Cultural Mediator

Introduction

The Danish Refugee Council assists refugees and internally displaced persons across the globe: we provide emergency aid, fight for their rights, and strengthen their opportunity for a brighter future. We work in conflict-affected areas, along the displacement routes, and in the countries where refugees settle. In cooperation with local communities, we strive for responsible and sustainable solutions. We work toward successful integration and – whenever possible – for the fulfillment of the wish to return home.

The Danish Refugee Council was founded in Denmark in 1956 and has since grown to become an international humanitarian organization with more than 8,000 employees and also 8,000 volunteers, while managing a turnover of over 400 million Euro. Based in Copenhagen (Denmark) and present in forty countries, the Danish Refugee Council is a non-profit-making, politically independent, non-governmental and non-denominational relief organization. The Danish Refugee Council is Denmark’s largest humanitarian NGO and has been ranked the 3rd best NGO in the world in 2018 (for the six consecutive years, the organization is among the top five of the NGO Advisor Annual List).

Our vision is a dignified life for all displaced. All our efforts are based on our value compass: humanity, respect, independence and neutrality, participation, and honesty and transparency.

Background

The Danish Refugee Council initiated its activities in the island of Lesvos in November 2015 due to the unprecedented influx of asylum seekers. Following new political developments and displacement dynamics in early 2016, DRC expanded its activities to the mainland to support the people living in several sites across the country. With offices in Athens, Larissa and Thessaloniki, it currently implements a wide range of activities, including Site Management Support, legal assistance, identification of individual needs and protection of highly vulnerable persons, access to services within and outside the hosting sites through cultural mediation, and non-formal education. DRC works closely with the refugee communities, the Greek authorities and other humanitarian actors to ensure a protective environment for refugees and asylum seekers in Greece. 

Purpose

Under the overall supervision of the SMS Team Leader, and in support of DRC field staff, the Cultural Mediators will provide translation and cultural mediation services, to ensure appropriate, correct, and smooth communication between the persons of concern and DRC staff.
 

Responsibilities:

• Provide translation and cultural mediation services for all DRC field staff, as required
• Contribute to maintaining and strengthening DRC’s relations with the site population
• Report all important information expressed by the beneficiaries or that have caught attention.
• Provide advice to DRC staff, in order to make sure that DRC activities are culturally appropriate for the target population
• Contribute to raising cultural awareness both within the PoC community, as well as DRC staff
• Contribute to the continuous efforts for increased communications with persons of concern throughout DRC units, duty bearers and other humanitarian actors
• Support all kind of distributions (ex. Food & NFI distributions), verification exercises and all other SMS activities by providing interpretation to those staff members who are responsible for the realization of such activities
• Support the Help Desk daily operation by providing interpretation and all kind of information to PoC
• When necessary, support the Site Operations team, external contractors and other actors with interpretation and cultural mediation in the sites where DRC operates as an SMS actor
• Other tasks as required by the SMS Officer & SMS Team Leader, to support DRC’s activities implementation

Qualifications:

• Excellent command of written and spoken Greek AND Farsi languages. Additional languages (especially Kurdish languages or French)
• Basic level in verbal and written English skills
• Relevant training or certification related to translation or interpretation
• General administrative skills are needed, including competence with Microsoft Word, basic Excel
• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills, working with different groups, partners and nationalities 
• Ability to work with vulnerable individuals, from children to elderly
• Commitment to humanitarian principles and values 
• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the DRC values and ethical standards
• Strong analytical skills
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities

Required Skills and Qualities

• Core Competencies of DRC:
• Striving for excellence
• Collaboration
• Taking the lead
• Communication
• Demonstrating Integrity
   
• Excellent time management skills and ability to prioritize in the face of multiple tasks.
• Ability to contribute individually to greater goal.
• Ability to be proactive and work systematically.
• Flexibility and ability to cope with change.
• Ability to cope with high workload and under pressure.
• High business ethics.
• Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships in a multi-ethnic,multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment.

Terms & Conditions

• The contract will be under the Greek Labor Law (this is a national position)
• All allowances will be provided to the employees (Christmas, Easter, Vacation bonus)
• DRC provides training opportunities to develop and strengthen the quality of its services as well as its staff members’ professional and personal development.
• The position will be based in Attica (Greece) and national terms and conditions apply

Application Process

Are you interested? Then apply for this position on line: www.drc.dk/about-drc/vacancies/current-vacancies. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English.

DRC provides equal opportunity in employment and prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability. DRC encourages all applicants to apply and does not practice any discrimination in any recruitment process. However, applicants must be aware that DRC cannot systemically sponsor non-EU citizen or non-Greek resident for all the steps of legal process to get a work permit and/or a residency permit in Greece.

Applications close on the 6th of August 2021. Applications submitted after this date will not be considered.

Due to the urgency of the position, DRC has the right to recruit a candidate who matches the required profile before the above deadline.