Operations and Support Junior Officer (Madagascar)

Position Overview

We are excited to offer an excellent opportunity for an entry level development professional who is interested in gaining skills in operations and administration areas, to join SEED Madagascar (SEED) as our Operations and Administration Officer.

SEED Madagascar is a UK charity dedicated to creating long-term, sustainable change in partnership with communities in the southeast of Madagascar. We integrate high-quality community health, WASH, education, rural livelihoods and conservation programmes, while contributing to international best practices through research and publications.

This role is an office-based role within a team of national and international staff with occasional support in the field to our Conservation Research Team. This post is at the heart of our mission, and the diversity of activities undertaken will provide wide-ranging experience for an early career development professional who can effectively and efficiently deal with a comprehensive range of tasks related to the complex world of overseas development.

This position is ideal for someone who is passionate about providing a wide range of support to SEED’s team including providing high quality administrative support across the policies and procedures, managing the recruitment of international staff, leading on onboarding for incoming staff and our marketing and support of our short-term conservation programme volunteers.

Title: Operational Support Intern - change of title and responsibilities to Operational Support Junior

Officer subject to passing 3-month probationary review.

Location: Fort Dauphin, Madagascar

Commitment: 12 months; Monday to Friday (35 hours a week)

Salary: Voluntary for 12 months, with stipend of 800,000 MGA per month towards accommodation and a contribution of £650 towards insurance

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Provide pre-departure logistical support and advice with visas, hotels, flights, accommodation, medication etc to new international staff and short-term conservation volunteers
2. Lead on supporting international staff during their initial time with SEED including arrival, orientation, social inclusion, cultural understanding, housing and integration into the SEED team
3. Provide pastoral care, working with line managers to ensure that new and existing international staff and volunteers’ wellbeing is supported
4. Support the Conservation team in Sainte Luce on providing orientations and pastoral care of volunteers when required
5. Support the Communications team with advertising the volunteer programme and helping volunteers to increase their fundraising efforts
6. Support on creating, editing and writing website content and resources to ensure organisational and project information is up-to-date
7. Support on the recruitment of international staff, including the advertisement of vacancies
8. Assist in the preparation of reports for internal and external audiences including Annual

Reports and Malagasy Ministry reports

1. Work with the Director of Operations and Programmes, and the International Operations Manager in developing, updating and implementing organisational databases, systems, policies and procedures across the NGO
2. Oversee the training schedule for international staff and work alongside national and international staff to increase their skills and capacity, providing mentoring or training where appropriate
3. Work alongside the IT Officer to provide basic IT and equipment management support
4. Support with the writing of minutes and note taking across the organisation
5. Support project teams where required to develop systems to manage donor compliance, or support with financial or administrative reporting requirements
6. Ensure all of SEED’s policies and procedures are evident throughout the work of the department, including those for safeguarding, whistleblowing and anti-corruption, and undertake continual training to ensure these are always promoted
7. Assist with administration tasks and any other tasks required by the International Operations Manager or Director of Programmes and Operations in line with the tasks of the post

Required Skills & Experience/Person Specification

• Hold an undergraduate degree in or relating to Business or Development or be able to demonstrate a passion for this area
• Be able to work independently and be proactively
• Have good all round computing skills and experience in Microsoft Office
• Have previous experience working to deadlines and have ability to successfully manage their time
• Communicate clearly and engagingly in written English across a range of media forms
• Communicate verbally to encompass the range of cultures you will be working with
• To have a good level of written English and be able to proofread documents to a high standard
• To have a curious mind and a patient, problem solving attitude
• Ideally have previous experience living, working or travelling in a developing country, though is not essential
• Be fluent in English. A working knowledge of French is desirable but not essential
• Be capable and comfortable adapting to life in a least developed country with sometimes basic living conditions
• Be comfortable with campsite conditions whilst supporting the team in the field for days at a time
• Be able to work and socialise within a small group of people and to be respectful and take personal responsibility for maintaining a good reputation for the NGO in the community
• Be able to adjust to life in another culture and a foreign language and be able to always work with cultural sensitivity
• Demonstrate the ability, social skills and confidence to give clear guidance and support to other members of the team in respect of the philosophy and procedures of SEED to protect both their safety and the reputation of the NGO.

Application Procedure

Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter in English outlining why they wish to take up this position and how their skills and experience match the requirements in the job description criteria to SEED Madagascar Director of Programmes and Operations, Lisa Bass by email on lisa@seedmadagascar.org.

Please note: AI generated cover letters and recruitment exercises will not be processed.

Application Deadline: Monday 26th May 2025 at 23:59 GMT. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis throughout this period.

Candidates will complete an exercise, long-listed applicants will have an initial informal interview with Madagascar based staff and short-listed applicants will then be offered an interview with the London team.

SEED Madagascar actively encourages equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace and aims to create a working environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation, and unlawful discrimination, where individual differences and the contributions of all staff are recognised and valued.