Learning Operations Coordinator

Care4Calais is a volunteer-based charity providing essential aid and support for refugees in France and the UK. 

Across the UK we collect and distribute clothes, shoes, mobile phones and other essential items, as well as providing social support and interaction, including language lessons, sport and music workshops. We also help with vital access to legal, medical and educational services. Our Legal Access Department in the UK, provides access to critical legal representation for people seeking asylum and, more than this, supports people through the hostility and difficulty of claiming asylum.

In northern France we operate year-round from Calais, working alongside communities in Calais and Dunkirk to provide warm clothing, bedding and service provision to displaced people who live in appalling and dangerous conditions. 

All of Care4Calais’ operations are supported by a small, dedicated team of staff who supervise large volunteer teams to provide much needed support to communities seeking asylum and on the move in the UK and France. 

About the role: 

Care4Calais are recruiting two Operations Coordinators to support their French operations. 

The aim of the Operations Coordinator role is to support the Care4Calais’ French operations to continue to deliver vital humanitarian NFI (non food item) distributions and essential services. We distribute 6 days a week and provide daily services which include  phone charging sessions, access to hairdressing, bike repair and sewing equipment, activities such as games and language lessons as well as information sharing and refreshments to communities living in northern France. Whilst this is a challenging position you will be given a thorough induction and work alongside experienced team members. 

The successful candidate for this role will be proactive and hardworking with the ability to problem-solve and prioritise effectively. The role would suit someone who is a self-starter, strong team player and excels working within a varied role. Candidates will need strong organisational skills and must have the ability to make numerous important and compassionate decisions each day.

You will be expected to demonstrate excellent judgement, initiative, integrity and strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to communicate to a diverse group of people. You will be part of Care4Calais’ core team in France and will report directly to the Head of Field Operations in France. 

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a highly-committed team of game changers dedicated to improving the lives of refugees.

Your responsibilities will include: 

• Providing core operations support for Care4Calais’ operations in northern France 

• Supporting a team of logistics and purchasing specialists to manage new and second hand clothing stock and feed into operational planning for field activities.

• Managing and delivering Care4Calais’ NFI aid distributions and service provision with people on the move at the French/British border

• Managing and supporting teams of up to 40 volunteers each day to provide daily services in Calais and Dunkirk. Including leading daily briefings and health and safety training. 

• Supporting the smooth running of a warehouse and donation storage facility. 

• Working alongside a small staff team to develop processes, procedures and documentation to support the effective running of Care4Calais’ humanitarian operations. 

• Attending external meetings, building and maintaining relationships with partners and key stakeholders which allow Care4Calais’ operations to continue to run smoothly and effectively.

 Essential Skills and Experience: 

• 1 - 2 years experience working in an humanitarian context, for a human rights organisation or with people from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds;

• Professional or voluntary experience of working on projects concerning risk management, health and safety, safeguarding and compliance. 

• Self-motivated and used to managing multiple priorities to meet deadlines;

• Able to build positive relationships with a range of stakeholders including those from displaced communities;

• Good decision-making and negotiation skills;

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;

• Experience working with displaced people or communities on the move, ideally with NFI distribution experience

• Experience leading and managing volunteer teams from varied backgrounds 

• Experience managing warehouse or storage spaces and/or complex logistical and purchasing projects. 

• Excellent written and spoken proficiency in English and at least a B2 level of French proficiency. 

• Strong digital literacy, including ability to work on Google Workspace and Office 365;

• Full clean driving licence and experience or willingness to drive vans

Desirable Skills and Experience:

• Experience working with teams from different cultural backgrounds;

• Baccalauréat, A Level or equivalent academic qualification

• Experience delivering mass distributions of NFI or other aid items in an humanitarian context. 

• Proficiency in one or more of the languages spoken within asylum seeking communities, such as but not limited to: Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, Dari, Kurdish Sorani, Tigrinya or Amharic.

The successful applicant will be provided with the induction and training needed for them to succeed in the role. 

Applying for the role: 

Care4Calais is recruiting for two Operations Coordinators, please see details below for how to apply for this role. 

Please submit a cover letter explaining why you are suitable for this role and how your previous experience meets the role requirements, alongside a CV in English. Please note we will only accept applications that are accompanied by a cover letter. 

Care4Calais is dedicated to cultivating a diverse and inclusive work environment and recognises that this is invaluable to our ability to serve the communities we work with. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds including from Black, Asian and Minority-Ethnic communities, people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, and people with lived experience of the UK or EU immigration system. If you have first hand experience applying for asylum in any country, please let us know in your application. We do however respect that people’s identity is not defined by their past experiences and will not expect candidates to describe their lived experience at interview unless they wish to do so. 

We also recognise that experience comes from more than just employment history and encourage anyone who meets most of the essential criteria for this role to apply even where this experience comes from outside traditional employment structures. If you are interested in applying but do not have all the experience necessary, we encourage you to contact us using the details in the Job Pack to set up an informal chat with our staff in Calais. We can discuss why you would like to apply for the role and what skills or experiences you have which could be relevant to the role. 

If you have any questions about this or need additional support with the application process for any reason, please contact us through the details provided in the Job Pack.

Please note, applicants must be France-based or be willing to relocate. Care4Calais is unable to sponsor two working visas to France, we are therefore looking for at least one candidate who would have the right to work in the EU or France. 

Closing date: Applications will close at 23:30 on 06 July 2024. 

We will be reviewing applications as they arrive and reserve the right to close the posting before the closing date.