Achill 2007 Job descriptions of the manager posts

During the preparatory course Students had the chance to apply for specific jobs which they will perform during the residential stay on Achill Island. In order to be selected for the jobs, they had to customize their CVs to suit each position. They sent their applications for these real jobs to their fellow students abroad who had the responsibility of matching each CV to the job description and deciding which candidate best fulfils the criteria.

The jobs entailed real responsibilities and were carried out by the students on a very high level.

Below you find the detailed descriptons of each job.

PR (Public Relations) MANAGER

Location: Achill Island, Ireland
Objective: lead the PR within the Achill Island project group

Responsibilities and tasks:
* managing media relations in different countries (i.e. develop relationships with all relevant journalists, arranging publications in home university newspapers or local press and media)
* getting in and keeping contact with group leaders, support each team member in aspects such as organizing events and assisting in ad hoc PR projects
* developing PR opportunities, fielding all media enquiries and ensuring that they are responded within a deadline
* overseeing day-to-day activities
* ensuring that all communication materials are adequate
* working with extended communication teams around the world
* making sure that at least four articles appear in the Mayo News, the local newspaper for Achill Island. The first article needs to be in the paper before Christmas. Contact information will be provided by the project coordinators.
* making sure that all publications are suitable to be handed in to the European Commission with the final report.

Required skills:
* innovative
* excellent verbal and writing skills in English
* excellent attention to details
* keen and ambitious, for the job that needs lots of energy and enthusiasm
* creative, able to contribute with ideas
* ability to meet deadlines

Candidates with the following skills are favored:
* experience in drafting articles and releases for the media (i.e. home university or local newspaper)
* studies in field of PR or communication

Vacancy for CATERING MANAGER

To plan, organize and manage food and beverages for the participants of the Borrowed Identities excursion to Achill Island, February 2007.

Do you have what it takes to cater for the hunger pains of a culturally diverse range of students from across Europe? Could you keep everyone happy with a varied and satisfying menu? If you think you have what it takes then we want to hear from you.

Job Description:
We require an energetic, highly motivated individual with a passion for food to take charge of the daily basic supply.

Typical tasks will include…
* Organization of food supply for breakfast and snacks
* Purchase of good quality, low cost products
* Co-ordination of food for reception and farewell parties (there is a budget for all of this, so you don’t have to pay the food on your own =)

While on Achill we will have our dinner every night in the Achill Cliff House, a very good restaurant, so everyone will get at least one “real” meal per day. There is a supermarket close to the cottages we will stay in, and arrangements can be made before we actually arrive on Achill Island.

Required Skills…
The ideal candidate will be highly organized and able to work off their own initiative, reliable with leadership qualities and the ability to work well under pressure.

Desirable Skills…
* Must have keen interest in food
* Must be able to cater for special dietary requirements i.e. vegetarians, allergies, etc
* Knowledge of nutrition for a healthy balanced diet
* Knowledge of national cuisines is advantageous

We need a LANGUAGE DIVERSITY MANAGER

Between 5 and 10 different languages will be spoken within our international project group. On Achill Island we will be surrounded by both, English and Gaelic (Irish) - so we think we should have a language diversity manager to celebrate this diversity. There may be times when we need help to communicate across accents and language barriers even if we agree to use English as the lingua franca. It is likely that at some point you will find yourself working with someone who is not as fluent in English or has an accent that is difficult to understand. Let us not forget: Language is the ultimate expression of human diversity!

Tasks for the Manager:
* Start a discussion, explaining that English may be the lingua franca but that the other languages are none less appreciated during the residential stay. We want to experience the richness of all languages involved.
* Make sure that every participant will actively share their native language with the others.
* Please arrange an interchange of languages. Make sure, that the wide variety of languages becomes more visible during the residential stay. You could start by: - preparing multilingual stickers that you could put everywhere around us. (E.g. the word "milk" in all languages on the milk carton every morning) - inventing games like: Explain a given word in your native language. (using English is not allowed) Maybe pantomime or painting should be allowed?
* Highlight one language every day by using foreign-language music, poems, etc. Everybody could be asked to bring a poem of no more than 10 lines in their own language and we could have a little poetry reading, maybe learn a short song in Hungarian, a useful saying in Irish? You could explain the origin of some words or languages.
* Make sure that every member of the community makes the effort to learn at least a few words and expressions of each foreign language.

What else are you going to do for the group to ensure language diversity? SURPRISE US WITH SOME CONCRETE IDEAS IN YOUR APPLICATION!!!

Required Skills:
* Diplomacy and good interpersonal skills for animating activities
* Gift for languages, at least documented interest in several languages
* Communicative person who likes to organise games for groups
* Team worker who will involve others in the planning of activities
* Initiative and organisational skills to plan the right moment for activities

Other desirable Skills:
* Able to speak slowly and clearly and explain procedures to groups
* Competent in pointing out and solving linguistic misunderstandings
* Patience and optimism when groups are not so motivated
* Good command of two (or more) foreign languages
* Group experience abroad (e.g. holiday camps)

DOCUMENTATION MANAGER needed

to organise the documentation of all the different activities during our Borrowed identities face-to-face intensive programme , Achill 2007. The main goals are to make sure that every aspect of our stay will be well documented, not only for us, our friends and families, but also for the European Commission.

Tasks for the Manager:
* Creating and maintaining an online “Travelog”, a kind of daily diary on the web, which consists of articles and pictures
* Making sure that every student contributes at least one article for the Travelog
* Updating the Travelog on a daily basis
* “Marketing” of this Travelog on the web
* Organising and collecting the pictures that are taken by the participants
* Thinking about other ways of documentation, e.g. audio (Podcast) or something else

Required Skills:
* Good organisational skills
* Good computer skills
* Knowledge of websites/weblogs and how to create/maintain them
* Good command of spoken/conversational English
* Experience of teamwork
* Self-confidence
* Reliability
* Ability to handle stress

SOCIAL MANAGER needed

to organise interactive activities and to assist in the social aspects of organised events during the Borrowed identities face-to-face intensive programme, Achill 2007. The main goals are to help develop and maintain a friendly atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable and to encourage as much international mixing as possible.

Tasks for the Manager:
* Creation of a casual and constructive atmosphere among the participants
* Making sure that work is always done in international teams (one of the priorities of the project!)
* Inspiring cultural exchange through games and other activities (e.g. traditional games)
* Organization of joint activities for the first encounter in Dublin, the group evenings and the final party
* Making sure that nobody feels they are an outsider
* Contact the other Managers to foresee the development of possible challenges
* Might organize regular Manager Meetings or an "open-space-meeting" with the whole group if problems arise.
* Active and regular influence on the good functioning of the group

Required Skills:
* Good command of spoken/conversational English
* Experience of teamwork * Outgoing personality
* A positive state of mind
* Must be comfortable being the centre of attention
* Self-confidence
* Imagination/creativity for shaping group dynamics actively
* Ability to handle stress and conflicts

This manager should continuously strive to be active to improve group dynamics, not only in case of problems!