Environmental Education Project Coordinator at a Peruvian NGO

The HELP Environment Coordinator is one of the four Project Coordinator Roles available at OCN. Your role as HELP Environment Coordinator is to plan and update the OCN environment curriculum, including planning weekly environmental education classes for the children at the Recreational and Educational Centre (REC) in Cerrito de la Virgen. You will be in charge of delivering the classes, as well as briefing and leading a team of supporting volunteers. Additionally, you will organise the monthly beach clean as part of our 'Yo Cuido Mi Playa campaign'. We also encourage you to come up with your own ideas for the project (for example, previous volunteers have implemented composting and hydroponic garden projects).

As a hands-on role, this position involves much more exposure to the Spanish language than some of our office roles, so it would be a great opportunity for Spanish-speaking volunteers or those looking to improve their Spanish language skills. 

In this role, you will work under the supervision of the REC Coordinator and Program Manager.

Running the HELP Environment project only requires a few hours a week, so, for the rest of your time, you will act as a multi-project volunteer. This will give you the chance to work on various other projects within the OCN portfolio to top up your hours to around 25 hours/week. Potential activities include: HELP English; HELP Youth; HELP Literacy; Global Glow (girls' education and empowerment); REC homework support sessions; English classes at the library; English classes at the American School in Trujillo; English classes at María del Socorro primary school; helping out at Huanchaquito dog shelter; playground renovation at Casita de Madera pre-school; assisting with taking inventory at the library. 

This position is a fantastic opportunity for individuals who want to work with children while also gaining an insight into the world of NGOs. Also, living in Huanchaco, a small surf town not far from the city of Trujillo, will give you the chance to immerse yourself in another culture and meet lots of new people.

For students, all volunteer positions are available as internships, which is ideal for students looking to complete a year in industry/placement abroad. In this case, you will receive an extra level of mentorship and all appropriate communication with your academic institution to ensure compliance with internship placement requirements. 

Responsibilities:

• Plan and update the HELP Environment curriculum.
• Deliver environmental education lessons to the children at the REC.
• Maintain and update all material related to the Environment program.
• Register the children's attendance and ensure that we have their emergency contact details. 
• Write weekly reports and monthly reviews on the project progress and impact, to be shared with REC Coordinator and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer. 
• Organise the monthly 'Yo Cuido Mi Playa' beach clean.
• Participate in weekly REC meetings with the other HELP Project Coordinators and REC Coordinator/Program Manager. 
• Be creative in coming up with new ideas and policies to improve the program.

Requirements:

• Age 18+ on arrival
• Current background check from your home country.
• Minimum intermediate Spanish preferred*
• Practical experiences and/or knowledge in the field of Environment
• Experience of teaching or working with children desirable.
• Leadership skills
• Ability to cope with active children
• Flexible, responsible and open-minded personality

*If you want to improve your Spanish, we can arrange Spanish classes for you in advance (by Skype) or during your stay.

Time commitment:

• Placements can last from 2-12 months, giving you the flexibility to choose between spending a full year/academic year with us, just one semester, or even a summer internship. This makes our opportunities ideal for students looking to gain professional experience during a year in industry or language-based placement abroad.
• Long-term volunteers are preferred, so you have a chance to really get to know the community and get comfortable in your role. 
• Total 25 hours per week, Mon-Fri: 5-10 hours in this lead role, in addition to 15-20 hours spent on other activities.

What you can expect from us:

• Personal pick-up upon arriving and walking tour through Huanchaco
• Help with organising accommodation for your time in Huanchaco
• A thorough introduction to the organization 
• Certified training in First Aid and Child Safeguarding.
• 2 days holiday per month
• 24/7 emergency support 
• Organized activities (barbeques, game nights, volunteer lunch etc.)
• Certificate of completion detailing your role, the project(s) you participated in and the dates you volunteered in.

A typical day in the role:

The OCN recreational centre (REC) opens from Monday-Wednesday and on Fridays, from 3-5pm. Each day is designated to a different project, with HELP English taking place on a Monday. You will be expected to plan/update the curriculum and lesson plans each week, which you can do during normal office hours (9am-5pm). Before each English class, you will meet with the REC Coordinator and a team of supporting volunteers at the OCN volunteer house to brief them on your lesson plan for the day, delegate roles, and answer any questions. You will then get a mototaxi to the REC together and you will lead the class. Although the REC is open from 3-5, some of this time is for the kids to play and socialise, so you will not be expected to plan/lead a two-hour lesson. You will have plenty of opportunities to play and interact with the children we help and create a bond of trust with them. 

Each week, there is also a REC meeting hosted at the volunteer house by a member of our management staff, in which HELP project coordinators and volunteers discuss general issues for the REC, such as discipline and attendance, routines, maintenance etc. 

Every Monday morning, you will attend a general OCN meeting at the volunteer house to discuss any relevant updates and activities for the week, contribute ideas and feedback, and plan out the activity schedule for the week. 

On other 'free' weekdays, you will act as a regular multi-project volunteer, with the opportunity to participate in a selection of other projects (as listed above). If you choose, you can select only the projects that involve teaching English, but you may wish to get involved in other projects too. 

After work, there is plenty of time to catch one of Huanchaco’s world-famous sunsets from the tranquillity of the beach, or indeed from a surfboard. Then there are various options to fill your evening, socializing with local and other volunteers, sampling the famous Peruvian cuisine, attending talks and cultural events, music, dance, theatre, movies- the list is endless.

Note: There is a small fee attached to our volunteering positions to help cover administration and project costs, but we consider this to be much lower than other 'voluntourism' opportunities. Please see our website for more details.