Back Operations and Development Fellow

Description

Yspaniola is a Dominican-American nonprofit dedicated to providing high-quality educational programming from preschool through university in the community of 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 youth with the tools they need to successfully advocate for themselves, their families and communities. We currently operate literacy-focused classes for 80 students aged three to fifteen in our Preschool and Learning Center, a Food Program which provides nutritious snacks at the start of each class, and a University Scholarship Program that supports talented students from Batey Libertad to achieve a college education. Yspaniola also operates Learning Exchange trips for high school and university student groups from other countries to visit Batey Libertad and learn about international development and social justice issues on the island.

Yspaniola is seeking a year-long Operations and Development Fellow to support key programmatic work in the Dominican Republic. This role includes supporting administrative tasks such as donor communications, grant writing, and development work as well as supporting our local teaching and management team in our literacy, scholarship, and learning exchange 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. We are committed to mentoring fellows to develop their capacity and understanding of international non-profit management, operations, and development.

Batey Libertad is located inland in a rural, agricultural zone, and fellows reside in a shared house 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 Operations Manager.

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
• Manage our successful Reading Hour initiative, and/or other literacy programming
• Support the planning and execution of virtual or on-site learning exchange trips
• Assist our talented university scholars with English tutoring, 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

• Utilize Yspaniola’s donor database to enter gift details, thank donors for gifts, and undertake other donor communications tasks
• Maintain and grow Yspaniola’s online presence by designing engaging content for social media, newsletters, and campaigns, and managing our social media calendar
• Liaise with Yspaniola staff and/or Batey Libertad community members to organize and conduct interviews ​
• Coordinate the implementation of our organizational fundraising strategy; design and implement Yspaniola’s 2023 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
• Draft and edit content for Yspaniola’s Annual Report a
• Draft and edit content for tri-annual reports to Yspaniola’s Board of Directors
• Manage multiple development projects simultaneously and meet deadlines
• Perform administrative support and other projects as assigned by the Operations Manager and Executive Director

Qualifications and Skills:

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications and skills:

• Bachelor's degree, or working towards a Bachelor’s degree, in a relevant field
• Spanish proficiency; fluent or native speakers preferred
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and lead on new or existing projects
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
• 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
• Creative thinking and a high level of flexibility
• Belief in Yspaniola vision and values; passion for community and asset-based approaches to education and development
• Demonstrated interest in social justice issues; knowledge of international development and/or Caribbean history and culture preferred
• Experience working with children a plus
• Familiarity with French or Haitian Creole a plus

Fellows must be committed to completing a full 12-month fellowship.

Fellowship Benefits:

Fellows receive a monthly stipend of RD$11,000 in local currency, (equivalent of approx. US$195 at current exchange rate) to help pay for food and basic living 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. All other costs related to the Fellowship are the responsibility of the Fellow. NOTE: For Fellows who wish to use their weekend and vacation time to travel around the country, we advise that while travel on public transport is relatively inexpensive, tourism costs in the Dominican Republic (hotels, restaurants, excursions, etc) are generally expensive.