ESC vacancy at Crescer, Lisbon, Portugal

Associação Spin, acting as the Coordinating organization, is currently looking for 1 ESC volunteer for a project with our local partner Crescer, starting in March 2021!

Hosting: Crescer
Activity start date: 1st March, 2021
Activity end date: 31st October 2021
Activity duration: 8 months
Vacancies: 1 (resident in an EU or EFTA countries)
Application deadline: 24th January 2021
Application consists of: filling this Google form + CV, project-specific motivation letter, presentation about Crescer (more information below)
Application sent to: evs.crescermaior@a-spin.pt

Crescer  – Community Intervention Association, implements and develops several projects in the urban area of Lisbon and Tagus Valley. All of the projects have a main goal – to intervene with the most vulnerable populations, helping them to improve their life conditions, addressing both social and health areas. The vision of Crescer is to become a national reference organization in promoting community integration of the most vulnerable populations and our mission is to promote health, harm reduction and community integration of the most vulnerable populations – drug users, homeless people, sex workers, people in a fragile socioeconomic situation, refugees – through community intervention projects.

In this ESC project the volunteer will be integrated in the project É UMA RUA – South Center Lisbon. This project aims to promote public and individual health among people who are in a homeless situation, providing them with an effective response adapted to their needs.

PROPOSED ACTIVITIES:

-Take part of the “Street’s teams” in daily routes which encompass several parishes of the city in order to encounter and support beneficiares;
– Support the Coordinating team  in the daily activities of the project, such as:  psychosocial and psychological support to beneficiares, medical and nursing care, support in taking prescription drugs, referral to health and treatment facilities, referral for screening for infectious diseases, etc.
– Follow-up of beneficiaries to various social and health structures;
– Support in the communication and articulation of cases with partner entities;
– Participation in team meetings and discussion of cases.

The volunteer will always be guided by someone of the Coordinating team and will have proper training to deal with the activities proposed.  The volunteer will also have the chance of creating her/his initiatives, in accordance with Crescer principles and aims and upon Board’s approval.

LOGISTICS & PRACTICAL INFO:

• Travel costs – The two-way travel (from place of residence to Lisbon and back) will be reimbursed up to the limit given by the distance band of the place of residence, according with ESC rules;
• Accommodation – Coordinating & hosting organization, Associação Spin, will provide the lodging in a flat as close to the office and the city center as possible. If the apartment is located in the city center, the volunteers will spend around 40 minutes to reach the working place. The volunteers will have to share the room with another volunteer/student/young person (room and connected expenses are paid by Associação Spin). They may also – if so wished by the volunteer – receive a monthly accommodation allowance and be solely responsible for finding and paying for their own accommodation;
• Food & transportation – A monthly allowance of 180€ will be provided by Associação Spin to cover food expenses and local public transportation;
• Pocket money – Every month the volunteer will receive around 150€ as pocket money;
• Working hours – The volunteers are expected to spend 30-35 hours a week working. The daily timetable includes time for language learning, lunch, social activities and development of own project ideas, etc;
• Days off – Volunteers are entitled to two days off per week (usually on Saturday and Sunday) as well as 2 extra days of vacation for every month of their voluntary work.

Crescer intends to support the volunteers to create their own events or initiatives, in accordance with their principles and upon Board’s approval.

VOLUNTEERS’ PROFILE: WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

We are looking for young motivated volunteers aged 18-30, open minded, eager to learn about social, community work and other cultures. It is not required to have any particular degree of formal education, but to have positive and proactive attitude, show tolerance, flexibility, motivation and enthusiasm. In this project, responsibility and the capacity to work in a team will be highly appreciated. We encourage applications especially from youngsters who already have some experience in volunteering or in working with people facing exclusion and are, at this moment, available to commit to a long term experience of volunteer work abroad and willing to know more about the work developed in this field of action. Any knowledge in Portuguese is a plus, however it is not a requirement.

All candidates must be registered with the European Solidarity Corps.

SELECTION PROCESS:

In order to be considered for the vacancies, each candidate has to fill this Google form and send (in only 1 single e-mail):

1. up-to-date CV,
2. project-specific Motivation Letter
3. short presentation about Crescer’s work (the format is absolutely free for you to choose; for the best content do a little research on Crescer’s website and communication channels!).

The complete applications (CV + project-specific Motivation Letter+short presentation) should be sent to evs.crescermaior@a-spin.pt no later than January, 24th 2021.

Final remarks (please read carefully):

• candidates from EU and EFTA countries may apply;
• please make sure you are registered with the European Solidarity Corps;
• we only accept complete applications that contain all the required documents;
• due to the high number of candidates, we are only able to contact the short-listed candidates (in order to invite them for a brief Skype interview);
• all the other candidates will be informed about the selection results by February, 14th through our website.

GOOD LUCK!