Homestay Coordinator Position for the US & Indonesia Youth Leadership Program

The School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR) at GMU is looking for a Home-stay Coordinator for the US & Indonesia Youth Leadership Program, which will take place from May 29 – July 18, 2014. He or she will lead the home-stay portion of the program, from recruiting the host families beginning in December 2013, to supporting the students and host families throughout the home-stay period from June 6th through June 15th. 

Program Overview

The Indonesia Youth Leadership Program (USI-YLP) will be hosted by S-CAR with support from Volunteers in Asia (VIA), and is funded by the Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). The program will bring 22 Indonesian participants to the United States and 10 US participants to Indonesia.  The US portion of the program will begin on May 29 and end on June 22, and will be held at GMU’s Fairfax Campus. The students will live in dorms on-campus at GMU, and spend 10 days living with a host family, in addition to overnight trips that they will take to Philadelphia, NYC, and the Shenandoah Mountains. The home-stay period is from June 6 (1st night) until June 15 (last night), with participants returning to GMU campus on June 16, 2014.

The goal of the USI-YLP is to promote civic engagement and participation among Indonesian and U.S. youth through cross-cultural exchanges and learning while increasing mutual understanding between the two countries. The objectives of the US-Indonesia Youth Leadership Program are: (1) Improving youth citizens’ understanding of democracy, civic rights and responsibilities and increasing their commitment to civic participation, community service and leadership; (2) Strengthening the capacity of youth by providing them with the skills and knowledge needed to become active and engaged citizens in their communities; and (3) Increasing dialogue and facilitating meaningful and substantial interactions between Indonesian and U.S. participants in order to contribute to mutual understanding. As such, the homestay period will be a critical component of meaningful interactions that participants experience.

Responsibilities

The Home-stay Coordinator will report to and work with the Program Director and Co-Director to provide leadership in the following areas of responsibility:

• Revise and finalize the Home-stay Application and outreach materials
• Recruit Host Families near George Mason University in Fairfax, VA for up to 22 teenagers, preferably with up to two same gender students per family
• Recruitment and outreach may include, but is not limited to:
  • Outreach and presentations to area organizations, high schools, religious groups, and other groups that might provide host families;
  • Follow-up on contacts provided by the USI-YLP leadership team, including previous host families, GMU faculty/staff/students/alumni, among others;
  • Respond to telephone/email inquiries from prospective host families;
  • Review host family applications;
  • Conduct telephone interviews/discussions with prospective host families;
  • Conduct home site visits and interviews with all adult family members to determine suitability of the prospective host family;
  • Arrange/organize criminal background checks of all resident family members aged 18 and over.
  • Advise USI-YLP leadership team on revised orientation materials for the host families.
  • Communicate with host families during the program and assist with transportation coordination while students are living with host families
  • Assist in finding a new placement should un-resolvable difficulties arise during the home-stay placement.
  • Other duties as may be needed to secure the home-stay placement.

Duration of Contract: December 18, 2013 through June 16, 2014.  This is a 6-hour per week position for the first 23 weeks (roughly 5 months) and a 40-hour per week position for the 3 weeks preceding and during the home-stay period.

To Apply

Please send the following application materials to Dr. Leslie Dwyer and Mr. Alex Cromwell at [email protected] byDecember 15, 2013 (type “Homestay Coordinator Application – Your Name” in subject heading):

1. CV/resume
2. Letter stating your experience relevant to organizing host family placements