Search and Rescue (SAR) Team member - Roster position

SOS MEDITERRANEE is a civil European rescue association founded in 2015 to face the humanitarian tragedy and the lack of adequate state rescue capacity in the Mediterranean on the deadliest maritime migratory route in the world since 2014. Created by a group of European citizens, our maritime and humanitarian organisation has three missions:

1. To rescue people in distress at sea.
2. To protect and assist survivors on board our ship.
3. To bear witness and raise awareness about the tragedy unfolding in the central Mediterranean.

Today, SOS MEDITERRANEE is a network composed of four European entities (Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland) sharing the objective to support our rescue operations at sea. Search and Rescue (SAR) operations have been carried out since February 2016 in the Central Mediterranean off the Libyan coasts with the chartered ships Aquarius and Ocean Viking. To date, over 40.000 people have been rescued by SOS MEDITERRANEE.

The SAR Team members are the hands and the eyes of SOS-Mediterranee. Their job is to train, maintain equipment, rescue people in distress and take care of them onboard. They are under the responsibility of the Search and Rescue Coordinator (SARCO), who oversees the mission on-board. They are under the coordination of the Search and Rescue Team Leader (STL) during rescue operations and the daily routine jobs on deck, and under the coordination of the Communication Officer for all media activities. They must collaborate with other team members to achieve best results for survivors.
SAR-team roles and position during rescue are defined based on operational needs and skills present in the team.  

Duties and responsibilities linked to the operations: 

• Perform Bridge watch during patrol and searching periods.  

• Perform and record maintenance tasks on SOS-Mediterranee equipment.  

• Demonstrate and utilise basic seafaring skills and competencies, and observe safety and security policies and guidelines.   

• Could be part of the rhibs’ crew to approach and recover the people in distress or to transfer the rescued people to/from another vessel, and/or can be part of the deck crew to prepare the rescue equipment and to coordinate the reception of the rescued people on deck.  

• After the recovery of people to the mother ship, the SAR team members will take care of the survivors during the transit, the standby and the disembarkation periods and will have the following missions: 

• Food, water, and non-food items distributions, 

• Humanity and attention to the rescued people, 

• Days and night watches on deck, 

• Assist with translation and crowd management, 

• Contribute to the cleaning of the deck and garbage disposal after disembarkation. 

• Perform basic life support or recover and take care of dead bodies. 

• Help with any other duty linked to the mission as requested by the SAR Coordinator or his/her STL, either at sea or during port calls. Could also assist the Marine crew if requested for specific tasks related to the ship.  

• Assist the STL on the implementation and the improvement of the quality system (guidelines, procedures, etc.).  

• May be asked to perform interviews with the press about the rescue operations, under the responsibility of the Communication Officer and within the frame of the communication policy of SOS-Mediterranee. 

• Support the logistician in taking charge of inventories, record orders received, the stock transactions and report to the SARCO any needs.  

• Perform training and attend in briefings/debriefings as well as feedback sessions. 

Some of the SAR-Team members have specific roles in the team, with specific duties and skills.
We are particularly looking for technician (responsible for the maintenance and basic repairs of the outboard engines), cultural mediator (Arabic speaker responsible to communicate with survivors during the first phase of the rescue and to translate communications on the Bridge), RHIB drivers and crew with bosun skills. 

These people must organize a proper handover to their relievers after the end of their mission and must train the other team members to ensure a continuity in the process.  

• Mandatory: Significant experience at sea in a professional or rescue capacity. In exceptional cases, applicants demonstrating extensive experience sailing yachts and/or small boats are considered. If you do not meet these criteria, your application will not be considered. 

• Mandatory: Fluency in English. 

• Strong motivation and genuine commitment to SOS-Mediterranee’s core objectives. 

• Strong work ethic, good interpersonal skills, open to cultural diversity. 

• Solid and reliable, mentally, and physically. Capable of working under the pressure of the vital urgency and in a stressful environment.   

• Knowledge of Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya, French, Italian, or German is an advantage. 

• Mechanical/bosun skills is an advantage.  

• Experience of boat driving (rhibs) is an advantage.  

• Experience in rescue/humanitarian operations is an advantage (nurse, paramedic, firefighter, rescuer, etc.)  

Mandatory certifications (legally required by Flag state to sign on our vessel): 

1. Valid Maritime Basic Safety Training STCW (A-VI /1) -> composed by Personal Survival Techniques (STCW A-VI/1-1), Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting (STCW A-VI/1-2), Elementary First Aid (STCW A-VI/1-3) and Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities (STCW A-VI/1-4). 
2. Valid Medical fitness certificate for seafarer (ENG1 or Equivalent)  
3. Security Awareness certificate STCW A-VI/6 (essential to embark but can be provided online and only takes a few hours) 
4. For boat drivers, a Power Boat License is required (STCW VI/2 – Proficiency in Survival Craft, rescue boats and Fast Rescue Boats or equivalent). 

Due to the political context, the Ocean Viking uses various Italian ports (mainly in Sicily) and the port of Marseille (France). The mission occurs in the International waters, off the Libyan coast. The SAR-Team members must join the mission only if they understand the risks, they commit to comply with the security guidelines and respect the instructions given by the SAR Coordinator.   

Please note due to the current political climate duration of missions is very hard to predict. SOS-Mediterranee is doing what it can to ensure the maximum mission length does not exceed 7 weeks. SAR team members are encouraged to return if they have successfully carried out their mission. In case of serious concern during a mission, the SARCO is entitled to ask any SAR team member to disembark at next port call. 

By working for SOS-Mediterranee onboard, we offer Norwegian maritime temporary contracts, starting on the travel date until the disembarkation/travel home date.  

• Seafarer’s employment agreement. Employed by a maritime crewing company, certified MLC 2006.  
• Salary: 2860 € gross / month
• Insured for health, repatriation, workplace accident, travel insurance (Allianz).  
• Travel, food, and accommodation fees are covered by the association for the entire mission.  
• SOS MEDITERRANEE provides Personal Protective Equipment to perform the rescue operations (helmets, life-jackets, dry suits, jackets, trousers, safety boots, radios, goggles, gloves, etc.).

To apply for this role, please fill in the form and upload your resume and cover letter through this link by 30 of june the latest : Application for SAR Team member roster positionWhen you apply for a job, we collect and store your personal data within our recruitment department for the administrative management of applications and the recruitment process. The purpose of the information requested as a candidate for employment is to assess the professional qualities and skills of your application, to the exclusion of any other purpose. The legal basis for this processing is to obtain your consent and for pre-contractual measures for the employment contract. If your application is successful, this data will be kept for the duration of your contract. If your application is not successful, this data will be deleted immediately unless you advise us otherwise. In accordance with the French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978 and European regulations, you may access your personal data, rectify it, request its deletion or exercise your right to limit the processing of your data. You can request more information and exercise your rights at any time by contacting SOS MEDITERRANEE France, CS 20585 – 13294 Cedex Marseille 06. rgpd.fr@sosmediterranee.org