Initiatives of Change

I) ADMINISTRATION

a) RECEPTION
Hospitality is a core value of the Caux conferences. It is the spirit that welcomes people from all corners of the world, makes them feel at home.

Your job:
The receptionist is often the first person conference delegates meet on arrival, therefore the work of the receptionist is important. It consists of receiving people, checking them in, answering questions, and giving out the mail.
Opening hours are between 7am and 10 pm. Each day you will be working at the same desk with the telephone operator and the cashier. The work is divided in shifts throughout the day.

Requirements:
Knowledge of ideas and aims of Initiatives of Change-IofC (you will find the information needed on this website).
Fluent English and French are essential. Other languages are helpful.
Familiarity with computer programs, on-line research, photocopying etc.
Interest in people, politeness, service mindedness and punctuality, reliability are essential.

b) TELEPHONE
Hospitality is a core value of the Caux conferences. It is the spirit that welcomes people from all corners of the world, makes them feel at home and enables them to make the most of their visit to Caux.

Your job:
The telephone operator is working at the same desk as the receptionist and the cashier, therefore you are one of the first people the participants meet on their arrival.
Answering calls from outside, your job is to connect the caller with the right person or office, or to forward messages. Participants will request your help for inside or outside calls and for other information too.
Opening hours are between 7 am and 10 pm. The work is divided in shifts throughout the day.

Requirements:
Knowledge of ideas and aims of Initiatives of Change-IofC (you will find the information needed on this website).
Fluent English and French are essential (clear pronunciation). German or other languages are helpful.
Familiarity with computer programs, on-line research.
Readiness to learn a lot and to meet unexpected situations.
Interest in people, politeness, service mindedness and punctuality, reliability are essential.

c) HOUSE OFFICE
Hospitality is a core value of the Caux conferences. It is the spirit that welcomes people from all corners of the world, makes them feel at home.

Your job:
Your main job will be doing recordings of conference sessions for archival purposes along with some administrative tasks under the supervision of the Office Manager. You will also provide support to conference organisers in the use of office equipment. Training on the equipment will be provided.
The daily hours will be flexible.

Requirements:
Knowledge of ideas and aims of Initiatives of Change-IofC (you will find this information on this website.)
Fluency in spoken and typed English
Must have familiarity with EXCEL and word processing
An interest in working with people from various cultural backgrounds
Flexibility, politeness, punctuality and reliability are essential.

d) KINDERGARTEN
Your job:
The Children's programme in Caux offers activities for children aged 3 - 12 (divided into two age groups) during conference hours, usually from 9.15 to 12.15 and from 4.15 pm to 6.30 pm.

Requirements:
Young women or men (two or three for each period) with a love of children and with experience in leading small groups. You should come with your knowledge of crafts, music, in - and outdoor games, etc.
You need to be fluent in English and preferably speak another language as well: French, German or Russian.

As we can never predict how many children will actually be present at a given time, carers may be asked to lend a hand in another department of Mountain House.

After application has been granted, you will receive a detailed letter of how we work.

II) TECHNICAL DEPARTMENTS

a) TECHNICAL TEAM
Your job:
All technical aspects of conferences, seminars and artistic productions.
You are involved in a number of activities in Mountain House to provide three main things: Good Sound, Good Vision, and as far as is possible congenial surroundings

Requirements:
Knowledge of ideas and aims of Initiatives of Change-IofC (you will find the information needed on this website).
Spoken English.
Interest in people, politeness, service mindedness and punctuality, reliability are essential
Interest and some basic skills in technical matters.
Extremely flexible and a readiness to work in a small team.

b) IT
The IT department is responsible for the computers and computer network in Mountain House. We look after the machines, and we help people use them. We troubleshoot problems and we support people, in other words. We have a few long-standing volunteers that do the more technical infrastructure work. Each summer, a couple of interns help us to do user support. We have a network consisting of Mac OS X and GNU/Linux systems. Delegates also connect to this network with their laptops.

Your main responsibility will be providing end-user support in our 'Internet Cafe' that consists of 15-20 Apple (Mac) computers. Many people come to Caux with laptops, and you will also be expected to help those people connect to the wireless network.

All candidates should be fluent in English and have an outgoing personality. Extra languages are a benefit - people from all of the world come to Caux, and for most people English is not the primary language.

For each period (July and August), we are looking for at least one person with a more technical background. This person would be very comfortable with computers, a quick learner, and ideally have experience maintaining Mac OS X and/or GNU/Linux systems. You don't have to know everything, but you should be able to learn what you need to know to help people more or less independently. Being able to work in a somewhat chaotic, do-it-yourself kind
of environment is essential.

If you are not a very technical person but like teaching and/or helping people, and you're not afraid to learn more about computer support, please do apply. People skills are the most important part of this job, and training for Mac OS X will be provided. Don't be afraid of Macs - they are much easier to use than Windows-based machines and are much less error prone.

You will be expected to work a rota with your colleague interns that doesn't have early mornings but will have late evenings. You will be supervised by a department leader who will be experienced in all aspects of what you will be expected to do.

The information you provide in your application will be used to assess your suitability for work in the various departments. The more information you provide, the more likely you are to be allocated to your requested department.

III) HOUSEKEEPING

Your job:
Hospitality is a core value of the Caux conferences. It is the spirit that welcomes people from all corners of the world, makes them feel at home.
In Housekeeping we are responsible for 225 rooms with 450 beds. We prepare the rooms before new guests arrive, make the beds and check that everything is clean and welcoming. We keep in touch with the staff that are in charge of the cleaning and report any broken or faulty items to the maintenance team. We get information about arriving and departing guests from the computer from which we print the daily room lists. We meet every morning and work as a team, and we work with voluntary conference participants.

Requirements:
Knowledge of ideas and aims of Initiatives of Change-IofC (you will find the information needed on this website).
English language, possibly some French.
Knowledge of how to use a computer. Normal physical strength (good back for bed making). Management skills are helpful.
Interest in people, politeness, service mindedness and punctuality, reliability are essential.
Some previous experience in leading groups of people (for example: scouts, student associations etc.).

IV) FOOD & BEVERAGE DEPARTMENT (F&B)

Hospitality is a core value of the Caux conferences. It is the spirit that welcomes people from all corners of the world, makes them feel at home.
Our aim is to create an atmosphere of welcome and care, so that the conference participants experience how IofC works.
This is the community in service, the place where we put into practice the values we talk about - teamwork, trust-building, inclusion, and multiculturalism and community-building. It is where we experience it by realising the behaviour, awareness and skills needed to create authentic communities.

The F&B department is divided into different sections.
In all F&B departments you will have a Hygiene and Safety Training, and will have to sign a confirmation paper regarding this. You will be working under the guidance of trained people.

a) SERVICE IN THE DINING ROOM
Your job:
Here you are given responsibility for a team of 10-15 conference participants. These teams are created of the conference participants.
The work of these teams, which you are supervising and which work in shifts, consists of the efficient service of food and drinks at all 3 main meals (plus tea and evening drinks) to the rest of the conference participants.
The work involves setting the tables in the dining room, preparing breakfast, making coffee and tea, serving hot drinks, and ending up at the dish wash machine so that the next team coming in finds clean cutlery.

Requirements:
Knowledge of ideas and aims of Initiatives of Change-IofC (you find the information needed on this website).
Fluent in speaking English, and ability to read and understand well English texts.
Management skills (Some previous experience in leading groups of people for example: scouts, student associations etc.)
Interest in people, politeness, service mindedness and punctuality and reliability are essential.

b) COOKING
Your job: (in any of the following 3 areas)
1.) The main kitchen
This involves the daily menus, including the cooking of main courses, vegetarian food, dessert etc.

2.) The diet kitchen
Here you look after people with specific traditional (Halal and Kosher) food requirements and people with dietary requirements for specific health problems.

3.) The vegetable-preparation team
Starting work at 7 in the morning with an inter-generational team, to prepare all the vegetables needed for the kitchen for that day.

Requirements:
Knowledge of ideas and aims of Initiatives of Change-IofC (you will find the information needed on this website).
English spoken well, French ideal but not a prerequisite
Interest in people, politeness, service mindedness, punctuality and reliability are essential.
Management skills (Some previous experience in leading groups of people for example: scouts, student associations etc.)