have a strong interest in international development issues and their social, economic and political complexities, as well as in education and youth empowerment issues.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a strong sense of integrity and personal ethics
• Proactive, can-do attitude, open to learning from others, and ability to work as part of a young, dynamic and diverse team
• Preferred: Have some experience working with NGOs, e.g., in project management, youth programmes, advocacy, fundraising etc.
• Preferred: Have a degree in international development, political science, education or similar

We require volunteers to provide proof of travel and medical insurance (volunteers must arrange this themselves), and a criminal record check. All volunteers must also be willing to sign and abide by our Code of Conduct and Child Safeguarding Policy.

WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF IT

We see our volunteers as an integral part of our team, and we believe that volunteering should be as much about personal learning and development as it is about participating in and supporting educate.'s work. A long-term placement is an opportunity to develop your skillset, meaningfully contribute to a community, learn about a new culture, and gain international experience. We will ensure you receive training and ongoing mentorship and support throughout your time with us as part of our team, so that you have the best experience possible.

We cover room and board for our long-term volunteers, as well as any work-related travel costs (e.g. a moto taxi to a nearby village to visit a library project), so you have no core expenses while you are here.

WHERE WOULD YOU BE BASED?

The town where we are based is called Trinidad, it’s the center of a municipality of the same name, in the department of Santa Barbara. It’s a beautiful, mountainous area, with a local economy mostly based on agriculture (primarily corn, beans and coffee) and shoemaking. There’s great coffee, lots of good street food, and it’s a very artistic, cultural area with active theatre, painting and dance groups, as well as local sports teams, so there is plenty to get involved in! 

You will be based at the educate. Youth Center where we run activities with children and youth from across the municipality. We also have a network of schools where we have supported libraries in the surrounding villages, so some days will involve taking a bus or 'moto taxi' to visit these schools as well. You'll have a weekly routine, but every day is different, depending on the activities taking place. Some days will be very hands-on leading trainings and workshops with groups of students, and other days will be quieter and might involve tutoring, helping out in the library, some grant writing work on your laptop, or working on a blog post for the website. 

Trinidad is also well connected to the beautiful city of Santa Barbara (40 mins by bus) and the bustling industrial capital of San Pedro Sula (1.5 hours by bus), so weekend trips to other parts of the country are very possible!