Team Hosting Coordinator

From AFSWiki

Contents 1 Team Hosting Coordinator 1.1 Responsible to: 1.2 Time Required: 1.3 Competencies Required: 1.4 Training: 1.5 Works with: 1.6 Responsibilities: 1.7 Benefits:

Team Hosting Coordinator

The Team Hosting Coordinator is the volunteer with the principal responsibility for coordinating volunteers, returnees, and schools in the recruitment for and implementation of the AFS hosting program in the area. As such, the Team Hosting Coordinator facilitates and monitors the recruitment of area host families and student placement process, and works to develop and support local hosting volunteers. The Team Hosting Coordinator also serves as the principal liaison between the team and the Regional Service Center for procedural and policy issues related to host family finding and student placement.

Responsible to:

• Team Chair

Time Required:

• Peak time: 10-15 hours/week, non-peak: 5 hours/week

Time commitment varies depending on size of the team, hosting capacity, time of year, geography, and number of volunteers. Spring and summer tend to be the busiest times of the hosting year.

• Length of service time: minimum 2 year commitment

Competencies Required:

• Well organized, ability to multi-task.
• Excellent relationship and team-building skills

(Negotiating, mediating, recognizing others, problem-solving)

• Keeps commitments
• Effective at task delegation
• Comfortable with “big-picture” thinking
• Passion for the AFS mission

Training:

• Participation in regional or national conferences or training events
• Ongoing support from Regional Service Center and national staff
• Peer-to-peer training and/or mentoring available

Works with:

• Staff
  • Regional Hosting and Support Departments
• Volunteers
  • team, chapter/local unit hosting volunteers

Responsibilities:

• Ensure hosting placement commitments are met by the Team
• Collaborate with team, Regional Hosting Coordinator /Manager, and chapter/local unit volunteers to gather information regarding hosting capacity of the team, set hosting commitment for next hosting program cycle, and create a hosting recruitment and contingency plan
• Help build strong hosting teams within the chapters/local units and communicate training needs to the Regional Hosting Coordinator/Manager
• Oversee the implementation of the hosting recruitment plan for the area, including ensuring adequate publicity and timely distribution of hosting recruitment materials.
• Train and monitor progress of hosting team members in meeting hosting commitments
• Coordinate communication flow and recruitment activities between volunteer contacts in chapters/local units and regional hosting staff
• Develop communication with other Team Hosting Coordinators regionally, with the goal of facilitating placement of ALL students region or nation-wide.
• Facilitate wish list requests regionally whenever possible by collecting chapter/local unit requests.
• Adhere to AFS-USA, AFS International, CSIET and State Department guidelines and quality standards which includes, but is not limited to placement deadlines, completed host family applications and criminal background checks
• Promote AT growth by ensuring schools have local AFS contacts to maintain quality relationships with administrators and faculty
• Coordinate the selection and distribution of student applications for the team
• Receive and distribute nationally and regionally generated host family leads to volunteer contacts in chapter/local units
• Work with Support Coordinator as needed in finding replacement families for currently hosted participants
• Maintain complete files of host family and student applications
• Evaluate host family recruitment activities and report findings to the team and regional hosting staff
• Work together with other volunteers to learn school policies, maintain positive school relationships, and secure school placements and Placement Acceptance Forms (PAFs).
• In the case of a change in host family, the Hosting Coordinator is involved in finding replacement families.

Benefits:

• Develop lifelong relationships with volunteers, AFS staff, host and natural families and young people
• Share the power of the AFS mission with many communities, individuals and families
• Enhanced knowledge and understanding of other cultures and the impact on the American perspective
• Play a lead role in developing AFS as a strong international education organization serving local and regional parts of the country
• Increased management and career development skills
• Increase written and verbal communications skills