Trek Leader / Trek Coordinator

1. Title: Trek Leader

Reports to: Assistant Trek Director

Schedule: Monday - Friday, Weekends during Trek Location: Nepal – Frequent and prolonged travel within and to buildOn project countries 

Up to 65% travel

Full Vaccination against Coronavirus is required to do this job

Start Date – January 1, 2023

Join the movement!

Who We Are

buildOn is a not-for-profit organization working to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education. We’re not a charity, we’re a movement.

In the United States, we run intensive service learning programs in under-resourced, urban high schools in six major cities. Through these programs, buildOn empowers youth to transform their communities through high-impact service. Over the last 27 years, buildOn has empowered more than 100,000 urban youth to contribute more than 2.3 million hours of service that has touched the lives of more than one million people living below the U.S. poverty line.

Globally, teams of students from buildOn programs fan out across the world to help build schools in the economically poorest countries on the planet. We have now built over 2000 schools in Haiti, Nicaragua, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Malawi, Nepal, and Guatemala. More than 2.8 million children, parents and grandparents have attended these schools so far, while more than 200,000 attend buildOn schools every day. At least, 50% of these buildOn students are girls or women. Most importantly, community members have organized leadership committees and contributed more than 2.8 million volunteer work days to building their schools.

We hope you’ll consider joining our team!

Who We Want

buildOn seeks a Trek Leader whose primary focus is to prepare, plan, and lead best-in-class buildOn treks in buildOn partner countries. There are two primary Trek types.

• Treks for buildOn Partners - an opportunity for supporters (high school, college, corporate, family, small group, and individuals) to travel and work in solidarity with community members who are also contributing to the construction of a school in their village.
• Treks for buildOn US - made up of high school students participating in the buildOn US service learning program from some of the most challenged communities across the nation where school systems and families have limited access to resources. Trek is an opportunity for these students to experience tremendous personal growth through travel to a buildOn partner country, to work and live in solidarity with rural community members, and to bring those experiences back to their community through Trek presentations.

The ideal candidate is an International Service professional with extensive experience living, traveling, and leading trips in the Global South. The candidate must have a strong desire to live and work abroad and spend extensive time in rural villages. A history of donor stewardship and youth development experience are crucial. The candidate must be highly organized, a creative problem-solver, possess strong interpersonal skills, and be self-motivated. Consistent with buildOn’s core values and mission statement, he or she must have a passion and understanding of buildOn’s program focus.

The Trek Leader will also have the opportunity to contribute to the Marketing department to tell the buildOn story from the Global program’s perspective. This could include contributing to social media posts, blog posts, donors reporting, and storytelling.

The Trek Leader will perform work involving physical labor at the school`s construction site. The position may require one to walk long distances on uneven surfaces and on narrow paths, and to carry items weighing at least 40lb.

What You’ll Do

Trek Leadership

• Lead and support Treks
• Communicate the methodology of buildOn Global programs to Trek participants while being sensitive to the unique needs of each Trek participant
• Communicate with Trek Leadership to ensure logistics are organized for upcoming groups
• Manage visa and passport processes and troubleshoot challenges for volunteers

Project Planning

• Work with the Assistant Trek Director, Volunteer Management  to manage domestic Trek logistics as well as some international logistics as necessary
• Under the supervision of the Assistant Trek Director, ensure Trek participant safety by selecting and training transportation providers, identifying medical clinics, and working with in-country staff to mitigate risk

Finance and Record Keeping

• Manage budgets for specific Treks
• Maintain accurate records and submit timely and detailed Trek reports, evaluations, and finance reconciliations following each Trek
• Review participant medical issues and make appropriate accommodations to ensure the health and safety of all Trek Team members
• Collect photos and anecdotes for donor reports, Marketing team, and buildOn US curriculum

What You Bring

• Experience living and working in the developing world (min. 1 year and preference given for experience in a buildOn partner country)
• Ability to live and work abroad
• Extensive experience leading service projects or as a volunteer
• Demonstrated ability to provide high-level support to donors
• Knowledge and experience in the field of Youth Development
• Demonstrated ability to balance the demands of rigorous methodology with the unique needs of each stakeholder
• Strong interpersonal skills with the capacity for building relationships with all types of stakeholders, from corporate CEOs, to college students, to urban high school youth to rural community members
• Ability to handle cross-cultural communication sensitively, and to communicate clearly, effectively and persuasively both verbally and written
• 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
• Sound judgment/decision-making and ability to remain calm in crisis situations and to think critically under pressure
• Working knowledge of Salesforce
• Fluency in written and spoken English required
• Proficiency/Fluency in a buildOn country language preferred
• Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification, or greater, a plus

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the Trek Leader is frequently exposed to conditions that include inclement weather, heat and humidity, and exposure to dust.  Trek Leads are required to travel to any buildOn country to lead trek.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the Trek Leader to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. The Trek Leader position will lift/push/pull/carry heavy objects, walk and stand for long periods of time and perform strenuous physical labor under adverse field conditions.

What We Value

We’ve identified a set of core competencies which you’ll need to thrive at buildOn.

• LEADERSHIP: Ability to empower community members and Trek volunteers to make sustainable changes in a hands-on way and with humility.
• PLANNING & EXECUTION: Proactively manages multiple projects simultaneously to achieve collective objectives with strong time management and organizational skills.
• HIGH EXPECTATIONS: Holds self, teams, and community members jointly accountable to best in class programs
• DONOR STEWARDSHIP: Powerfully engages donors in buildOn’s impact through immersions, storytelling and data.
• RISK MANAGEMENT: Manages safety of group amid intense and dynamic changing environments.

2. Title: Trek Coordinator

Reports to: Trek Leader

Schedule: Monday - Friday, Weekends during Trek Location: Nepal – Frequent and prolonged travel within and to buildOn project district 

Up to 65% travel

Full Vaccination against Coronavirus is required to do this job

Start Date – January 1, 2023

The trek coordinator will be responsible for all aspects of trek logistics and is mandated to report to the Country Director, Trek Manager and Trek Leader. They are responsible for fulfilling all of the below tasks in a timely fashion and is expected to convey information clearly, concisely and promptly. 

• Identify site visits. Organize and coordinate community meetings
  • Discuss rules and regulation and explain methodology thoroughly. Evaluate if community is capable of hosting trek. Schedule follow up meetings. 
  • Remind community of trek logistics, hosting, ceremonies. 
• Make sure community profile is complete; compile community details and necessary information re: community. Discuss site with country director (CD). 
• If approved by CD coordinate and correspond with community again to confirm possible trek dates. 
• Give responsibility to Field Coordinator; have meeting regarding community, location, resources needed to start preparation.
• Date is set, begin pre-trek. If any other meetings must be scheduled, or mass meeting, conduct. Correspond with PLC. Set up review community host family necessities:
  • Alcohol/drugs
  • Sleeping quarters
  • Sanitation
  • Trek team
  • Trek schedule
  • Foods
  • Safety
• Writing a community summary and submit to TL or TM; should include:
  • Weather
  • Community environment description (i.e mountainous, flat land, bodies of water, forest)
  • Animals (snakes, bugs)
  • Work environment (hike to school? Walking paths, uphill, near water)
  • School details (how many students, how many class levels, boys/girls, how many teachers, what subjects, electricity, how many buildings)
  • Health issues in the community
  • Community population
  • Crops in season
  • Other trades (pottery, leather, metals, mill) in community or possible cultural activities
• Enter above information to salesforce.
• Make a community/host family map
• Communicating with TM and TL about schedules, team arrivals and logistics
• Place order for banner, coordinate pickup
• Shopping with TM or TL (supplies –plastics, sanitation bag – see check list of items; if there are simultaneous treks (two happening at once buy additional mosquito nets or other items)
• Order water, make sure it arrives in time
• Inform bus, car, contractors (cooks, translators) of trek schedule and logisitics
• Check and relay information re: flight time to TM or TL
• Prepare for team arrival: flight times, place 
• Same day as team arrival cook is to purchase foods/vegetables for trek, cups, plates, etc. Arrange supplies and separate. Inform cook based on trek team details (how many people, meals, food)
• Welcome team at airport – you are responsible for having done hotel reservations, organizing orientation with translators, arranging bus pick up, making sure you have banner.
• Water available at hotel, snacks on bus
• Prepare community for welcome ceremony, make sure they are ready. Call when nearing community.
• During trek communicate with FC for tasks on work site; communicate tasks to TM /TL. Make sure there are enough tasks for entire group and foresee group finishing tasks early, have back up plan; coordinate with FC.
• May take on tasks of house visits if present on trek. Any issues with PLC/FC to be handled, communicate clearly with TM or TL.
• Organize farewell ceremony and departure; again, hotel reservations, water, foods, packed lunches or meal in community. Have timetable for departure and flights
• Check on flight with airline. 

What We Offer

We offer a competitive compensation package, including: salary commensurate with experience, generous paid time off; a comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, retirement plan with an employer matching plan (SSF) and other benefits will be as per Nepal labor law and buildOn Nepal manual. In addition, you will have the opportunity to work alongside mission-driven and dedicated colleagues across the world who are committed to breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education.

This position is subject to a 6 month probationary period at the start of employment.

Apply Here:

Please send a resume and compelling cover letter to: nirmala.chaudhary@buildon.org Deadline for receiving applications is Nov. 29, 2022.

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 cultures 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