CAREERS

*If for any reason your desired position is filled we will hold your information in our database and provide you notification upon an opening of an appropriate position that is suitable for you.

Team Member Description:

The main focus of all team member training is to exercise the advanced critical thinking and decision-making abilities that our Veterans have received through their military and combat experience. These skills are the bare minimum of what is required for them to serve as a team member. The expectation is that as a functioning team member you will be able to leverage this tacit and explicit knowledge to advise and assist the rangers, conservationists, and law enforcement officers who are on the ground to be more effective at their jobs. From this point forward once you are considered as a team member candidate you will be observed and evaluated by cadre in our VETPAW Team Member Candidate Assessment & Selection Course. This is the linchpin to VETPAW’s main effort in conservation. It’s not not only measuring for your performance and class standing, but to be identified as possible leaders. From that point you will receive a verbal & written counseling by a cadre and informed that completion of the class,however, does not guarantee a conditional offer/contract with VETPAW. Once you have completed all of our assessments with satisfaction you may be selected and offered for a position then you will have an opportunity to become a VETPAW Team Member.

Course requirements:

Once candidates are notified of their selection for the course, you will receive a required gear list along with travel instructions and a list of required documents that you will need to have on training day one. The course is free of charge for all candidates, but they are required to cover their equipment and travel expenses. All candidates are required to have a valid driver’s license, a current passport, a non-disclosure agreement, release of liability/hold harmless agreement, a physical completed by their doctor, a 14-panel drug screening verified by a licensed facility, and an FBI background check. Before conducting any training, their paperwork must be verified.

Volunteer Team Member:

As a general volunteer for VETPAW you will be placed within the organization based upon current position openings that align with your skill sets. These skills or experience include the following:

1. Served time within the military

Team Leader:

To qualify as a viable candidate for becoming a VETPAW team leader you must have completed and satisfied the following requirements before being considered for the position.

1. You must have completed time as a VETPAW assistant team leader.
2. You Must have a letter of recommendation from the preceding or current VETPAW team leader.
3. You must be interviewed and approved by our President and Director of Operations.

Assistant Team Leader:

To qualify as a viable candidate for becoming a VETPAW assistant team leader you must have completed and satisfied the following requirements:

1. Completion of our Team Member assessment Program.
2. You must have served time out in the bush in South Africa while being a VETPAW team member.
3. You must have a letter of recommendation from the current Assistant and Team Leaders.

General Volunteer:

As a general volunteer for VETPAW you will be placed within the organization based upon current position openings that align with your skill sets. These skills or experience include the following but not limited to:

1. Any first aid response experience
2. Any Mechanical experience
3. Any Conservation or animal handling experience
4. Any Law enforcement / Leadership experience

Internships

All internships are open throughout the Summer, Fall, and Spring Terms but are subject to availability based on a need-to-need basis. Vetpaw internships will cover a cohesive range of opportunities for our viable candidates who are chosen to participate.

Internships available will be Media/Marketing, Hospitality/Program management, and Stewardship & Donor Relations. A brief description of each program will follow the area of interest you choose. A commitment of roughly 15 hours per week for a minimum of twelve weeks is desired.

*Disclaimer: Being admitted as an Intern does not guarantee in any way travel to Africa. You will be assigned to an area of need-based upon your skillset and our positioning openings at the time. These unpaid programs are open to college students with at least 2 years of coursework, as well as recent graduates and MBA students. One intern will be admitted per opening in each session (January – May, and June – December). An intensive summer internship (June – August) is also available. Start and end dates are flexible depending on University schedules and other school or work commitments.

Stewardship & Donor Relations Internship

The Stewardship & Donor Relations Intern plays a key role in the execution of donor stewardship plans and the execution of the Management process overall by providing project support and daily administrative assistance to the Executive Development Team.

Requirements:

• AA or a Bachelor’s Degree with one year of experience
• Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as internet-based communications and research tools such as Google
• General computer skills that aid in the learning of new software tools
• Excellent writing and interpersonal skills
• Eager to support VETPAW’s mission with his/her ideas to improve our efficiency
• Knowledge of principles and practices of project management and process improvement
• Ability to work with multiple deadlines under minimal supervision
• Ability to work for several different individuals on a variety of projects simultaneously
• Must have a passion for VETPAW’s mission

Varying responsibilities:

*Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Assist Development team in their efforts to effectively cultivate donor relationships
• Work closely with leadership to execute donor recognition plans and coordinate giving society benefits
• Assist in the planning and execution of donor engagement events
• Assist in prospect research and donor prospect management
• Coordinate the tracking of donor relations in the company shared drive for the Executive Development Team
• Assist in the planning of staff workshops and retreats
• Work on special projects as needed and assigned by the Executive Development Director/Manager, DOO, and President

Social Media Internship

 We are looking for a creative and enthusiastic marketing intern to join our team and assist in our mission of protecting wildlife by empowering veterans. You will have administrative duties in developing and implementing marketing strategies and campaigns. As a marketing intern, you will collaborate with our marketing and advertising team in all stages of marketing campaigns from planning to execution. Your insightful contribution will help develop, expand, and maintain our marketing channels. This internship will help you acquire marketing skills and provide you with knowledge of various marketing strategies within several different sectors including conservation, veterans advocacy, and international tourism. Candidates for this position should be prepared and ready to enter a fast-paced work environment.

Requirements:

• AA or a Bachelor’s Degree with one year of experience
• Under/Postgraduate with a degree in advertising, marketing, or communications-related study
• Experience with social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube
• Knowledge of social media analytics software including Facebook Insights, Google Analytics, and Twitter Analytics to track audience engagement and campaign performance
• Experience with content management systems, word processor applications, and image/video editing software
• Excellent writing and oral communication skills
• Must have a passion for VETPAW’s mission

Varying Responsibilities:

*Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to
• Submit daily pictures to the social media representatives with appropriate captions and hashtags to be used on our various social media platforms
• Create, edit, and manage a compelling cutting edge ongoing narrative for our channels. The content must be uploaded on a weekly basis. The intent is to create multiple series within the channels, not limited to, but include:
    a. The stories behind the individuals, or profiles, on the ground and why they decided to get involved with this mission
    b. Assist in developing educational content on conservation and veteran challenges and current events
    c. Testimonials from visitors, guests, and locals/document donor and VIP visits
• Collecting and assessing quantitative and qualitative data from marketing campaigns
• Performing market analysis and research on similar organizations to support the marketing team in content and campaign strategy development

Hospitality & Management Internship

 We are looking for a creative and enthusiastic intern to assist with VETPAW’s Experience Program, which allows people from around the globe an opportunity to visit our veterans in the African bush. Your main tasks will be communicating with the guests before, during, and after their trips to help improve the experience of future guests.

This is a great opportunity if you are eager enough to work independently and efficiently to maintain a high rate of reviews.  

Requirements and Skills:

• AA or a Bachelor’s Degree with one year of experience
• Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as internet-based communications and research tools such as Google
• General computer skills that aid in the learning of new software tools
• Excellent writing and interpersonal skills
• Detail-oriented
• Independent and team player worker
• Eager to support VETPAW’s mission with his/her ideas to improve our efficiency

Varying responsibilities:

*Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to

• Planning both internal meetings and incentives to include accommodations, transportation, meeting details, food and beverage details, recreation activities and all other details related to the program
• Close cooperation with Event Management in South Africa
• Ensuring that each trip or event is completed smoothly (resolving any problems that might occur)
• Organizing responsibilities to ensure completion and compliance with standards
• Providing management with proactive input and contributing to regularly scheduled meetings with management to help improve our reservations and service processes as well as the working environment
• Performing other duties and assignments effectively as assigned by management
• Analyzing the trip’s success and preparing reports

Assessment & Selection

Once candidates are notified of their selection for the course, they receive a required gear list along with travel instructions and a list of required documents that they will need to have on training day one. The course is free of charge for all candidates, but they are required to cover their equipment and travel expenses. All candidates are required to have a valid driver’s license, a current passport, a non-disclosure agreement, release of liability/hold harmless agreement, a physical completed by their doctor, a 14-panel drug screening verified by a licensed facility, and an FBI background check. Before conducting any training, their paperwork is verified. From this point forward the candidates are being observed and evaluated by cadre not only for their performance and class standing, but identifying possible leaders.

Because of the physical demands of this work the candidates undergo an arduous Modified Physical Readiness Evaluation that is task-oriented and graded by time from beginning to end. The candidates are not informed of each task until they complete the previous one, nor do they know when it will end. A failure to complete the MPRE will result in immediate removal from the course.

Early the next morning, candidates begin their Land Navigation Practical Application for score starting in night-time conditions moving into daylight. The candidates have 5-hours to plot and find 5 points with verification by an orienteering punch. The candidates must find at least 4 out of 5 points within the time limit to pass. Any failures are remediated the very next day, and an inability to pass remediation will result in their removal from the course. As training day two continues the candidates begin classes for firearms handling/safety, marksmanship fundamentals, firearms tactics/principles, and US & ZA laws in regards to carrying firearms legally.

Training day three is spent all day on the range with a practical application of TD-2 firearms classes ending with a firearms proficiency qualification course that requires an 80% or higher to pass. Any failures are remediated with any remediation failures being immediately removed from the class. ANY SAFETY VIOLATIONS OR NEGLIGENT DISCHARGES are grounds for IMMEDIATE removal from the range and the course.

Candidates must receive a “GO” for all three of these initial events to complete the A&S course. They will receive a verbal & written counseling by their cadre and informed that completion of the class does not guarantee a conditional offer/contract with VETPAW. The remainder of the training encompasses curricula in Tactical Medical Training (1-day), Human Terrain Mapping and Behavior Pattern Recognition (2-days), Man-tracking (1-day), VETPAW Team SOPs (this includes Reporting Requirements, Team Administrative Requirements, Wildlife Conservation Best Practices, and Social Media Best Practices 1-day) and Scenario-based Training (2-days).

The main focus of all team member training is to exercise the advanced critical thinking and decision-making abilities that our Veterans have received through their military and combat experience. These skills are the bare minimum of what is required for them to serve as a team member. The expectation is that as a functioning team member the candidates will be able to leverage their tacit and explicit knowledge to advise and assist the rangers, conservationists, and law enforcement officers who are on the ground to be more effective at their jobs.

Conclusion:

The VETPAW Team Member Candidate Assessment & Selection Course is the linchpin to VETPAW’s main effort in conservation. Candidates must be physically and mentally fit with sound The Veterans who graduate and are accepted for work as a Team Member are not only capable members of the VETPAW Team, but they are ambassadors for their country, their service, wildlife conservation, and for our organization. It is imperative as it is with any other high profile and high-risk industry that an organization take seriously the caliber of personnel that they bring onto their staff. It is important to remember that while doing so many of these individuals have undergone many crucibles to attain their status as combat veterans. It is the intention that the A&S course pays homage to that service while ensuring that VETPAW’s high value for brilliance in the basics and standards for excellence are achieved.