Back Operations and Development Fellow (12 months, with stipend)

Yspaniola is a Dominican-American nonprofit dedicated to providing high-quality educational programming from preschool through university in Batey Libertad. Our vision is a Dominican Republic that provides access to high-quality education and promotes the human rights of all people. Yspaniola works to provide our students with the tools they need to successfully advocate for themselves and their communities. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, we are facilitating small-group, socially-distant learning for students from pre-primary to sixth-grade, supporting our six university scholars to continue taking their classes online and develop community programs, and equipping all of our students with the resources to learn from home. Yspaniola has historically operated Experiential Service-Learning (ESL) trips for high school and university students from other countries to visit Batey Libertad and learn about international development and social justice issues on the island, and we are continuing to do this virtually.

Yspaniola is seeking two, year-long Operations and Development Fellows to support key programmatic work in the Dominican Republic. This role includes supporting administrative tasks such as grant writing, donor communications, and development work and working directly with local students through our literacy and scholarship programs. This fellowship offers a fantastic opportunity to work in the close-knit community of Batey Libertad as part of a passionate team of local and international staff and senior management. We are committed to mentoring fellows to develop their capacity and understanding of international non-profit management, operations, and development.

The community of Batey Libertad is located inland in a rural, agricultural zone, and fellows reside in the town of Esperanza, where Yspaniola’s international staffers are generally the only foreigners living in the vicinity. This position will report to the Executive Director.

The ideal candidate will be available for a start date in either June 2021 or August 2021 and must be committed to completing a 12-month fellowship.

Responsibilities:

The responsibilities of Operations and Development Fellow include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

Operations

• Classroom support: work with our team of local teachers as a literacy assistant in our Learning Center and/or the local public school
• Manage our successful Reading Hour initiative, and/or other literacy programming in our local library
• Support the planning and execution of virtual or on-site experiential and service-learning trips
• Assist our talented university scholars with English tutoring, general academic support and community development projects
• Assist with the planning and facilitation of summer academic programming, including the recruitment and selection process of international volunteers for summer camp
• Other tasks assigned by members of Yspaniola’s teaching team

Development

• Maintain and grow Yspaniola’s online presence with engaging content for social media, newsletters, and campaigns
• Liaise with Yspaniola staff and/or Batey Libertad community members to organize and conduct interviews​
• Coordinate the implementation of an organizational fundraising strategy; design and implement Yspaniola’s 2021 Holiday Match Campaign; draft and edit funding proposals and reports to grant funders and other donors
• Conduct and present research related to development and outreach
• Utilize Yspaniola’s donor database to enter gift details, thank donors for gifts, and undertake other donor communications tasks
• Draft and edit content for Yspaniola’s Annual Report
• Manage multiple development projects simultaneously and meet deadlines
• Other projects assigned by the Executive Director

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications and skills:

• Bachelor's degree, or working towards a Bachelor's degree in a revelant subject
• Spanish proficiency; fluent or native speakers preferred
• Demonstrated interest in social justice issues; knowledge of international development and/or Caribbean history and culture preferred
• Belief in Yspaniola vision and values; passion for community and asset-based approaches to education and development
• Effective verbal and written communication
• Experience working in a low-income community, either in your home country or abroad (volunteer experience may be relevant)
• High level of cross-cultural sensitivity and excellent interpersonal skills
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
• Sense of humor and a high level of flexibility
• Creative thinking and ability to take initiative on new projects
• Experience working with children a plus
• Familiarity with French or Haitian Creole a plus

Compensation (Stipend):

Fellows receive a monthly stipend of RD$10,000 (local currency) to pay for food and other basic expenses. Yspaniola will provide housing in our volunteers’ house for the duration of the Fellowship, plus transportation to and from the closest international airport (Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao, Santiago de los Caballeros, STI) on arrival at your fellowship and on your departure.

NOTE:

New fellows will be required to undertake a 10-day quarantine period at Yspaniola’s volunteer house in Esperanza on arrival in the country. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social and in-country travel opportunities of our international team will be restricted due to the nature of our work and the vulnerable population that the organization Yspaniola works to support. These restrictions will be in place until such a time as circumstances improve. Our staff is committed to continuing to provide programming while also ensuring the safety of all of our staff members and the families in the community that we serve and fellows must demonstrate that same commitment.