What is the role of our partnership supervisor?

PHAN Sophea joined our team early 2022 to help develop partnerships with companies.  Leading our students to employment has been the main goal for our organization and by improving the visibility of the NGO and of the students, they gain access to positions and to a network. 

• Can you introduce yourself ?

My name is Sophea and I’m a friendly and smiley person. I was born in Kandal province which is not far from Phnom Penh. I moved to Phnom Penh with my dad when I was 11 and spent several years working on the garbage dump, Stung Meanchey. I’m the former student of PSE the only place that gave me everything.

• What did you study ?

I graduated from Royal University of Phnom Penh and hold the Bachelor of Tourism in French we called “License des Langues Étrangère Appliqué Aux Métier du Tourisme” in 2010. 

• Can you explain your position and share with us your main objective ?

I’m now working for CSH as a Partnership Supervisor. My mission is to find and build a strong relationship with companies/partners in order to identify suitable internship and job opportunities for the students.

• How do you find the right partners/ internships/ job opportunities for students ?

Everyday, I start my morning with job search websites such as Bong Thom, CAMHR, HR Inn...to see what are the opportunities available there. Thousands and thousand jobs and intern announcements are published every day and I look for the suitable jobs/internships for our students. First, I focus on the internship opportunities as this is the first year that we are having the students graduating from universities. Not only the posts that I’m looking for but also to get the contacts from the good companies so that I can make an appointment for the discussion about our mission. Last but not least, the collaboration had been made through my networks. I know some people in the private companies as well as the public sector.

• What do you expect for the partnerships for CSH ?

Of course, internship and job opportunities are my main targets but at the same time, we try to keep in touch with our partners in order to share our program/project. Recently we have a project called “Upskilled Program” and we really need good cooperation from our partners. Some partners will offer a career space and some will share with us the general knowledge for our academy program. For example, we will need a content expert for a topic on SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)for our new program and without the support from our partners, it would have been more difficult to have the right information and knowledge to give to our students. We need help from the private sector, public sector and NGOs.

We also have important projects such as :

Mentoring Program: It's one of our main project, giving a chance to our students to meet with mentors and create their own network. It's a volunteering and free of charge program and our students will be oriented by their mentors to work on her professional goal. The ideas is that a mentor can share ideas on how to become an outstanding student, how to be a good employee in the future, how to be a successful person, or how to run a dream business in the future...

CSH Talks: It's a monthly event during which we want our students to meet with people from any companies/organizations in Cambodia. The idea of the talks is to motivate and encourage our students to face and fight against problems happen in their daily lives plus their studies. These speakers can share information about their jobs and their companies so that our students learn about other possibilities they wouldn't know about. We try to make it happen in a family style (brother & sister talks) and students can share their comments or issues to our speakers so that they can solve the problem together. We understand that the students stay far away from the families and sometimes they feel lonely or boring. So we take this moment for the talks and to let them know that they still have brothers and sisters (speakers) around to support even they are not our real member in the family.

Company visit: Since it's the first year that we have our students graduate and it's good time for them to see what is the company and what people do daily basis in a company. We just want them to know a little bit in advance so that they can prepare themselves before jump in to the career life. This might be a good chance for them and for the company to book a spot after their graduation.

• The student participates in the search for an internship ?

This is a good question and I can say that this is what I really want them to be involved in. My objective is to ask them to find a place for a job or internship at the same time and they can choose between the one they found and the one found by me. So let's say this is not only my job but it’s also their responsibilities. I want them to be independent and do things by themselves. Of course, we will stay behind to support. Some students came to me and asked for an internship spot. I said yes but at the same time I asked them to find it by themselves too.

• What are the limits/difficulties of this job ?

The only difficulty I meet now is finding the right job for the right major that they are studying, for example law. The job market related to law is quite tight here in Cambodia and it’s really complicated to get a job related to some specific fields. I don’t want to go deeper than this and I’m sure students themselves, they understand about this too. Law is one of the dream jobs of our students but I always tell them that sometimes you don’t expect too much to get this job right away after their graduation.

• What do you like the most about your job ?

Having a chance to meet and talk with people is always a thing that makes me happy, especially with the children. Of course, our students are now adults but I always consider them as children so that I can go around and share my happiness. 

I found also that this job is not giving a chance for our students, but also I can develop my knowledge and skills. Every time I meet with a company/partner, I always learn new things and it’s really interesting. So let's say we both get the benefit from our partners.

• Can you explain a typical day to me?

My working schedule is flexible. I normally start at 9 and finish at 5.30pm or 6pm with a lunch break at 12pm. We often work in team on some specific projects but we also share a lot about each other's work so that we can have a complete image of the job done at Chandara Students Home.

Sometimes, I need to stay late if there is a meeting or presentation with the student after their classes. I like spending time by going around the dorm and see the students, having fun with them. Having a talk and make them laugh make me feel better. After all, human connection is the most important!