Volunteering in Serbia

Volunteer in Serbia for 6 months

Place: Novi Pazar, Serbia

(Novi Pazar is a multicultural and multiethnic city of 100 thousand with a majority Muslim population)

Posting time: 6 months; with deployment to start in autumn 2022 (deployment will be preceded by pre-deployment training)

Cost: We will cover all costs you incur before and during your secondment, including transport, visas, medical check-ups, and insurance. In addition, you will receive a monthly allowance of €610. However, this is not a salary, but an allowance to cover essential costs in the place of stay (food, accommodation, local transport).

Deadline for applications: 25.9. 2022

Volunteer activities

The segments that Merhamet is dedicated to and within which the volunteer will work are:

Improving the quality of life of marginalised groups in urban and rural areas through education, development of habits, skills and providing opportunities for expressing their potential

Building infrastructure to improve the living conditions of marginalised groups

Support for employment opportunities hard-to-employ individuals

Support for social entrepreneurship
Building partnerships between communities and local stakeholders at regional level

The volunteer will support the project manager in actively seeking opportunities for local community development, whether in the area of developing their competence portfolio, but above all by attracting new grant opportunities, reaching out to new donors who will support the organisation's inclusive programmes. The volunteer will also assist in pplanning and writing project applications and reports, database management and various administrative tasks.

Depending on the expertise of the volunteer, his/her role will be to support or directly guide fundraising activities and campaigns.

The volunteer will also participate regularly in monitoring visits in the target communities and will assist with data collection, documentation and implementation of field activities and events. In addition to accompanying project teams in the field, the volunteer will build his/her professional capacity through intensive collaboration with local stakeholders.

At project level will participate in projects „New Pazar for new job opportunities“ a „Social entrepreneurship in agriculture as a model for poverty reduction“. A project aimed at psychosocial support for returnee children, as well as other vulnerable communities, is expected to start this autumn.

Requirements for a volunteer

The programme for sending volunteers to low-income countries is open to all citizens of the Slovak Republic aged 18 and over. The aim of the programme is to involve both young people and older age group in development cooperation and thus to expand the circle of people with professional interest in development cooperation.

Profile of the suitable candidate:

university degree min. I degree in a relevant field (social work, project management, marketing, fundraising, law, international relations, development studies, etc.)
English language - advanced
knowledge of Serbian and other languages an advantage
interest in working in the non-profit sector, foreign experience an advantage
practical experience in project management with emphasis on writing and planning project applications an advantage
good knowledge of MS Office programs, database tools and digital tools applicable to fundraising
good communication skills and written expression
positive attitude to administrative tasks
a sense of teamwork, but also independence and a proactive approach to work
flexibility and ability to adapt to local conditions
interest in the topics of development cooperation and humanitarian aid, social exclusion, inclusion of vulnerable groups, gender equality an advantage

Merhamet Sandžak - Receiving organisation

Merhamet Sandzak was founded in 1992 as a humanitarian, non-governmental and non-profit organization whose core values were built on philanthropy and caring for vulnerable groups.

The beginnings of Merhamet Sandzak were an urgent response to the refugee crisis in the 1990s caused by the civil war in the Western Balkans region. During this period, Merhamet hosted approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers. Since then, Merhamet has become a regional service provider with experience in running soup kitchens, humanitarian pharmacies, clothing and food warehouses, and distribution of hygiene kits.

Merhamet sought to help refugees rebuild their lives in the community by bringing change to their vulnerable situation and providing socio-economic support. This consisted of direct humanitarian assistance, ongoing psychosocial support or providing temporary housing in a way that the refugees were settled among the local population. In addition to refugees, internally displaced populations and the Roma population, Merhamet also focuses its activities on rural populations, women who come from backgrounds affected by gender-based violence, at-risk youth or drug addicts. In addition to direct humanitarian assistance, these activities include psychosocial assistance in the form of educational workshops, counselling and the establishment of information centres for youth. It also includes infrastructural support in the form of housing solutions as well as agricultural programmes.

ADRA Slovakia has been cooperating with Merhamet Sandžak since 2019, based on the positive reference of our partners operating in Serbia. The organisations started to cooperate in the field of humanitarian volunteering within the project „XCHANGE (Exchange of Good Practices and Cooperation in Humanitarian Action to Generate Engagement).

ADRA Slovakia is providing technical assistance and training in this project so that the partner organizations successfully pass the evaluation of the certification committee. After certification, the organisation is fully competent to mentor volunteers in the field, coordinate their work or ensure their safety.

ADRA Slovakia - sending organisation

We have a long tradition in the field of sending volunteers, as evidenced by the dozens of volunteers we have sent to various countries around the world, the regular approval of our projects, which we apply for support to send volunteers to partner organizations, as well as the award „Volunteer of the Year“ by volunteers sent by us. We are characterised by high quality pre-deployment training, well-functioning volunteer cycles, and alignment with ODA sectoral and territorial priorities.

Under the SAMRS programme we send volunteers since 2012, and since 2017 we have been part of the European expert volunteering EUAV.

*The volunteer posting will be carried out in accordance with official safety and epidemiological measures.

Application form

The application form should be sent by email to volunteering@adra.sk. The application form includes:

1) Professional CV in English

2) Cover letter in English

3) Consent to the processing of personal data granted in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) and Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data in accordance with Act No 18/2018 Coll. on the Protection of Personal Data and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts in the Slovak language.

4) Affidavit of health within the meaning of Section 6(3) of Act No 406/2011 Coll. on Volunteering and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts in the Slovak language.

Selected candidates will be invited to an interview, which will be conducted in Slovak and English. The successful candidate will be awarded a contract in August 2022.