Vanessa Iaria, Volunteer Coordinator

Vanessa Iaria

Volunteer Coordinator

Jesuit Refugee Service

Location
Jordan - Amman
Education
Doctorate, Migration Studies
Experience
14 years, 1 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :14 years, 1 Months

Volunteer Coordinator at Jesuit Refugee Service
  • Jordan - Amman
  • My current job since September 2013

- Managing all elements of volunteering: recruitment, placement and retention of around 25 volunteer teachers
- Planning and organising the EFL teaching programme directed at a mixed-age classroom setting
- Ensuring appropriate support and training are provided to volunteers
- Offering information to volunteers and external organisations through face-to-face, telephone or email contact
- Helping to administer the 'student life cycle' of refugees from registration or admission to graduation or leaving

Post-doctoral Research Fellow at Council for British Research in the Levant
  • Jordan - Amman
  • My current job since August 2013

- Managed project ‘Shared livelihood security challenges: Syrian refugees and host communities in Jordan’
- Liaised with UNHCR, JRS Jordan, Intersos Italy and the CBRL British Institute in Amman
- Conducted and analysed in-depth interviews with members of the public; analysed large-scale data sets
- Produced written and oral briefs for external organisations based on reviews of research evidence

Research Officer at The Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
  • United Kingdom
  • October 2012 to January 2014

- Worked on a wide range of research projects with regard to militarism and international relations, peace building, poverty reduction, missing persons, climate change, on human security and hydro-conflicts
- Employed different research methodologies for the projects I was commissioned
- Wrote published reports, literature reviews and country focused analytical papers

Tutor / Lecturer at University of Sussex & Ethical Events Ltd, London
  • United Kingdom
  • October 2011 to June 2013

- Planned and delivered lectures on following courses: ‘Introduction to International Relations’, ‘Contemporary Theories of International Relations’, ‘Migration and Development’
- Designed, prepared and updated teaching materials for both lectures and seminars
- Taught both small and larger groups of learners from a range of backgrounds, abilities and ages
- Offered advice to students to complete assignments; assessed and marking students' coursework and essays

Research Fellow at Council for British Research in the Levant
  • Jordan - Amman
  • September 2010 to September 2011

- Carried out fieldwork for PhD project ‘Iraqi refugees’ assisted and self-return from Syria and Jordan’
- Facilitated English conversation classes for refugees and members of host communities in Amman at the Jesuit Refugee Service

Intern at UNHCR
  • Syria - Damascus
  • January 2010 to May 2010

Assisted in the Registration and Food Distribution Unit in Duma and Damascus

Education

Doctorate, Migration Studies
  • at University of Sussex
  • July 2013

PhD in Migration Studies funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. The PhD thesis focused on the assisted and spontaneous return of Iraqi refugees who found refuge in Syria and Jordan after the 2003 Iraq war.

Master's degree, Social Research Methods
  • at University of Sussex
  • September 2009

MSc in Comparative and Cross-Cultural Research Methods funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. Modules: Philosophy of Science and Social Scientific Research Practice; Research Design and Ethics; Evidence for Policy and Practice; Participatory Methods; Policy and Programme Evaluation Research. Passed with Merit.

Master's degree, Migration Studies
  • at University of Sussex
  • September 2008

MA in Migration Studies Modules: Theories and Typologies of Migration; Managing Migration: Law, Governance and Politics; Refugees and Development; Trans-nationalism, Diaspora and Migrants’ Lives.

Bachelor's degree, Languages and International Communication
  • at Rome Three University
  • September 2006

BA in Languages and International Communication Modules: English Language and Literature; Arabic Language and Literature; Spanish Language and Literature; Sociolinguistics; Cross-cultural mediation.

Specialties & Skills

University Teaching
Project Management
Teaching
Research
Humanitarian Assistance
Computing / IT
Team Management
Teaching
Driving
Research

Languages

Arabic
Expert
English
Expert
Italian
Expert
Spanish
Intermediate