U.S. Trek Specialist - buildOn

Title: Service Engagement Specialist

Type: Full Time/Exempt

Report to:  Assistant Trek Director, U.S.

Location: Bridgeport, CT

Schedule:  Monday-Friday with Saturdays for Pre Trek activities and Trek

Travel:  Up to 6 weeks annually

Salary: $21 - $25 per hour (Commensurate with Experience)
 

How You Will Make an Impact

Simply put…you will prepare groups of donors and high school students to go on a buildOn Trek.  You will to co-lead a Trek to one of our partner countries (Nicaragua, Guatemala, Malawi, Senegal, or Nepal).  This role is essential to the buildOn mission as Trek connects people in pursuit of increasing access to education.  It is a powerful, immersive experience that is empowering to our donors, our U.S. high school students, and to our community partners.

The Program

buildOn’s Trek immerses U.S. high school students and donors in solidarity with communities in the developing world to build a school.  A majority of our Trek participants are donors…they raise the funds to build a school. We also work with high school students in the Bronx, Boston, Bridgeport, Detroit, Chicago, and Oakland.  Special care is taken to prepare them for Trek. After preparation, our groups (both donors and students) travel to their partner community for 1-2 weeks where they live with host families, immerse in the community, learn about the culture, and work alongside community members to build a school.  Trek is not a poverty tour or voluntourism.  Instead, it is an opportunity to invest in a community through education, work in solidarity to build a school, and learn about empathy, courage, passion for the possible, and resilience.

About You

The ideal candidate is an international service professional with experience living, traveling, or leading trips in the developing world and working with high school students.  A history of service, youth development, donor stewardship, and strong organizational skills are crucial. The candidate must be highly organized, a creative problem-solver, possess strong interpersonal skills, and be self-motivated.  Trek Specialists are sincere, energetic, and fun!

Core Job Responsibilities

Prepare U.S. High School Students for Trek

• Work alongside U.S. Engagement Specialists who recruit students for Trek in our partner high schools. This includes giving recruitment presentations in the high schools, setting up info tables at lunch, and presenting to students and alumni on their Trek experiences.  
• Interview all students who have applied for Trek and notify them if they have been accepted.  
• Lead Parent Information Night and Saturday Pre-Trek sessions to prepare students for Trek
• Manage visa and passport processes and troubleshoot challenges
• Work closely with parents to ensure all paperwork is submitted and reviewed
• Provide additional support to Trek participants in their preparation for travel
• Co-lead 1 or 2 buildOn U.S. Treks to a partner country (Nicaragua, Guatemala, Malawi, Senegal, or Nepal).  buildOn U.S. Treks are approximately two weeks.
• Support the students after Trek with a post-Trek workshop and help them schedule presentations to inspire other students to apply for Trek.

Prepare Donors for Trek

• Lead information sessions and Pre Trek sessions (most typically on Zoom)
• Review Trek Enrollment forms and paperwork for any potential legal or medical concerns and follow up as necessary
• Manage visa and passport processes and troubleshoot challenges for volunteers
• Communicate the methodology of buildOn Global programs to Trek participants while being sensitive to the unique needs of each Trek participant
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with buildOn donors
• Provide additional support to Trek participants in their preparation for travel.

What You Bring

• Earnest and sincere commitment to buildOn’s Mission and Core Values.
• Requires a 4-year degree & a minimum of 2 years' related experience.
• Experience living and working in the developing world (preferred 1 year).
• Experience working with high school youth (preference for working with youth in a buildOn partner region)
• Extensive experience leading service projects or as a volunteer.
• Demonstrated ability to provide high-level support to donors.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the capacity for building relationships with all stakeholders, from corporate CEOs to college students, to Bronx high school youth.
• Demonstrated leadership and organizational ability to balance and coordinate multiple projects, people, and assignments simultaneously.
• Track record of taking initiative and requiring minimal supervision while completing complex assignments.
• Proven record of maintaining timely and detailed records and reports.
• Highly results-oriented & independent work style.
• Ability to handle cross-cultural communication sensitively, and to communicate, effectively, and persuasively both verbally and written.

What We Offer

At buildOn, we value our staff members. Without a talented team, we cannot engage youth in service.  Our benefits include…

• A generous time-off policy of 39 days annually
  • 2 paid shutdown weeks (10 days)
  • 2 weeks of paid vacation (10 days)
  • Paid sick days (5)
  • Paid personal days (7)
  • Paid holidays including Juneteenth (7)
• 100% insurance premium paid for medical, dental & vision with subsidized deductibles.
• 403(b) retirement plan with an employer match
• An opportunity to go on Trek to a buildOn partner country where you will work in solidarity with community members to build a school
• $50 cell phone reimbursement

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Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

buildOn is committed to building and maintaining an inclusive environment that drives innovation, strengthens ONE buildOn and bolsters a culture where people truly feel valued, heard and respected. buildOn provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, amnesty, or veteran status.

To learn more about buildOn, please visit our website at www.buildOn.org.

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