Project name: E.V.S. – Explore the voluntary spirit ІІ

Funding program: Erasmus+, KA1

Hosting organization: SMART Foundation(EVS accreditation PIC 947429265)

Hosting location: Sofia, Bulgaria

Duration: 8 months

Number of volunteers: 1

Starting: 1st of May 

Theme of service: Work with young people, non formal education, handcrafts, outdoor activities

Volunteers selection criteria:

We are currently seeking for 1 volunteer from programme countries who are willing to dedicate 8 months  for a volunteer service in Bulgaria in 2016. Anyone between age 18 and 30 is welcome to apply by sending the following documents to volunteers@smart-f.eu:

1) Filled application form in English (download the file, fill it in and send it back to us)

2) Short CV in English

Deadline for sending applications: 17 April 2016

All applicants will be interviewed via Skype video call by 26 March 2016. The candidates should preferably have readiness for joining the project very short after the selection. At the moment in the project are working 3 girls (from Poland, Spain and Germany). The hosting place is more suitable for female volunteers, taking in consideration the current conditions.

Brief description of the service with SMART Foundation:

Each volunteer will have the opportunity to participate in planning and implementing activities within foundation’s ongoing projects, and will be encouraged and supported to implement their own initiatives in small communities within the city (work with pupils in schools, organizing activities for youth, neighborhood and social events, etc.) through which they will identify and strengthen their social interests and skills, will gain organizational and communication experience, and will practice the language.

The volunteers help the staff in all kinds of ways. The tasks are generally carried out in the office, and consist amongst others out of creative tasks, organizational tasks, research tasks and working with communication media. The volunteers work very independently and with little supervision. Because the work of the volunteers is supportive in nature and because their workload is manageable, the volunteers have enough room for their personal projects.

We will work with our volunteers to find out what are their strengths, interests, skills, what are their wishes for further development, to reinforce their communication, project and administrative skills. We will encourage volunteers to use maximum of their imagination, practical skills, cultural background and to develop practical activities to ease the communication within communities they will be working with.

Practical arrangement of service:

The volunteers will be provided with round-trip tickets from their home towns to Sofia (preferably by air but also possible – bus, depending on the personal preferences and fairs). The costs will be fully or partially covered within the project as per the Erasmus+ regulations.

All 4 volunteers are sharing one 2-bedroom apartment where they will be sharing rooms in pairs based on gender. The apartment is in the very center of Sofia and provides enough space for 4 people. It has a living room with a dining room, separate kitchen, bathroom and storage room. Apartment rent and utilities will be covered by us within certain monthly allowance per person which will be stated in the agreement to be signed between the organizations and the volunteer.

Each volunteer will receive a mobile phone with a Bulgarian number which allows certain amount of minutes of phone calls within Bulgaria and Europe. The mobile phone expenses are covered by SMART within a certain limit and the over-use is covered by the volunteer on a monthly basis and as per the invoice.

Each volunteer receives unlimited pass for the Sofia public transportation covered by SMART.

The group of volunteers will be attending a language course with a private teacher to learn basics of Bulgarian language in order to be able to have simple conversations.

Each volunteer will monthly get 70 euro pocket money as per the regulation of the Erasmus+ program plus additional 150 Euro for food. This money will be transferred to the volunteers to their Bulgarian bank accounts (to be opened upon arrival) and will be accessible through debit cards.

The group of volunteers will be assigned a mentor and a supervisor for the time of service. Workshops and training sessions will be provided to the volunteers based on their needs and interests which are to be determined and agreed on spot after the beginning of their service.