Thinking about applying?

Applications with a CV and at least two relevant references (recommendations, transcripts, etc.) should be sent to volunteer coordinator Nanna S. Hansen at nsh@somandsmissionen.dk.

Volunteer application form: CLICK HERE.

Hotel assistant application form: CLICK HERE.

For more information, please contact Nanna Hansen.

There are volunteer shifts in January and July. Remember to choose whether you want to be one of the few volunteers or a hotel assistant - the physical setting is the same and both positions give you unique experiences in Greenland. 

• 40 hour working week - a full-time job in Greenland
• hourly wage and bonus after 9 months
• You pay for the journey yourself
• hotel work with the responsibility you want, e.g. team leader                        

 As a hotel assistant you have a job in Greenland. Your work at Hotel SØMA will primarily consist of tasks at the hotel and in the cafeteria. You will receive thorough training in hotel and cafeteria operations, where you will initially be included and trained in all existing positions and tasks. After a thorough introduction to these shifts, your work will consist of a mix of assisting in the actual operation, but also eventually, if you want, working as a team leader on selected shifts. At the same time, it is expected that you will sometimes be used as a practical employee who can solve practical tasks.

EXAMPLES of work tasks. different from location to location.

Cafeteria

• Cafeteria shifts where you'll be in charge of the cash register, taking orders, washing dishes and keeping the cafeteria neat and clean. Grill shifts, where you prepare and cook barbecue food for our guests, followed by cleaning and self-inspection. In the long term, you will have the opportunity to act as a team leader with responsibility for the cafeteria and grill, including special responsibility for quality assurance of the food that is sent out to the customer, control and follow-up on self-inspection, marketing on Facebook and physical signage. You will also have influence on shift planning in collaboration with your immediate manager.

Administration

• Responsible for internal activities, reception work, soda and cigarette ordering and pick-up, Facebook and Instagram updates, answering emails and administrative work such as counting, follow-up etc...

Practical Tasks

• Picking up goods, snow clearing, cleaning up, picking up and dropping off food, driving guests and general maintenance of our facilities.

Conference and tourism

• Act as a conference host and occasionally as a guide on simple tourist tours

Professional qualifications

• Good Danish and English language skills, driving licence, a vocational or upper secondary education, knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite and preferably work experience from the service industry.

Personal qualifications

• Recognising, open and honest. Good interpersonal skills and good relational qualities. Good role model and personal Christian. Good at creating an overview, delegating tasks and full of drive and enthusiasm.

Frames:

• Working hours will vary with alternating day and evening work, we schedule at least 14 days ahead. There will be work on weekends and public holidays. Average working hours are expected to be 40 hours per week, but a high degree of flexibility is expected.

The Hotel Assistant position is for you if you want to try a full-time position abroad and want to develop personally and professionally in a safe and Christian workplace. The position should be seen as a regular job where you will have the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills that you can put on your CV.

If - after working as a hotel assistant - you haven't had enough of Greenland and would like to take on more responsibility, you can apply to become a junior manager at Hotel SØMA by contacting your manager.

The everyday life of a hotel assistant has many similarities with that of a volunteer. Watch the film here from SØMA in Nuuk. You can watch the film here.

• 30 hour working week
• Volunteer salary - part-time volunteering
• you get the journey paid from Copenhagen
• Both hotel work and diaconal work

As a volunteer, you will work 30 hours a week and about half of the working hours will be spent on diaconal work. The remaining time is spent on tasks at the hotel and in the cafeteria.

SEE EXAMPLES OF WORK below
Please note that work may vary from location to location.

Diaconal Work (15 hours/week)

You will have the opportunity to get involved in diaconal areas where you will receive ongoing sparring to develop the activities you are interested in. At the seafarers' homes, we divide our diaconal activities into primary and secondary activities. The primary diaconal activities vary very little from seafarers' home to seafarers' home, and all have in common that they are targeted at seafarers and fishermen. Harbour visits and ship visits are regular activities. Secondary diakonia is more widespread and varies from seafarers' home to seafarers' home. Examples of secondary diakonia are children's clubs, homeless breakfasts, village visits, prison visits, etc... You are expected to be able to plan and work independently, and a high degree of self-discipline is required in diaconal work. The work can be challenging at times, where you see and hear a lot. We have set procedures for debriefing, but we prefer that you as a volunteer also know yourself and are a robust person.

Cafeteria and hotel (15 hours/week)

You will receive thorough training in hotel and cafeteria operations, where you will initially be included and trained in all existing positions and tasks. After a thorough introduction to these shifts, you will work 15 hours a week in the cafeteria and grill, where you will work the cash register, take orders, cook barbecue food, wash dishes, do cleaning and keep the cafeteria clean and tidy. 

Professional qualifications

• Good Danish and English language skills, driving licence, a vocational or upper secondary education, knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite and preferably work experience from the service industry.

Personal qualifications

• You are a personal Christian with the desire and courage to share your Christian life, open and honest, a good listener, want to meet other people and get to know them, good at collaborating, courage to take the lead and be a role model for others, you can set yourself in motion and stay focused on a task, are open to unforeseen and sudden tasks and opportunities, you are good at getting ideas and can plan and perform activities for others.

Frames:

• Working hours will vary with alternating day and evening work, we schedule at least 14 days ahead. There will be work on weekends and public holidays. Average working hours are expected to be 30 hours per week, but a high degree of flexibility is expected.

The volunteer position is for you if you want a different volunteer position in Greenland. You are a Christian and therefore want to be something for others. You understand that we take our diaconal work seriously and treat your position and working hours accordingly. You can thrive in an uneven workday where leisure, work and everyday life are mixed together. You are ready to put your own needs before the needs of others and are naturally curious to spend time with people you don't know. You're also prepared to be a role model and culture creator.

If you haven't had enough of Greenland after volunteering and would like to take on more responsibility, you can apply to become a junior manager at a seamen's home by contacting your manager.

The volunteers in Nuuk (2021) made a short film about what it's like to volunteer in Nuuk. However, there are many similarities with volunteering at the other Seamen's Homes. You can watch the film here.

Payroll

As a volunteer, you will receive a volunteer salary, as it is a partly voluntary job, of approximately 8-9000 DKK/month. As a hotel assistant, you will receive a regular hourly wage, as it is a regular job, with a possible evening/night supplement and a bonus of approximately DKK 12,000 after nine months of employment.

Hotel SØMA is the Seamen's Mission's hotels in Greenland. 

HOTEL SØMA's Seamen's Home is a local diaconal and maritime welfare programme. 

As the seamen's homes work together with the Church of Greenland and the Danish People's Church, we expect you as an employee to subscribe to the confession of the Church of Denmark.

Employees at Hotel SØMA are representatives of the Seamen's Mission.

You must be willing to learn and to enter and build on what others have started in a servant-like manner.