Volunteer Coordinator at a Wildlife Sanctuary & Rehab Center

Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary in Costa Rica operates a dynamic volunteer program and runs a rolling application for volunteer coordinator throughout the year. The Volunteer Coordinator will assist the program coordinator in implementing and developing the volunteer program by providing high standards of animal welfare to all animals in our care as well as managing all volunteers. The role is designed to support the day-to-day running of the sanctuary and rehab center, and to ensure that volunteers/ interns are receiving the best educational and social experience. The role is a minimum six month contract and includes a monthly salary. On-site accommodation and food is also provided.

Job duties (primary roles):

• Training new volunteers/ interns according to the sanctuary’s policies and procedures
• Supervising volunteers during working hours and assisting in husbandry-related tasks
• Creating a safe working environment for volunteer/ interns
• Assisting and training volunteers in diet preparation
• Assisting in collecting weekly browse (wild shrubs & foods for the animals)
• Implementing our enrichment calendars and making amendments where necessary
• Assisting and teaching our volunteers how to asses animal’s welfare
• Educating volunteers/ interns by assisting with weekly presentations
• Assisting with our wildlife clinic and nursery
• Assisting with animal rescues and releases
• Working on-call four nights per week for any wildlife or volunteer emergencies
• Creating volunteer/ staff working schedules
• Assisting with ordering and organizing produce for volunteers and animals
• Assisting with general maintenance around the center
• Manage any volunteer emergencies, which might include driving to doctor’s appointments, helping with post or arranging transportation.

Job duties (Secondary roles):

• Organize and attend social and cultural events for volunteers;
  • Taking the volunteers out for lunch/ dinner once per week
  • Driving the volunteers to town for supermarket/ pharmacy/ bank visits once per week
  • Driving the volunteers to social activities (once to twice per week)
  • Coordinating on-site social activities, such as yoga classes, movie or games nights
• Handling volunteer check-ins/ outs, including coordinating transportation
• Ensuring that volunteer accommodations are kept up to standard

Person Specifications:

• Candidates must be studying for/ graduated with a degree in a related field.
• Previous experience managing/ supervising individuals, preferably volunteers
• Minimum of three months experience working with wildlife
• Excellent communication skills in English
• Basic knowledge of Spanish (preference will be given to Spanish speakers)
• An extremely organized individual
• An outgoing and relatively social person
• Adaptable and responsible
• A self-motivated individual who is confident in their supervisory abilities
• Someone who can work well both independently as well as in a team
• Eager to expand your career/ gain work experience in a sanctuary setting
• Valid manual driving license
• Able to commit to a minimum of 6 months

Additional information:

• All basic food will be provided (meals/ food orders are based on a vegetarian diet)
• Accommodation is provided (participants will be required to be on-call four nights per week)
• You will be given four days to carry out your border run after 90 working days
• The Volunteer Coordinator will need to pay for own flights/travel arrangements and must have valid personal health/travel insurance.
• Please send a cover letter, CV, and a copy of your driving license to supervisor@villasalturas.com

If you fit the job requirements, you will be interviewed virtually. There will also be a second interview round after a couple of weeks. If accepted, there is a one month probationary period.