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:
- To rescue people in distress at sea.
- To protect and assist survivors on board our ship.
- To bear witness and raise awareness about the tragedy unfolding in the central Mediterranean.
Since launching operations in 2016, SOS MEDITERRANEE has rescued more than 42,000 people in coordination with its network across Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland, using the ships Aquarius and Ocean Viking.
1. Context
For the past nine years, SOS MEDITERRANEE has been developing and formalising its operational training while working closely with a range of partners. Although Mass Rescue Operations (MROs) are considered rare but high-impact events in most parts of the world, they are a routine reality in our area of operations.
From the outset, SOS crews identified a significant gap between existing maritime training standards and the complex, high-intensity situations encountered during rescues at sea. Standard training frameworks were not fully adapted to the scale, frequency, and specific risks of the operations conducted in the Central Mediterranean.
In response, SOS MEDITERRANEE has invested substantial effort over the years in designing and refining dedicated tactics, procedures, and training tools to bridge this gap. Through continuous learning, operational feedback, and structured training development, the organisation has built a comprehensive learning system tailored to the realities of mass rescue at sea.
2. Purpose of the role
In order to provide training to external rescue teams, the Outreach department is aiming to develop a pool of trainers.
The trainers would be:
- trained (5 days including self directed learning),
- attend a 2 day live training with a client
- willing to be registered in the pool of trainers, and available upon request to deliver training
Typical trainings run for 2 days and require 2-5 days of preparation depending on SOS MEDITERRANEE and trainers experience in a specific context.
SOS MEDITERRANEE would notify trainers of upcoming opportunities as soon as possible (usually 4 months in advance) however ad hoc trainings do come up and trainers with flexible schedules will be prioritised. Clients may include Coast Guards and law enforcement units.
3. Main tasks and responsibilites
The collaborator will be responsible to:
- Maintain and up to date understanding Of SOS MEDITERRANEE learning material both general and specific to various outreach partners
- Review and discuss current standards with existing outreach instructors and outreach manager
- Deliver high standard training sessions to partners
- Maintain a professional composure throughout trainings
- Adapt trainings within a framework following 1st delivery
- Ensure the elaboration of a capitalization report following each training sessions.
- Ensure lessons learned from delivering training remain confidential and managed by SOS unless otherwise discussed
- Ensure SOS MEDITERRANEE engagement is not compromised