Open Call Official Positions 2021/22

Dear IFSA World,

IFSA wishes to announce that several positions will fall vacant after the first round of open-calls. This is a rolling open call

Introduction

IFSA Officials volunteer to commit one year of their student- or young professional career in contributing to the IFSA Network. This can take many forms: from being the FAO representative for IFSA members, to exploring your creative side in designing for social media, to connecting with the Local Committees in your region and helping them engage in international IFSA activities and cross-national meetings. Whether you are interested in communication, capacity development, or policy, IFSA offers a wide range of opportunities.

Depending on the position you take on, you will spend anywhere from several hours to several days per week on your tasks. You will not do this alone, IFSA has around 50 Officials who communicate in an online network consisting of Officials, alumni, consulting members, etc. You will frequently attend or organize online meetings related to your fellow Officials’ work or to annual events like the International Forestry Students’ Symposium (IFSS) or Interim taking place halfway through every IFSA term. There is always someone to share your volunteering experience with or to simply chat about the forestry world!

Current positions open for application range from communication-related activities, to sustaining partnerships, to ensuring an online learning platform, to being responsible for IFSA’s presence on social media, to mentoring our members to develop their forestry career, and much more. To apply for one of the open positions, you need to follow the steps indicated below.

If you are unsure about what an IFSA Official position is and whether it is a fit for you, or if you have general questions about IFSA, please send an email to vicepresident@ifsa.net

To gain more insight into what it is like to become an Official position check out https://ifsa.net/get-involved/become-an-ifsa-official/

List of Positions

IFSA is divided into 3 Departments: Internal, External and Membership. To get an overview check the IFSA Structure. For a detailed description of each position check the Job Description.

For the 2021/22 term, the new IFSA Board and Heads of Commissions will be elected during the GA.

Before applying for a position, we strongly advise you to get in touch with the respective Councilor for the position you are interested in (ifsa.net/structure). They can help you with specific questions and with getting you in touch with the Head of Commission and the previous position holder.

Please note that in the following list, Head of Commission is abbreviated to HoC and Head of Sub-Commission to HoSC.

Internal Department

Contact the Internal Councilor

Communication Commission:

  • HoSC Discord
  • HoSC Web

Capacity Development Commission:

  • Joint IFSA-IUFRO Task Force on Forestry Education Deputy Coordinator (1 year)

External Department

Contact the External Councilor

International Processes Commission

  • HoSC World Food Forum (WFF)

Membership Department

Contact the Membership Councilor

Regional Representatives

  • Northern America RR (2 positions)
  • Southern Africa RR (2 positions)

You can apply up to 2 positions at the same time.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying for an IFSA Official position, you first need to ensure that you comply with the requirements.

The application consists of a letter of support from your LC, a motivation letter (max. 800 words) and a video (max. 2 minutes).

Requirements

In order to apply to an official position you MUST comply with those requirements:

  • You need to be a member of an IFSA Local Committee and either be an active student or have graduated no longer than one year ago.
  • Proficiency in English, as it is the official language of IFSA and therefore the only means of communication between Officials.
  • Good internet connection: given the fact that all the work as an Official is done remotely (especially because of the travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19), a good internet connection is crucial to effectively accomplish your tasks.
  • Access to a Computer or tablet.

Motivation letter

The motivation letter should cover all the following points and be no longer than 800 words. Note that these points correspond to the criteria that are used to evaluate the motivation letter.

  • What is your background?
    • Introduction: name, age, country, university, current studies
    • LC of membership
  • What is your previous experience in IFSA at the international level (participation and/or organization of IFSA international meetings, IFSA partner events, commissioner or official position)?
  • What is your previous experience in IFSA at the regional and local level (participation and/or organization of regional events, activity in own LC, position held in own LC)? [Only relevant for Regional Representatives or applicants without international experience]
  • Why are you interested in applying for this position?
  • What is your understanding of the position you are running for?
    • Role of the position
    • Tasks of the position
    • Functioning of the position within the Department/Commission
  • What are your overall plans for the IFSA term?
  • Consideration of required skills

Video

Record a video (max. 2 minutes) where you introduce yourself and present the main points from the motivation letter.

Some tips for the video:

  • If the video is longer than 2 minutes, just shorten it talking about the key points from your letter; the other points are covered by the letter;
  • Ensure good lighting
  • Make sure the sound is clear and has good volume so the video is easy to understand (no background noise/music)

Multiple applications

When submitting multiple applications, you should send two separate applications but also specify in the email which is the one that you prefer.

Application procedure

You must send one email with the subject: Name of position you are applying – Applicant’s name to opencall@ifsa.net with all of the following documents attached:

  1. A verification letter from your Local Committee (LC) signed by the President of your LC, verifying that you are a member of the LC in PDF format.
    In case you are the President of your LC, ask the Vice President to sign it. The headed letter of your LC must be used for the letter. Here you can find a template for the verification letter.
  2. The motivation letter in PDF format (max 800 word).
  3. A video (max 2 minutes)
  4. If you are applying for a position in the Communication Commission you may attach your portfolio.

There is no deadline for the application as this is a rolling open call. This means that applications will be considered as they are received and if we receive an application that we consider to be best fit for the position, we will be appointing that person. It is in your interest to apply as soon as possible.

Applications that do not follow this procedure (eg. late, incomplete or sent to an email address other than opencall@ifsa.net) will not be considered.

In case of technical issues with the submission of the application, please send an email to opencall@ifsa.net specifying the problem that you are encountering.

Both successful and unsuccessful applications will receive an answer within 10 days after the deadline. In this timeframe, candidates may be contacted for an online interview.

Good luck with your application,

The IFSA Board