Five Minutes with…Marc Maringer, VSO ICS Team Leader

The position took him all the way to the Philippines. Overseeing a group of 18 young volunteers for three months, he managed an environmental sustainability project reaching out to over 500 members of the community. The experience has led him to his current role as a freelance expedition leader.

Why did you want to become a team leader?

I loved working with young people. I loved teaching but the school environment wasn’t for me. A lot of things were changing in education and it felt like I was working in a factory churning out grades. I was spending a lot of my time taking kids on expeditions to India and Borneo and I volunteered in Ethiopia. I wanted to develop them as global citizens and inspire them to do something out of the ordinary. I got a position with VSO ICS in early 2015. I liked their focus on personal development.

What did the job involve?

Our aim was to raise awareness about preserving the region’s watershed and also to empower young people to have a voice in their local council. We went into schools, organised community action days and speeches. We smashed the targets-reaching over 500 people. The community said they had achieved more with ICS than they could done have without it.

As a leader, my role was about organising our team. Each volunteer had their individual projects and I coordinated them along with my local counterparts. We made sure they were prepared; so holding inductions, teaching them about the project goals, assigning national and local volunteers to their host homes. It then became about facilitating weekly meetings and so on. It was my role to make things easier for everyone. It was wide ranging so including things like taking people to hospital visits and linking volunteers to the local council.

What was it like working with your local counterparts?

The beauty of ICS is that you get to work with local people. It was also a culture shock for those local volunteers because they came from all over the country. Some were from the city and had to work in a project that was right out in the sticks. Everyone agreed that getting to know each other was a highlight. It teaches you a lot about cross cultural working.

What were the best bits?

There’s a mid-stage review where we take a break to talk about how we are all getting on. It was organised by our young volunteers themselves. It’s the greatest thing as a team leader to find that you can become superfluous to requirements. We just watched them take on the responsibility. It was also a real privilege to find out what they’ve learnt and how it has affected them. They often came to the programme without knowing what to do with their lives and as it went on they took an interest in travelling or international development.

What were the challenges?

It’s very full one. There are no set hours. You’re told to turn your phone off after 5pm but that’s not the reality. You have to accept that you’re always on the go. Some days you will come home at midnight. Other challenges would be the cultural differences- for example UK volunteers were often more vocal and keen to get their point across whilst the Filipino volunteers were more likely to sit listening, and only contribute at the end of a meeting. We had to work on a happy medium. These weren’t huge challenges; it was fun! Great friendships blossomed and I’m still in touch with my counterparts.

How has this equipped you for the workplace?

You learn how to work with people. You create a team ethos, getting people to work together and overcoming interpersonal issues or cross cultural issues. If you wanted to become a manager, you get a lot of soft skills and good experience working with lots of different people. Time management, organising a budget, holding interviews and writing references or resolving differences are all skills you learn.

I’ve definitely changed as a result of this experience. I’d never worked with adults before, just 16-18 year olds. I learnt about thinking on my feet, adapting to changing situation and being dynamic. It’s better than going backpacking. You’ll come back with loads to say about the challenges you’ve overcome and that will impress any employer.