Job Description

As a volunteer in SHL’s and SAME’s Lübeck office, you will support the team in organising many different international youth encounters and seminars. Also, you will spread the idea of the Solidarity Action Day all over Europe and you will be involved in the everyday business of SAME, the umbrella organization of European Solidarity Action Day organisations.

You will have the opportunity to contribute with your experience and creativity to our workshops and seminars for young people from all over Europe and to our international network and body meetings of SAME and its member organisations. You will learn a lot about youth activism, event management and promotion activities. By working with many international partners and supporting the SAME network, you will regularly exchange ideas with young people from different European countries. Also, you will take an active role in the dissemination of the Solidarity Action Day and will inform and inspire young people about our work.

As your voluntary service is formally hosted by SHL, you will also have the opportunity to gain insights into the work of the other SHL offices in Germany and Bosnia & Hercegovina and you will collaborate with your colleagues, especially with your co-volunteers in SHL’s Neumünster office (Northern Germany), who are organizing the Solidarity Action Day in Germany.

Your main tasks will be:

• Support in planning, implementing, and evaluating international youth encounters including the Act.ival for Future, which is our big international youth conference with more than 200 young participants from all over Europe
• Spreading the concept of the Solidarity Action Day across Europe, including acquisition, promotion and networking activities and organising Start-Up Seminars for interested youth organisations and initiatives from Europe
• Supporting SAME bodies and member organisations, e.g. by organising activities, workshops or body meetings
• PR and publicity work, including social media work and promotion activities for our events and youth encounters
• Maintaining and expanding our network of local and European partners and youth initiatives

There are two income volunteering positions in our team in Lübeck. Whereas one of the volunteers focusses a bit more on on spreading the Solidarity Action Day across Europe and collaborating with the SAME network and other European partners, the other volunteer mainly organises international youth encounters and educational activities. Both of you are involved in publicity and promotion and in supporting European youth activism. Also, you will usually work together on many of the tasks. Close co-operation is not only important from the professional perspective but also for your private life, as both of you will live together in a shared apartment provided by SHL.

We are looking for volunteers who bring the following competences:

• Ability to work in a team and willingness to compromise
• Self-confidence, responsibility and reliability
• Empathy and tolerance
• Interest in working with youth
• Appropriate communication and presentation skills
• Basic technical skills (e.g. Microsoft Office)
• Advanced English skills (German is not required but an asset)
• Flexibility and willingness to work at weekends if required

For the successful participation in the voluntary service, you should have experience in voluntary work, youth participation or engagement (e.g. student councils, youth organizations), such as experiences in planning and conducting workshops/seminars and a confident interaction with youth groups.

Even though the single job descriptions cover a wide range of activities, experience is not needed in all of them. The individual activities will also be redistributed within the team according to personal interests and skills. We especially consider the voluntary service as an opportunity for individual and personal development.

You should be a young person who is 18 years or older and you should have a very good command of English, knowledge of German is considered beneficial but is not required. SHL will financially and organizationally care for a perspective of gaining further language skills in German before and during the voluntary service.