Staff Vacancies
Join the team
Sunseed is run by voluntary staff members. Coordinators' contracts last for a year, while assistants come for 3 or 6 months (both can be extended). You will find the upcoming vacancies and the general work conditions below.
If you are interested in a certain position, please do apply as eventually it will be open.
Now recruiting:
Eco-maintenance Coordinator
The responsibilities of the Maintenance Coordinator include supervision of the volunteers who are keen to help with the building work, often having more enthusiasm than skills, as well as the application of clear Health and Safety standards. There are also many opportunities to offer new ideas to improve the running of the project and working with other departments.
Core Responsibilities
- Assisting and supervising volunteers in carrying out tasks
- Building maintenance and improvements
- Plumping experience
- Aceqeiro (water way) maintenance
- General repairs to roofs, floors, doors, etc
- Plastering, painting and finishing with a lime wash
- Tools and materials supervision
- Applying Safety rules
- Instructing on proper tool use
- Ensuring unsafe tools are not used
- Maintaining and repairing tools
Requirements
- Experience and knowledge of building skills including plumbing repairs, plastering, painting, carpentry, masonry, joinery, etc.
- Tolerance of hard physical work in hot conditions
- Ability to organise work schedules
- Ability to lead and motivate volunteers, who range from those with a wealth of experience to those with little or none.
Desirable Skills
- Experience with water heating systems
- Experience with rainwater catchment systems
- Experience of ecological building
- Experience in using power tools
Organic Gardens Coordinator
Specific techniques in horticulture are required to work the terrace system, irrigated by an irrigation channel that dates back to the Moorish era. The project currently cares for several gardens which produce a wide range of food crops such as tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, garlic, broad beans etc as well as herbs and fruit.
The role of the gardens are:
- Education and research into regenerative land-use practices
- To improve environmental integration by maximizing the cycling of our waste materials.
- To educate volunteers about the principles of regenerative gardening.
Core Responsibilities
- Running a department, advising and working with other departments
- Assisting and supervising volunteers
- Liaising with local organic growers and organisations
- Trialling and developing effective gardening techniques to meet local conditions
- Planning and production of vegetables and fruit on irrigated terraces
- Preparing beds and tree care
- Greenhouse Management
- Soil Management
- Pest Control
- Tool safety and instruction on proper tool use
Requirements
- Experience and knowledge of several aspects of organic growing
- Tolerance of hard physical work in hot conditions
- Ability to lead and motivate volunteers, who range from those with a wealth of experience to those with little or none
- Ability to work in co-operation with other departments
Operations Collaborator/ Coordinator
Sunseed is a non-formal education project for the transition towards sustainability that has existed for more than 30 years and is now in the process of adopting a more inclusive structure inspired by sociocracy.
In this context, the goal of the Operations Coordinator/ collaborator is to have an oversight on the legal requirements, the finances and future of the project. The Operations Coordinator/Collaborator cooperates at the same time with other members of the Office Team to enhance inclusive decision-making, take care of people’s well-being and general project management.
Contract options:
- Operations collaborator of minimum 6 months with onsite work:
Salary: 105 e /month, 6 hours of work/day
- Operations collaborator of minimum 6 months with offsite work but living in the province of Almeria and previous experience of Sunseed
Salary per month negotiable, working hours flexible
- Operations coordinator of minimum 12 months with full responsibilities of a coordinator in Sunseed (see bellow):
Salary: 210 e/month, 6 hours of work/day
Core Responsibilities:
- Supervise monthly accounting
- Manage legal documents including insurances, taxes, deeds, local facilities, contracts and agreements, etc.
- Manage current legal issues
- Organise and update legal papers of the land that Sunseed owns
- Take care of legal responsibilities of Sunseed to the UK and Spanish state
- Take on final year’s accounting and investigate tax issue
- Take care of liability & van insurance of the project
- Investigate in depth the possibilities about the future of Sunseed. (UK charity status, Spanish association)
- Keep constant communication between the staff on site, trustees and external collaborators.
- Update the admin & trustee drive regularly.
Shared Responsibilities
- Predict income and examine expenditure to identify areas where more resources are required
- Be the point of contact for neighbours in Los Molinos
Requirements:
- Knowledge of the Spanish law
- Fluent in both Spanish and English
- Experience in accounting and finance management
- Good communication skills (including the ability to work as part of a closely integrated team), confidence, sensitivity, patience and open-mindedness to work with all members of the group
- Be highly flexible – willing to work ‘out of hours’ when needs must
- Ability to live in a basic communal environment with limited resources and the desire to live and work closely with community members
Desirable Skills:
- Previous experience in Sunseed and aware of its issues
- Commitment to promoting sustainable living and the aim of Sunseed
- Previous knowledge of NGO administration
- An understanding of organisational structures, particularly sociocratic organisations
Upcoming vacancies:
Organic Gardens Assistant (July 2020)
Specific techniques in horticulture are required to work the terrace system, irrigated by an irrigation channel that dates back to the Moorish era. The project currently cares for several gardens which produce a wide range of food crops such as tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, garlic, broad beans etc as well as herbs and fruit.
The role of the gardens are:
- Education and research into regenerative land-use practices
- To improve environmental integration by maximizing the cycling of our waste materials.
- To educate volunteers about the principles of regenerative gardening.
- Planning and production of vegetables and fruit
- Using a mixture of methods such as crop rotation, companion planting, intercropping
- Planning sowing and transplanting times
- Plant propagation
- preparing beds
- Fruit tree care
- Soil Management
- Starting and maintaining compost heaps
- Crop selection
- Mulching
- Irrigation techniques
- Plant Care and Pest Control
- Storing and using urine
- Preparing liquid feeds from local plants
- Using and developing organic methods for prevention and treatment of pests and diseases
Desirable skills
- Good working knowledge of different horticultural practices based either upon academic study, practical experience, or a mixture of both
- Previous work experience with volunteers ideally in a support role
- Good communication skills
- Ability and drive to do physical work in a wide variety of weather conditions including heat in summer, and rain/cold in winter
- Ability to self-organise and motivate others
- Good spoken English (and Spanish)
Ecosystem Restoration Assistant (Sept 2020)
Here in Los Molinos we are based in the Natural Park ‘Karst en Yesos de Sorbas’ which has very interesting geology and rich plant diversity. Through observation of our natural environment the Ecosystem Restoration department aims to understand the processes of desertification. Using native plant species and land management techniques we aim to reduce erosion, improve the quality and water holding capacity of the soil and conserve local biodiversity. Starting in September is the planting season so we will be busy getting as many native plant species in the ground as we can.
Core responsibilities:
- Planting native trees and bushes.
- Maintaining our tree nursery: watering and propagating plants
- Sewing seeds and caring for them
- Plant care in the drylands to improve survival success (mulching, watering)
- Collection of wild seeds and maintenance of seed bank
- Digging swales and building water retention structures
- Working with volunteers and helping to plan and deliver workshops
- Contributing to the community and attending meetings
Essential skills:
- Knowledge of ecology/ geology/ botany
- Ability to carry out physical work in hot conditions
- Initiative and attention to detail
- Good interpersonal communication skills
- Good spoken English
- Commitment to sustainability and low impact living
Desirable skills:
- Experience of community living
- Experience volunteering/ working with volunteers
- Good spoken Spanish
- Interest in research/ permaculture
Sunseed is a vibrant, inter-cultural community where each member contributes to the smooth running of everyday life, taking on responsibilities to assure a supportive communal environment. We are all part of this group, working closely with each other and respecting each other. The ideal candidate would be comfortable with, or ready to explore, this balance of community living, technical responsibilities, and personal life.
Required skills:
-
Commitment to Sunseed’s vision, mission and goals
-
Commitment to environmental stewardship and social change
-
Willingness to share knowledge and ideas and encourage learning, teaching and community integration
-
Ability to give short talks and guided tours
-
Ability to be flexible, co-operative and welcoming to all visitors
-
Ability to provide mentoring for visitors and supervise their projects
-
Good communication skills, good spoken and written English
Desirable skills:
-
Some knowledge of Spanish and willingness to improve language skills
-
If over 25, a full driving license valid for driving in Spain
-
Interest in living off-grid in a sustainable way
Benefits
Vegeterian food
Locally sourced mostly organic food included
Paid holidays
24 days of paid holidays per year
Amenities
Internet, cosmetics, detergents, library, etc. provided
Scenic landscape
Unique location within a natural reserve with a natural pool
Coordinator
€ 210Monthly
- Contract of 12-24 months
- Accommodation: basic single room
- 2 paid days off a month
- 150€ travel assistance at the end of each contract year
All staff are responsible for their own insurance and up-to-date tetanus jabs.
Assistant
€ 25/50*Monthly
- Contract of 3-6 months
- Accommodation: basic shared room
- 40€ travel assistance at the end
- 2 days paid holidays per month
*25€/month for the first 3 months, 50€/month afterwards.
Committing to Sunseed
Living at Sunseed as a community member means more than simply doing your job well. You will be expected to put your environment first and personal needs second.
You will be expected to take part fully in community life, relevant meetings and to assist in duties that are outside of your post like sharing communal duties such as cooking and cleaning, as well as setting a good example in areas such as enthusiasm, safe practices, punctuality and socialising.
All staff participate in the planning and implementation of tasks in their department and contribute to the overall longer-term strategic development of the project.
All staff are responsible for supervising volunteers and implementing the Health and Safety guidelines in all activities. This is of the utmost importance for staff involved in supervising unskilled volunteers in potentially hazardous situations.
All staff are expected to follow and oversee Sunseed’s mission and policies (vegetarian, no-chemical, no-drug), procedures (grievance) and agreements (communal).