Senior Program Officer, Recruitment & Mobilization (Youth Stream)

[Keli Villoz - WUSC]

POSITION TITLE: Senior Program Officer, Recruitment & Mobilization (Youth Stream)

POSITION LOCATION: Ottawa, ON, Canada  

REPORTS TO: Manager, Volunteer Mobilization

CONTRACT TERM: Indeterminate

POSITION LEVEL: PRO 2 ($56k to $65.300k)

DEADLINE TO APPLY: May 16, 2021  

BACKGROUND

WUSC (World University Service of Canada) is a Canadian non-profit organization working to create a better world for all young people. We bring together a diverse network of students, volunteers, schools, governments, and businesses who share this vision. Together, we develop solutions in education, economic opportunities, and empowerment to overcome inequality and exclusion for youth around the world, particularly young women and young refugees. WUSC currently works in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $40 million. We have over 90 staff in our Ottawa office, and over 200 people overseas implementing 16 development projects in collaboration with donors such as Global Affairs Canada, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the African Development Bank.  

Volunteering for development is one of the important ways in which WUSC pursues its mission. WUSC’s Volunteer Cooperation Program (VCP) has ambitious targets to mobilize hundreds of skilled Canadian volunteers each year to support partners in developing countries where we are working to advance gender equality and facilitate economic opportunities for poor and marginalized young people, especially young women and refugees. Overseas, our volunteers collaborate with a wide variety of partners, including enterprise and social enterprise development incubators, skills training centres, enterprises, women's organizations, and youth groups. In Canada, WUSC works with institutions and individuals to identify, prepare, and support volunteers who travel overseas to support our partners for various durations of time. Our network in Canada also works with WUSC to raise awareness among Canadians to inspire greater action on global development issues. Our collective focus is on sustainable and inclusive changes to create a better world for youth.  

RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the supervision of the Manager Volunteer Mobilization, the Senior Program Officer, Recruitment & Mobilization Officer (Youth Stream), will be responsible for the implementation of the Youth Volunteer Stream of the WUSC Volunteer Cooperation Project, youth volunteer recruitment, mobilization and volunteer journey coordination, the coordination of Canadian institutional partnerships, planning and coordination of the annual International Seminar and other related duties.  

More specifically, the Senior Program Officer, Recruitment & Mobilization will be responsible for:  

 Youth Stream Coordination, Volunteer Recruitment and Mobilization

• Contribute to the development of the Youth Volunteer stream annual work plan;
• Develop volunteer profiles, based on Volunteer Cooperation Project programming and according to partners’ needs, to contribute to IGNI+E objectives and   country program partners;
• Collaborate with WUSC Country teams to develop and review volunteer assignments for youth volunteers that correspond to the skills and experience of volunteers while meeting the needs of country partners;
• Support Canadian partner organizations in the recruitment of volunteers and presentation of current opportunities;
• Evaluate and pre-select candidates, conduct formal interviews and share the selected volunteer profiles with country teams for final approval;
• Support recruited volunteers through the pre-assignment volunteer journey steps;
• In collaboration with the Training Team, coordinate and co-facilitate youth volunteer training as required;  
• Contribute to continuing assessment process for student volunteers;  
• In collaboration with the WUSC Country teams, the Volunteer Support Advisor (VSA) and the institutional partner, ensure ongoing communications with youth volunteers throughout the volunteer assignment;  
• Provide volunteer management and engagement support to WUSC Country teams, the VSA and the institutional partner as required;  
• Contribute reporting requirements (e.g. annual reports, board reports, project reports).

Coordination of Canadian Institutional Partnerships  

• Collaborate with Canadian institutional partners in the development and implementation of the youth stream of the volunteer cooperation project, including the preparation and signing of MoUs;  
• Collaborate with institutional partners on the volunteer recruitment process;
• Participate as a WUSC representative during special events with Canadian academic institutions;  
• In collaboration with institutional partners, complete debriefing with youth volunteers post-assignment and share lessons learned and recommendations with the volunteer cooperation program team and with institutional partners;
• Review existing partnerships and seek out new partnership opportunities with academic institutions for the youth stream as required.

Coordination of the International Seminar

• Lead the coordination of the annual International Seminar including, but not limited to, developing the concept note, collaborating with WUSC Country teams, collaborating with institutional partners in Canada, coordinating consultants and other WUSC internal staff contributors, recruiting Canadian participants, and drafting the budget;  
• In collaboration with WUSC Country team and the Manager, Volunteer Mobilization and the Manager, Public Engagement, design the goals, theme and activities;
• In collaboration with Communications & Philanthropy Team, manage the development of communication materials and documents – partnership and sponsor focused, participant focused, recruitment materials;  
• In collaboration with the WUSC Country Team,   promote, pre-select, interview, and recruit the international coordinators and participants of the International Seminar;  
• Work in partnership with the training team to create a pre-departure training that is relevant to the International Seminar;
• Monitor activities of the Seminar and support final reporting.

Other related duties:  

• Provide support to the Recruitment Team with other volunteer streams recruitment and mobilization responsibilities;
• Contribute to the development, implementation and review of team systems, processes and tools;
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date data and documentation in the Information Management Systems;
• Other related duties as required.

Qualifications and Competencies

Education: Bachelor’s degree or other qualification in a related discipline

Experience & Competencies:  

• At least 3 years of professional experience in volunteer recruitment, human resources, project management or other related experience;

• Experience working internationally;
• Sound judgement, entrepreneurial spirit and experience in business/partnership development and management;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and capacity to work in partnership with different cultural groups, staff and volunteers;  
• Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize tasks and handle multiple initiatives simultaneously;
• Experience managing events, virtual events an asset;
• Understanding of cross cultural communication and intercultural adaptation;
• Understanding of the approach to gender equality and the values of international volunteering;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Languages: Bilingual English/French (fluency essential).

Travel: Occasional travel in Canadaand internationally.  

WHY WORK WITH WUSC?

Join Us. Our work is important, cutting-edge, and fast-paced. We encourage curiosity, innovation, and flexibility, and we provide a phenomenal learning experience.  

WUSC offers a dynamic international work environment with a diverse intercultural workforce. We offer employees exciting opportunities to apply their skills and gain experience all while making a difference in the lives of youth around the world. Employees at WUSC work hard to create lasting change in education, economic opportunities and empowerment.

The WUSC office is in centrally located Hintonburg in Ottawa. Currently WUSC team members   are working remotely. WUSC offers flexible working arrangements, competitive benefits, four weeks of annual leave (for full-time employees), safe and healthy working conditions, and fair compensation. Click here to learn more about WUSC Top 100 Employers of National Capital Region 2021.   

APPLICATIONS

WUSC’s activities seek to balance inequities and create sustainable development around the globe; the work ethic of our staff, volunteers, representatives and partners shall correspond to the values and mission of the organization. WUSC promotes responsibility, respect, honesty, and professional excellence and we will not tolerate harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation or abuse of any form. Successful applicants will be required to undertake an enhanced criminal record check where appropriate.

WUSC is an equal opportunity employer.   We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.   Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No telephone calls please.

If you wish to apply for this position, please follow this link to register on WUSC’s candidate database.