Become a YEE volunteer | August 2021

Are you ready to become a European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteer and make a real impact? Would you like to contribute to making the world greener by empowering young people on environmental issues? Give volunteering with YEE a shot and commit your time and skills to support our efforts to make Europe more sustainable. Apply now!

YEE is looking for one volunteer to join the team and support its work for a 6 months ESC volunteering opportunity from 20 August 2021 in our YEE office in Prague, Czech Republic!

As our volunteer, you will become a part of the exciting ESC project “Youth taking action for the environment”. Within 3 months, you will have a unique opportunity to develop your professional skills, build up your capacities in environmental youth work, and work in an international environment with our team. You will be working in our cozy office in the beautiful Vinohrady district in Prague, together with the YEE Secretariat and the YEE Board.

So what does it mean to be a YEE volunteer? YEE has been hosting volunteers for ten years already! During these years we have shaped our volunteering projects taking into account the experiences gained from the previous volunteers. We value diversity, learning from each other, and intercultural learning. We are looking for a volunteer to support us with the following tasks:

Project Management

As a Project Management Volunteer, you will work closely with our Project Manager and the YEE team throughout the whole project cycle of different exciting projects! YEE is implementing several projects throughout the year, focused on environmental education, youth empowerment, and capacity building for young environmental activists, to help them become actively engaged in environmental decision-making processes. Read more about YEE ́s projects here.

Your responsibilities will include:

providing project support to the YEE Project Manager, Office, and Board;
supporting the implementation of YEE long-term and short-term projects, including report writing, assisting in the maintenance of project plans, preparing project documentation, and supporting the implementation of the YEE project’s communication and visibility strategy;
exploring new fundraising opportunities;
being a member of the project teams, organising events, and facilitating project activities;
contributing to the volunteer blog and writing articles for the YEE website and newsletter.

Digital Communications

Your role will be focused on supporting the implementation of the YEE communication strategy. Through our social media platforms and digital communication channels, we are engaging young people from all over Europe on a daily basis. We do not only want to empower youth voices on burning environmental issues but also spread awareness about these topics. As a Communication Volunteer, you will actively participate in the process of developing and implementing a YEE communication plan. In addition to external communications, you will also support the smooth flow of our internal communications.

Your responsibilities will include:

providing communication support to the YEE Office and Board;
supporting the implementation of YEE communication plan and social media strategy, managing YEE social media channels and website, including content creation and updating social media calendar;
preparing visual materials for YEE social media channels according to the YEE visibility strategy;
coordinating different online campaigns, contributing to the volunteer blog, and writing articles for the YEE website and newsletter;
exploring new engagement and outreach opportunities;
supporting the work of YEE’s advocacy working group activities.

Other tasks are mainly the administrative tasks completed in the YEE Office and community engagement activities in Prague. What you can also expect is the most exciting part of volunteering with YEE, the volunteers’ personal projects! All YEE volunteers have a chance to develop their own project or campaign according to their motivation and interest in order to practice a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship and gain more experience and self-confidence. The project activity they choose will depend greatly on the volunteer’s interest. It can range from organising a local community activity such as a clean-up to a global environmental digital campaign. Both volunteers will receive support from the YEE Secretariat and Board for developing, implementing, and evaluating their personal projects.

Who are we looking for? Our ESC volunteer should:

be between 18 and 30 years old;
have strong written and verbal communication skills and a good level of English (the working language of YEE is English so you should be able to clearly express yourself both orally and in writing);
have basic computer skills (Microsoft Office, Google Drive,..), knowledge in digital communication or/and social media (ability to work in Mailchimp, Slack and/or create designs in Canva or Photoshop) is an asset;
have a strong interest in environmental issues, sustainability, climate justice, youth movements, NGOs, EU affairs, project management, international cooperation, digital communication, and advocacy;
be creative and welcome new challenges as learning opportunities;
be highly organized and responsible for fulfilling your tasks;
be willing to support the rest of the team and be a team player;
commit to the aims of the project and YEE values.

Why join us and become a YEE volunteer?

through working on many exciting environmental projects and campaigns, you will gain expertise of the current environmental and climate issues, burning sustainability topics, environmental advocacy, and youth participation;
you will enhance your intercultural communication and presentation skills, and you will learn the essentials of NGO management, project management, and digital communications;
you will be able to join our international seminars, workshops, and training courses and facilitate inspiring dialogues;
you will gain valuable insights of working for the largest European network of youth-led environmental NGOs;
you will have the opportunity to meet young green activists from all over Europe, and to create meaningful connections and enlarge your professional networks;
you will improve your English and have a chance to learn Czech thanks to the OLS;
you will boost your CV;
your volunteering will make a difference, and it will be recognized and evaluated – after the successful completion of volunteering, you will get both YouthPass and YEE’s Volunteer Certificate! You can read stories of our former volunteers here.

How to apply? Please send your CV and motivation statement (max. 400 words) or a short video to our Secretary-General Tanya to tanya@yeenet.eu by 5 August 2021/ 23:00 CEST. Please mention the “ESC Opportunity Application” in the subject line.

We strongly encourage you to use your creativity while preparing the motivation statement! Feel free to send us a presentation, poem, or video that captures your motivation in the best way possible. If you have any questions, contact Tanya anytime! Read the volunteering experience of our former volunteers here.

The expected start date is 16 August 2020. Please check on COVID-19 travel restrictions before applying (destination Prague, Czech Republic). Pre-selected candidates will be contacted for a short interview with our team. We are looking forward to receiving your applications! Good luck!

ESC conditions & practical arrangements

YEE offers its ESC volunteers both prosperous working conditions and good living conditions, a lot of space for creativity and a chance to see the results of their work, as well as a friendly atmosphere, coaching, regular online lessons in the Czech, suitable accommodation, and the personal support of the coordinator and a mentor during the whole stay.

Accommodation

YEE will offer volunteer accommodation in a shared flat with other ESC Volunteers. Each volunteer has their own room, the kitchen and bathroom are shared. YEE’s office is easily accessible from the flat by public transport.

Transportation

The ESC coordinator will arrange the public transport card for the volunteer. The card will be paid for 6 months by the hosting organisation and will allow the volunteers to travel freely to the office and around Prague.

Insurance

The volunteer will be registered for medical insurance in their home country. During the first week of the activity, the ESC coordinator will explain the details about the insurance and will help the volunteer with future reimbursements. The volunteer will be provided with contacts of possible doctors and hospitals.

Mentoring and support

Local mentors will help volunteers to adapt to the new place and country they live in. YEE has a long experience of hosting volunteers and we strive to keep the good quality of our projects, give many learning opportunities, arrange all preparations in detail and support the volunteer throughout the whole duration of the project.