Organisation: Lang Tengah Turtle Watch
Title: Volunteer Coordinator
Location: Lang Tengah Island, Terengganu, Malaysia
Start date: 1st March – 31st October 2023
Job type: Contract basis
Lang Tengah Turtle Watch (LTTW) was founded as a conservation organisation in 2013 with the aim to help save sea turtles – predominantly green turtles, and a small number of hawksbill turtles – from extinction at Lang Tengah Island. LTTW is looking for a passionate and dedicated individual, who already has some experience in the conservation sector and is looking to take on a volunteer coordinator role at our island-based project, off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. You will be living on the job site - eating, sleeping and working in our jungle camp with our team of volunteers and project staff.
Work description
Your main role will be to become a fully integrated team member, which may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Creating and overseeing weekly Volunteer Schedule – liaising with and complementing the co-manager's work/activities schedules (beach cleanups, etc.)
- Conducting volunteer talks (welcome talk & tour, fish, corals, turtles etc.) - making sure to showcase exactly what the LT & TJ teams are currently working on, showing work to date, upcoming projects etc.
- Taking volunteers on leisure excursions (e.g., jungle trekking, snorkelling, kayaking) and suggesting different activities (e.g., island exploration, games on turtle bay, camp improvements)
- Overseeing all daytime volunteer-related activities
- Ensuring timekeeping of activities
- Responsible for the safe running of all the activities, ensuring yourself, interns and volunteers adhere to all safety measures, protocols and procedures at all times
- Making sure volunteers, interns and other staff are all introduced properly to each other and all inclusive — not separating the volunteer coordinator and volunteers from the rest of the team — making sure to promote an inclusive environment on camp
- Overseeing weekly camp deep clean and ensuring camp chores are done – chasing up volunteers who don't do it so camp runs smoothly
- Liaising, planning and coordinating camp maintenance tasks with co-managers
- Responding daily to volunteer enquiries and coordinating bookings with admin assistant
- Hosting visiting groups from The Resthouse and any other planned visits or events
- Chatting with tourists who visit the camp site and encouraging merchandise sales.
- Gathering volunteer stories, photos and videos for social media and website.
- Ensuring volunteers fill in the feedback form at the end of their stay and encouraging volunteers to leave reviews online
- Responsible for the maintenance and proper use of all LTTW equipment
- Providing cover for colleague’s leave and illness as required
- Travelling for the purposes of work following agreed timetabling and budgets
- Taking on tasks in addition to the descriptions above as delegated by higher management that are deemed fair, achievable within the present task load and within the person’s capability
- Reporting and discussing issues that affect the completing of set tasks and improvements with the co-managers
- Assisting in turtle conservation (including conducting beach patrols at night to record nesting activities, biometric and photo-ID data of nesting females, relocating nests, conducting post-emergence nest excavation), when needed
- Assisting in coral restoration and monitoring dives, when needed
- Attending LTTW events, as necessary
Accommodation
You need to feel comfortable living in a stripped-back and open-air camp, which lies slightly recessed behind the secluded beach of Turtle Bay. Think rustic, jungle living–bucket showers and campfires.
Take a tour around our campsite with this video made by our volunteers
General requirements
- Hold a related bachelors degree or higher
- High level of organization
- Undertake and demonstrate consistent planning of your workload and adhere to self-set deadlines.
- Excellent communication skills and confident public speaker
- Competent in using Microsoft Office
- Must display a professional example to volunteers and colleagues at all times.
- Outgoing: this is one of the most important elements, as you will be representing the organisation to volunteers, resort staff and tourists on a daily basis
- Able to live and work in a small team
- Culturally sensitive
- A confident swimmer
- Physically fit, and able to work long hours throughout the day and night, often with irregular or little sleep
- Well acquainted with the rigours of outdoor living
- Have practical conservation experience (preferably in a remote environment)
- Flexible and adaptive: our daily routine can alter depending on multiple factors and being able to adapt to this is essential
- Fluent in written and spoken English, good knowledge of Malay and/or Mandarin is an advantage
- Qualified Advance Open Water Diver highly-preferable, ideally with experience in research dives
The following criteria are also desirable for potential applicants:
- Experience in coordinating groups and leading volunteer activities
There will be a one-month probation period during which you will be given a stipend and subjected to performance reviews. Food and accommodation costs whilst on site, as well as in-country road travel to and from project sites will also be covered. You will also receive a monthly stipend. You will be living in the camp alongside our other team members and volunteers. Conditions on camp are basic, so you need to be comfortable with living in this environment, and you will have a 5D4N break from the island every 4 weeks. Although you will be based at our island project site there may also be opportunities to visit other project sites during the season. The season runs from mid-February until the end of October.
If you feel you’re the right person to be part of our young, passionate and dynamic team of conservationists, please send a copy of your C.V., a cover letter and details of two referees to our Principal Officer, Seh Ling, at sehling@langtengahturtlewatch.org with LT Volunteer Coordinator as the subject heading. Candidate will be interviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
To find out more about the project:
www.langtengahturtlewatch.org
Facebook: Lang Tengah Turtle Watch
Instagram: lang_tengah_turtle_watch
