Fundraiser & Director’s Assistant (Volunteer)

St Joseph’s School for the Hearing Impaired

6-12 month volunteering opportunity in Sierra Leone, West Africa

A happy school looking for a friendly face to run it’s fundraising and assist it’s Director
Are you motivated and good with people, with a way with words and a background in
fundraising? Are you looking for a new challenge and the chance to really make a difference?
Then we need you to keep reading, because we need you to join our team.

What’s it all about?

St. Joseph’s School for the Hearing Impaired is one of only a handful of schools for deaf and hearing
impaired children in Sierra Leone. St Joseph’s has provided care and a special education for
hearing impaired children since 1979. Today, the school welcomes 225 students, including 81
boarders, and is run by 50 staff. The School Director is Sister Mary Sweeney, a Catholic nun from
the Sisters of Cluny, who is assisted by a team of Sierra Leonean teachers, administrators and
carers. The school teaches all hearing-impaired children, regardless of religion, and receives no
funding from the Catholic church.

The school has been fortunate with funding during its lifetime, relying on several large INGOs for
support. The funding climate is changing however, and this year St Joseph’s main donor has ended
its support due to a shift in its focus. As many traditional donors, such as development agencies,
will no longer fund the running costs of schools, and with the government unable to meet the costs
either, the school has to change tack and seek newer donors such as companies and individuals.

St Joseph’s is now seeking an experienced fundraiser to work in a voluntary capacity, to develop

and implement a fundraising strategy and to work on an exciting and ambitious plan to raise an
endowment fund for the school’s future. The successful candidate will also work closely with the
School’s Director, Sister Mary Sweeney, to assist in the development of the school and to gain an
insight into the management processes required to run an institution on this scale.

Where and when?

Sierra Leone is a beautiful, lush and tropical country, reached by a 6-hour direct flight from Europe.
The country underwent a decade of civil war that ended in 2001, and has since then enjoyed a
decade of peace including two peaceful elections, the second of which saw a completely peaceful
and all-too-rare handover of power from one political party to its opponent.

St Joseph’s School is based in Makeni, 3 hours drive from the capital city of Freetown on a smooth,
tarmac road (one of the country’s best). Makeni is a small, friendly city and the successful
candidate will certainly make many Sierra Leonean and expatriate friends, including VSO
volunteers and staff of the international companies that have recently moved into the city. St
Joseph’s is a really friendly, happy place. Our children daily inspire and motivate us, and just
plain make us smile with their warmth and intelligence.
What we need you to do
We’re looking for someone with get up and go who can shape the way that we fundraise, so while
we have plans, we’re open to ideas. Specifically though, we see you doing the following:
Fundraising
1) Research potential donors both within Sierra Leone and internationally in Europe and the USA
2) Devise a short-medium term fundraising strategy and approving this with the school board
3) Help shape the St Joseph’s Fund for the Future endowment fund, and fundraise towards this
4) Work with the teachers, School Director and administrative team to create fundraising proposals
and budgets, including new construction projects, and pitch these to potential donors
5) Create a fundraising calendar, and ensuring that timely, inspiring and appropriate feedback
and reports are given to our supporters and donors
6) Work with the school’s administrative team to increase their ability to support future fundraising
Assisting the School Director
1) Work closely with the School Director to strengthen the school’s internal processes
2) Support the School Director to develop new HR and performance management processes
3) Arrange and organise training programmes for staff and ensure that skills are put into practice
4) As appropriate, assist in the organising of school trips and educational activities.

Your skills and experience

We’re looking for someone with the following skills and experience:
1) More than 1 year’s experience of fundraising, marketing, or public relations
2) Experience of handling or reporting on small to medium-sized budgets (of GBP£20,000 - £200,000)
3) Excellent communication, written and interpersonal skills
4) Rigorous planning skills and the ability to use a high degree of initiative and work alone
5) Experience or skills in training others
6) Good computer skills, with flair in photography and/or design highly desirable
7) Experience of working with children (highly desirable), and experience with disabled children or
children with special educational needs (desirable)
8) Experience of working in the developing world (desirable)

How will it work?

St Joseph’s School must spend its funds on the children in its care, therefore this post is offered as a
voluntary position. However, we have been fortunate to be supported by a group of individuals to
be able to provide one return flight to the UK (London) or Europe (Brussels). In addition, St Joseph’s
will provide free accommodation in one of its guesthouse rooms for the first month to help you settle
in, and will then help you to find something of your own for the rest of your stay. The successful
candidate will also receive pastoral support and development from the School Director.

Why us?
Disabled children in Sierra Leone are often socially marginalised and can be rejected by their
families. St. Joseph’s School offers a rigorous academic education and teaches vocational skills
that allow our children to become economically active adults. In this way, St Joseph’s
combats stigma and helps hearing-impaired children to take their rightful places in society.

This position is offered for 6-12 months. Appointment is subject to a clean Child Protection check
and the candidate must agree to abide by our child protection policy at all times. To apply,
send your CV and a covering letter to: thefundforthefuture@gmail.com

The work you do at St Joseph’s may well change our students’ lives.
They will certainly change yours.