Urgently needed

You’ll work at the State Central Veterinary Laboratory (SVCL), Mongolia’s national research and diagnostic centre for veterinary science, medicine and animal disease control. Your skills and experience are in high demand to train staff in the diagnosis of chemical residue in animal origin products. By building on the diagnostic capacity of staff, you’ll help to establish food safety standards to be met by herders and growers. Once produce can be tested and certified, Mongolian meat and agricultural products become more appealing to local and export markets. This role is therefore crucial to improving the livelihoods of local herders farmers by increasing demand for their products.

What does the role involve?

• Training staff on the use of chromatography and macspectrometer diagnostic methodology to allow them to inspect chemical residue in animal and agricultural products.
• Exploring ways of coordinating veterinary research with organisations from developed countries.
• Providing basic English language training for colleagues.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

Educated to degree level or equivalent in the veterinary field, you’ll need experience in the area of chemical residue in animal and agricultural products. Ideally you’ll have good networking skills within this field are experienced in training others in technical skills. Patience, flexibility and a good sense of humour are important qualities in all VSO volunteers, as you’ll need to get used to living and working in a new culture with limited resources and facilities.

And the rest...

You’ll be base in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. You’ll find lots of markets and shops providing you with a range of local and imported goods. The tower blocks of the industrial capital city of Ulaanbaatar sit surrounded by pristine steppe and extensive forests that stretch for thousands of kilometres and represent one of the world's last unspoilt landscapes. If you decide to come to Mongolia, you will almost certainly be asked to take your turn at singing a song at almost any gathering – being tone deaf will not be accepted as an excuse, so come prepared with a song you can sing and that you know all the words to. If you play an instrument, think about bringing it with you, as there will be plenty of opportunities to entertain groups of Mongolians and it is a good way to break the ice and make friends.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

During the Soviet period people with mental health problems faced huge stigma. Despite some increased interest in mental health problems, psycho-social approaches are very new, widely misunderstood and under-developed. Following an increase in reported suicides among young people, the government, with support from WHO, is working on a new mental health strategy for the country.
You’ll work with Mercy Corps and its local partners to improve educational and practical support to mothers. You’ll be raising awareness and developing the skills of service providers in this key area of mental health provision. Post-partum depression is not widely recognised and you’ll aim to improving the understanding of its risk factors, symptoms and consequences. You’ll improve the practical skills of health workers enabling them to work effectively with families and women with or at risk of PPD.     

What does the role involve?

- Developing a strategy for working with women at risk of or suffering from PPD.
- Providing training and train trainers from state bodies and communities to improve awareness of PPD.
- Developing better support structures for women suffering from PPD.
- Working with partner to tailor awareness-raising activities to tackle the stigma associate with PPD.
- Developing practical approaches for working with women affected by PPD.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be a qualified psychiatric nurse, psychologist or similar with clinical knowledge of post-partum depression (PPD). You’ll need significant experience of working with PPD issues at community level and have excellent training skills. You’ll be able to show initiative and work with little supervision. Finally the ability to work effectively with limited resources and retain a positive and flexible approach is a must for VSO volunteers, as is a good sense of humour! You’ll need to work with a translator and be willing to learn basic Tajik to help you in this placement.

And the rest...

You’ll be living and working in Khojand, the second largest town in Tajikistan and the capital of Sugd oblast’ in the North of the country. The town sits on the banks of the river Syr Darya surrounded by mountains in the green Ferghana Valley. Khojand is home to one of the ancient civilizations of central Asia and beside Samarqand and Buchara is one of the major culture centers of Tajik people. The climate is very hot in summer, cold in winter with temperate spring and summer months. There are several VSO volunteers being placed in Khojand, which will provide a social network for new arrivals. The city is very open to foreign guests and you’ll find Tajik people welcoming and sociable on the whole. The city has plenty of teahouses, cafes and bars and is home to one of the most celebrated bazaars in the region where affordable and fresh produced can be found.

This is a short-term volunteering position for 12 months. In return, well provide you with invaluable training before your placement, a local salary, return flights, accommodation and insurance. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and we’ll invite you to stay involved with us through campaigning, development awareness raising and fundraising.

You’ll be working with the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture to improve food security and poverty in the Sofala province. The Directorate coordinates the efforts of the private sector, NGO’s and other government agencies to improve agriculture productivity, agro-industry and the commercialisation and sustainable use of natural resources. There’s a long tradition of rice production in Sofala, but the growers are not using modern techniques in order to improve crops. You’ll work together with the department of Agriculture to increase rice production in the region, sometimes coordinating with other government bodies, NGO’s, CBO’s, beneficiaries and other relevant bodies.

What does the role involve?

- Supporting the implementation of the rice production programme through the Directorate.
- Advise technical staff on new techniques in growing and milling rice.
- Developing plans to monitor the implementation of the rice production programme at the Provincial level.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll have a background in extension agriculture with at least 5 years’ experience of developing, implementing and managing rice production programmes. You’ll have good training and mentoring skills and will be realistic about the speed and which can be achieved within a government department.  You must be willing to learn Portuguese, which you will need for both working and social situations.

And the rest...

You’ll be based in Beira, the second largest city in Mozambique and the capital of the Sofala Province. Beira is situated by the mouth the river Pungue and has the largest port in the country.  There’s a small beach at Makuti and the city is dotted with faded colonial-style houses. You’ll find most of what you might need in the many restaurants and shops. Further north and south on the coastline there are many beautiful beaches and Beira is extremely well placed as a base from which to explore the rest of Mozambique.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

St Damiano hospital is run by the order of Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assissi in the Bungoma area. The HIV/ AIDS prevalence here is about 10% which is slightly higher than the national average. The Sisters run this 50-bed hospital providing patient care, laboratory and pharmacy services focused on HIV and AIDS. They provide treatment and care to both in and out-patients, work towards the prevention of mother-and-child transmission (PMTCT) and are explanding their VCT and Home Based Care services. Recently the hospital has, as a result of successful fundraising, received a new operating theatre and radiography equipment. Unfortunately they currently lack qualified staff to use this equipment. You’ll use your expertise to train staff and as a result patients will no longer need to be referred to another hospital. In addition St Damiano will be able to accept referrals from other hospitals for patients in need of specialised diagnostic services.

What does the role involve?

• Assessing the need for radiography services among patients at the hospital.
  

• Training staff in the use of ultrasound and x-ray.
  

• Developing training materials on the use of the equipment.
  

• Establishing working practices for the diagnostic department.
  

• Providing ultrasound and x0ray services to patients.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be educated to degree level or above in a discipline that includes that use of radiography equipment. You’ll have experience of training others in the use ultrasound and x-ray and be comfortable working with colleagues with a wide range of abilities. The Little Sisters of St. Francis is a faith-based organisation and you’ll need to be respectful of their values. In addition you’ll need to be patient, enthusiastic and accept that the pace of change may be slower than you are used to.

And the rest...

You’ll be working in Bungoma an area of growing amount of tourism with the attraction of Mt. Elgon National Forest, a wonderful trekking destination. The long dormant volcano has an impressive crater (shared partly with Uganda) and you can reach the rim by trekking through a dense and beautiful forest of polycarpus and bamboo. Bungoma has many strores, a bank, an atm, a few restaurants, a chemist and many haridressers! Ther are fruit stands selling mangoes and plantains on the streets.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local salary, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

Tajikistan is a poor country, where most of the people live below the poverty line, particularly in rural areas. In the past 66% of the population relied on remittances from casual labour in Russia. With the economic downturn, these have fallen by more than 30%, resulting in increased poverty and hunger. With a very moutainous landscape and extreme temperatures, much of Tajikistan’s landscape is unsuitable for standard crops. However duting Soviet times Muminabad was renowned for the quality of its potato crops, considered the best in the USSR. Biotech are working with local producers to update the knowledge and skills of farmers to develop this market once again. You’ll work with local faremrs associations Biotech and Aini to develop and implement modern farming methods in the area. You’ll support locakl producers to improve the quality and quantity of their crops, as well as diversifying with new varieties of potatoes.

What does the role involve?

Ø Working with Biotech and Aini to improve the information and advisory services provided to local potato farmers.
Ø Demonstrating practical techniques on the identification of diseases in potato crops.
Ø Advising farmers on storage and handling methods.
Ø Providing up-to-date information to farmers on the cultivation of potato seeds.
Ø Facilitating networking between potato associations and producers within Tajikistan and beyond.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

With an advanced qualification in potato cultivation and cropping, you’ll have a minimum of 2 years’ relevant work experience. You’ll need up-to-date technical knowledge of diseases and pest control affecting potato crops. It’s essential that you have experience of training others and have very strong communication skills. You’ll need to be comfortable working in a different cultural context and be able to adapt your knowledge to a low-tech context. You’ll be able to show initiative and work with little supervision. Finally the ability to work effectively with limited resources and retain a positive and flexible approach is a must for VSO volunteers, as is a good sense of humour!

And the rest...

Muminabad District is situated in the south, between one of the few lowlands of Tajikistan and the foot of the Pamir mountain range. It takes about a 4 hours drive from the capital Dushanbe to reach. The town feels more like living in a large village, with mostly single-storey, loam plastered houses, than in a city. The atmosphere in Muminabad is very laid-back and calm. Foreigners are very welcome and in Tajik there isn’t even a word for “foreigner”, the closest word to it is guest.

This is a short-term volunteering position for 7-8 months. In return, well provide you with invaluable training before your placement, a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation and insurance. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and we’ll invite you to stay involved with us through campaigning, development awareness raising and fundraising.

In Kenya, nearly one child in every 1,000 is blind and in many of these cases total blindness is avoidable. The Kwale Eye Centre (KDEC) is a charitable eye centre on the South Coast of Kenya that provides affordable and accessible eye services to the local community. Beyond your immediate work sharing your skills with colleagues at KDEC, you’ll enable children with low vision to access education and help those who are irreversibly blind to lead a more independent life.

What does the role involve?

• Training staff in the low vision and outpatients department on refraction and dispensing of glasses and other visual aids.
• Educating staff in the understanding, management and prevention of strabismic amblyopia.
• Examining patients’ eyes, diagnosing and prescribing treatment and visual aids where appropriate.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll need to be a qualified optometrist and have experience of managing a vision testing facility. You’ll have the skills needed to train your local colleagues. As with all placements, it is vital that you are prepared to work in an environment with far fewer resources available and must therefore be flexible and adaptable in your work. The local community can be very welcoming, a sociable and outgoing nature will serve you well as will a desire to become part of the community.

And the rest...

You’ll be based in the Kwale District province, which is bounded by the Mombasa - Nairobi road to the north and Tanzania to the south. It stretches inland from the Indian Ocean and covers an area about half the size of Wales. Diani Beach, Shimba Hills National Reserve and the Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary are all local attractions that will give you an aweinspiring view of this beautiful country.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12 - 24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll provide you with extensive training before your placement and our financial package includes a local salary, return flights, accommodation and insurance.

When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

As part of this Accenture-funded project, you’ll work with the Environmental Protection and Development Organisation (EPDO). Through their work, the EPDO empower vulnerable people to play an active part in the management of their natural resources. This allows them to benefit from improved food security and sustainable livelihoods.  You’ll build on the work of previous VSO volunteers by developing the skills of EPDO staff in market assessment and business development of the agricultural sector. You’ll provide support and training to staff, equipping them with the business skills necessary to developing local markets. As a result, EPDO will be better placed to improve poor people’s participation in local markets.

What does the role involve?

Working with EPDO staff to conduct market assessments, develop business plans and marketing opportunities.
Ø Developing and conducting training to local NGO and CBO partners on value chain analysis
Ø Supporting local enterprises through training on business planning
Ø Establishing a “learning centre” to capture and share the knowledge throughout the EPDO and its partners.
Ø Developing the skills of EPDO staff in project management.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be educated to degree level in Agri-Business, Marketing or a related discipline and have an understanding of business development and marketing in the agricultural sector. You’ll be used to working with participatory tools and development approaches. Ideally you’ll have worked with community developments in developing countries. In addition to these professional skills, you’ll need to be an excellent communicator with self-assurance and an ability to work independently. Few of your colleagues speak more than a few words of English, so a willingness to learn basic Khmer is essential to the success of this placement.

And the rest...

You’ll be based in the Prey commune, Sampovmeas district in the fourth largest province in Cambodia, Pursat. In the capital of the province, Pursat is. (whose name is derived from a type of tree), you’ll find a selection of shops and restaurants offering both local and other foods. In your village you are likely to find seasonal and regional fruits and vegetables at the markets and smaller shops.
We’ll ask you to commit to 12 - 24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

You’ll be working with local producers to improve access to and participation in relevant markets. Poor and marginalised women, men and young people frequently face strong barriers to entry to markets. Local initiatives may fail, due to lack of research, prohibitive entry costs or failure to understand the value chains associated with their products. You’ll use your understanding of markets in developing countries to work with poor communities, undertaking research to identify opportunities to improve their livelihoods. By understanding the dynamics affecting their business and customer base, you’ll uncover opportunities for business expansion through new products, entering new markets or creating new niche markets for products.

We are currently working across a range of products and crops in several different countries:
Tajikistan – vegetable crops in East Khalton
Bangladesh – milk production in the Dinajpur and Rangpur Districts
Cambodia – agricultural products in Kratia, Steng Treng and Phnom Penh
Guyana – farine and cassava products in Region 9
Malawi – tea production in the Thyolo and Mulanje districts

What does the role involve?

Ø Undertaking research into the market opportunities for local products.
Ø Identifying key sub-sectors or value –chains in these markets.
Ø Providing business analysis and recommendations on value chains.
Ø Identifying barriers and market failures preventing the target group from gaining a greater share of market.
Ø Providing analysis on how to circumvent these barriers.
Ø Training staff on how to undertake market assessments.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

Educated to degree level in Agribusiness, Economics, Business Management or a related field, it’s essential that you have a clear grasp of developing markets for poor communities. You’ll have experience of working in a developing country and will have wide-ranging management experience, including business development planning and project management. You’ll be comfortable managing a research project and working in a participatory manner with a wide range of stakeholders. Experience of working with the crops/products referred to above would be an advantage, but experience of value chains analysis and market assessment in developing countries is the key.

And the rest...

We’ll ask you to commit 3-6 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region is recovering from decades of civil conflict and social segregtation. You’ll be working with the Chief Circle Office (CCO) to ensure that poor and marginalised people in the area are given access to basic services, and are supported to participate fully in their communities. CCO play a key role in protecting the human rights of hill district communities. You’ll work closely with colleagues at CCO to developt their organisation capacity. In particular, you’ll use your local government experience to improve the office managemenet of CCO, providing training on fundraising, computer skills, office maintenance, report writing and database development.

What does the role involve?

· Suggesting improvements to the office management system at CCA
· Training colleagues in report writing
· Developing staff assessment frameworks and performance management systems
· Working with CCO staff to develop monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for their development projects
· Introducing upgrades to the current IT systems for data management

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be educated to degree level in management, social science or related field and have at least 3 years’ work experience working in local government.  You’ll have experience of training and developing staff within an office management context. You’ll have strong skills in database management and report writing and be comfortable working with a wide range of people at different levels of an organisation. You’ll need experience of basic HR processes, as you’ll be introducing these to CCO.
You’ll living, working and travelling under difficult conditions and with extremely poor people, so you’ll need to be culturally sensitive and very adaptable. Finally, as with all VSO placements, patience, perseverance and a sense of humour will help you make the most out of your volunteering experience.

And the rest...

You’ll be based in either Rangamati Sadar or Bandarban Sadar in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast part of Bangladesh. The region is home to 12 different indigenous communities and for this reason the area has a very unique character. Decidedly untypical of Bangladesh topography and culture, the 13,180 sq km of the Hill Tracts comprises a mass of hills, ravines and cliffs covered with dense jungle, bamboo, creepers and shrubs. The area, full of the flavours of Burma, is utterly fascinating and very beautiful. It also offers a chance to stretch the legs with some exciting hiking between tribal communities.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12 months to make a long-term contribution tackling poverty. In return, well provide you with invaluable training before your placement, a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation and insurance. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and we’ll invite you to stay involved with us through campaigning, development awareness raising and fundraising.

The high prevalence of HIV in Zimbabwe has resulted in the loss of many developmental gains of the last two decades. Erosion of critical human resources and the strain brought about by HIV and AIDS on families has impacted the economy greatly. Efforts to address other human development issues (e.g. access to health and education) are greatly hampered by the AIDS epidemic. HIV and AIDS are acknowledged as the biggest threats to human development in Zimbabwe. For 10 years, Zimbabwe has been among the three worst affected countries in terms of HIV prevalence, morbidity and mortality. The National Aids Council of Zimbabwe (NAC) co-ordinates and facilitates the national response to HIV and AIDS. You’ll work with them to provide M&E support to their programme activities, by developing and implementing M&E systems and training staff in using these and reporting accordingly. You’ll ensure that the skills and systems are in place to secure good practices in M&E after your departure. The overall aim of this placement is to attract funding for the organisation, hence the need for strong M&E practices to satisfy donors that their contributions are being used efficiently.

What does the role involve?

- Reviewing and refining national M&E data on a monthly basis and collating it into a Provincial data set.
- Analysing and reporting the key Provincial data showing progress against targets and main trends.
- Reviewing existing data analysis and M&E systems at District level and providing recommendations on skills gaps and suitable training.
- Putting in place systems to support the use of M&E plans by all District Aids Council (DAC) in the province to enable them to demonstrate progress in their districts.
- Identifying areas in need of further research and establishing research priorities for the province.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

Educated to degree level qualification in economics, statistics or social science you’ll have at least two years’ experience of developing and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems within the field of HIV and AIDS. Your experience includes working with a range of database systems and interacting with a range of colleagues from donor agencies, government officials and other NGOs. You’re able to advise on M&E processes and will be working with limited supervision. You’ll need a positive attitude and willingness to contribute to the organisation’s mission. Patience, flexibility and a good sense of humour are important qualities in all VSO volunteers, and you’ll be required to travel extensively in the province.

And the rest...

You’ll be based in Harare, with five other volunteers. The capital of Zimbabwe has all the usual facilities such as markets, shops, banks, places of worship and social pursuits. Public transport is readily available and travel throughout the country is possible.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

Agriculture is the base of the Mozambican economy, providing the livelihood of the vast majority of people, raw materials for agro-industry, and the bulk of export products. The Catholic University of Mozambique (UCM) is making great progress in its drive to deliver tertiary education to Mozambicans in remote areas of the country. Working at the Faculty of Agriculture, you’ll educate young people to develop their skills and knowledge of agricultural management. You’ll be supporting the rural poor of Mozambique, ensuring that the university provides skilled graduates to work in development of the agricultural sector. You’ll continue the work of a previous VSO volunteer and work with the faculty to support its expansion plans.

What does the role involve?

Ø Teaching courses in agronomy, focusing on soil management and crop production systems.
Ø Revising and updating the current curriculum and student evaluations.
Ø Developing practical on-farm training for the students.
Ø Participating in the development of an ‘outreach programme’ to raise income through consultancy services.
Ø Organising and promoting the faculty’s ‘farmers open day;

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be educated to degree level or above in an agriculture related subject and have at least 5 years’ lecturing or training experience. As part of your work experience you’ll have developed teaching materials and you’ll have a strong interest in curriculum development. You’ll have worked on soil management research and rural development projects. A willingness to learn Portuguese is essential and you should be prepared to adhere to the university’s regulations. You’ll need to adjust to working with fewer resources than you may be used to, so plenty of initiative will be required to get around this. Finally, as with all VSO placements, patience, perseverance and a sense of humour will help you make the most out of your volunteering experience.

And the rest...

You’ll be living in a housing complex for lecturers on the university campus in Cuamba. Mozambicans value good manners and courtesy very highly, so a friendly, relaxed and unhurried attitude is the secret to gaining co-operation from officials and making friends with colleagues. Musical traditions play an essential role in Mozambicans’ lives and although dances, songs and sometimes instruments are often associated with the customs or ceremonies of particular groups, most Mozambicans are familiar with them and appreciate them as part of a common national heritage.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12 - 24 months to make a long-term contribution tackling poverty. In return, well provide you with invaluable training before your placement, a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation and insurance. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and we’ll invite you to stay involved with us through campaigning, development awareness raising and fundraising.

VSO are working in the education field in Mongolia to make education provision more inclusive. Volunteers are working with education managers, teachers and social workers to provide them with the skills necessary to include disabled children in eduaction. This work has lead to the development of a National Inclusive education curriculum which is now used on teacher training courses. Your placement will focus on the early detection of cognitive disabilities. You’ll play a key role in developing early diagnosis tools, working with other specialists and key stakeholders. You’ll need to use international best pratice, but most be able to work within the context of Mongolia’s situation. By providing teachers, parents and other education professionals with the skills to identify affected children at an early stage, their needs can be met in the classroom, allowing these children to continue their education.

What does the role involve?

Ø Developing early detection and diagnosis tools for cognitive disabilities.
Ø Developing a training curriculum and manuals on cognitive disabilities for health professionals, government officials and families.
Ø Working with other specialists to create a resource centre for the early diagnosis and detection of cognitive disabilities.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline, you’ll have over 2 years’ experience working with children with cognitive disabilities, either as an early childhood adviser or psychologist (within education or health setting). You’ll have experience of providing early diagnosis and detection of cognitive disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism and Down’s syndrome in children. Ideally you’ll have been working in an environment where you were reviewing and developing existing methodologies. You’ll be comfortable training and mentoring others and will have a patient, approachable and flexible manner of working.

And the rest...

You’ll be based in the Capital Ulaanbaatar, where you’ll be provided with an apartment in one of the many blocks in the city. You’ll find the contrast between the city and the surrounding landscape astounding. In Ulaanbaatar you’ll find everything you need in terms of activities, food or shopping. The Narantuul Market (often called the black market) is a large popular market in Ulaanbaatar where you can find, and bargain for, a great variety of household goods, clothes, carpets, food, furniture, jewellery, artifacts and animals. By contrast, the rural areas often have very scarce resources and when traveling the country you’ll do well to bring anything you need with you.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12 - 24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local salary, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends

You’ll be working with the Directorate for Reproductive and Child health (RCH) supporting staff in developing strategic planning processes, communications strategies and management system. Sierra Leone’s maternal mortality rate of 1,800 per 100,000 live births is exceptionally high and reducing this, and the child mortality rate, is the focus of activities of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and its development partners. You’ll support the Health Management Team to ensure that all the work that is being done towards this aim is effectively and efficiently managed.

What does the role involve?

• Developing a communications strategy to facilitate sharing of information between RCH and MoHS.
• Developing training materials and plans on management best practise within the RCH.
• Working with the Department of Planning and Information (MoHS) to introduce programme
  management tools for RCH.
• Identifying technical support needs for RCH.
• Working with staff at RCH to improve their monitoring and evaluation capacity.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

This is predominantly a management function, with a health bias, so you’ll need to strong strategic management background and several years practical management experience at senior level. Experience of working within the health sector would be useful, but more essential is relevant experience in programme management, strategic planning, communications and monitoring and evaluation.

In addition, some experience of working in developing countries will prepare you for living in this very poor country. You’ll need to be flexible, resourceful and adaptable and have a proven ability to coach others through mentoring and training. There will be some travel required, so you must be comfortable living in rural locations and working irregular hours. You’ll be using a motorbike to get around Bo, so you must be comfortable with this mode of transport.

And the rest...

from the capital Freetown. You’ll find services very basic, water is provided through wells and electricity is available sporadically. Football is big, either playing for local teams or watching European league and championship games at video centres and cinemas. The warm climate lends itself to a sociable lifestyle and after football, chatting at local meeting points and in bars is how most local Sierra Leoneans spend their leisure time. The common local beverages are palm wine, “poyo” in Krio, and “attire”.

We’ll ask you to commit to up to 12 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more.

When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

In Tajikistan more then two-thirds of the population live below the poverty line and the country has been hard hit by the downturn in the global economy. An estimated 66% of the population rely on remittances from casual work in Russia and as this has dried up, so many families have lost their source of income. You’ll be working with the Mountain Societies Development Support Programmes (MSDSP), helping to promote effective and sustainable means of managing natural resources. There exists a shortage in skilled professionals to map and manage natural resources   connected to a variety of secure livelihoods programmes. Although previous volunteers have initiated work on managing natural resources, your GIS skills will be used to suignificantly improve mapping and monitoring techniques using GIS.   

What does the role involve?

- Working with colleagues at MSDSP to improve their understanding of the risks and advantages associated with local natural resources, through the use if GIS systems.
- Improving programme monitoring through the use of GIS systems.
- Training and mentoring a newly hired GIS employee.
- Together with the new recruit, setting up a framework for GIS data-input for all MSDSP units.
- Providing basic courses and coaching on GIS data-input.

 

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll have gained qualifications in ArcGIS 9.2 or 9.3 and have a minimum of 2 years’ recent work experience in mapping and data-input using these programmes. You’ll need project management experience and excellent organizational skills. It’s essential that you are a good communicator and have the ability to motivate and train your colleagues. The pace of change may be slow, so it’s essential that you come equipped with plenty of patience and diplomacy. Self-motivation and discipline are extremely important, as are a willingness to live and work in remote locations for extended periods of time.

And the rest...

You’ll be based in Khorog, where 3 other VSO volunteers are currently based. Khorog is a quiet and friendly little town of around 28,000 inhabitants on what used to be called the Khorog or Suchan river. There are many local shops and the local market where you’ll be able to find a variety of food and other necessities. There are frequent transport links around the region and domestic flights to Dushanbe. The “Chor-bor” park in the middle of the town is a focus for social activities and you’ll find a selection of western restaurants. Around the town are some wonderful opportunities to hike the mountains and visit the ruins and castles steeped in the areas thousand-year history.

We’ll ask you to commit to 6 months to make a long-term contribution tackling poverty. In return, well provide you with invaluable training before your placement, a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation and insurance. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and we’ll invite you to stay involved with us through campaigning, development awareness raising and fundraising.

You’ll be working in a fairly new area for VSO, assisting staff at the Nsambya hospital to reduce their power and fuel costs. Nsambya is a private not for profit hospital which expects most patients to contribute to the cost of their treatment. However, with rising fuel and electricity costs, these services are becoming too expensive for many patients. The hospital is therefore looking at ways to become more energy efficient and you’ll use your experience in this area to provide recommendations to the hospital on how to achieve these cost reductions. You’ll investigate the possible use of solar power as an alternative source of energy and provide advice on how to implement this if feasible.

What does the role involve?

· Examining the electrical wiring in the hospital
· Providing advice on the possible energy wastage
· Reviewing power usage and advising on saving options
· Investigating the options for solar energy and providing recommendations
· Training staff on energy efficiency

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be a qualified electrical engineer with at least three years’ relevant work experience. You’ll be capable of undertaking energy audits for large and complex buildings. You’ll either have experience of hospital equipment, or be willing to learn about power usage in this context. You’ll have strong training and mentoring skills and be willing to live and work in a different culture. Finally, as with all VSO placements, patience, perseverance and a sense of humour will help you make the most out of your volunteering experience.

And the rest...

You’ll be base in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda where you’ll be provided with living accommodation near the hospital. As you would expect from a capital city there are plenty of eating and shopping opportunities, though you’ll need to resist the more expensive ‘expat’ haunts! There are historial buildings, markets, theatres and art galleries to visit and the city offers travel opportunities throughout the country. There are many cultural groups and some sporting associations, which will all help you to while away your leisure time.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12 months to make a long-term contribution tackling poverty. In return, well provide you with invaluable training before your placement, a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation and insurance. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and we’ll invite you to stay involved with us through campaigning, development awareness raising and fundraising.

You’ll be providing essential carpentry training to young people at the Mary Slessor Foundation. The foundation has an excellent range of equipment, but due to lack of expertise has not been able to provide the carpentry training to its students. You’ll develop a programme for apprentices and help to generate funds for the foundation from the workshop. 

What does the role involve?

Ø Designing and implementing the carpentry training programme.
Ø Developing suitable health and safety regulations.
Ø Selecting students to take part in the training programme.
Ø Helping to develop systems to record students attendance, finances and materials.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll have experience providing training in carpentry to students. You’ll have excellent knowledge f working with hand tools and good operational knowledge of woodwork machines. You’ll need to prepare lesson plans, tests and other practical assessment, so knowledge of how to do this would be a great advantage. Beside these technical skills as you’ll be working with young people, you’ll find that good humour, a sense of fun and plenty of energy will see you through your volunteering experience.

And the rest...

We’ll ask you to commit to 12 - 24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local salary, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

As part of this Accenture-funded project, you’ll work with the Environmental Protection and Development Organisation (EPDO). Through their work, the EPDO empower vulnerable people to play an active part in the management of their natural resources. This allows them to benefit from improved food security and sustainable livelihoods.  You’ll build on the work of previous VSO volunteers by developing the skills of EPDO staff in market assessment and business development of the agricultural sector. You’ll provide support and training to staff, equipping them with the business skills necessary to developing local markets. As a result, EPDO will be better placed to improve poor people’s participation in local markets.

What does the role involve?

Working with EPDO staff to conduct market assessments, develop business plans and marketing opportunities.
Ø Developing and conducting training to local NGO and CBO partners on value chain analysis
Ø Supporting local enterprises through training on business planning
Ø Establishing a “learning centre” to capture and share the knowledge throughout the EPDO and its partners.
Ø Developing the skills of EPDO staff in project management.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be educated to degree level in Agri-Business, Marketing or a related discipline and have an understanding of business development and marketing in the agricultural sector. You’ll be used to working with participatory tools and development approaches. Ideally you’ll have worked with community developments in developing countries. In addition to these professional skills, you’ll need to be an excellent communicator with self-assurance and an ability to work independently. Few of your colleagues speak more than a few words of English, so a willingness to learn basic Khmer is essential to the success of this placement.

And the rest...

You’ll be based in the Prey commune, Sampovmeas district in the fourth largest province in Cambodia, Pursat. In the capital of the province, Pursat is. (whose name is derived from a type of tree), you’ll find a selection of shops and restaurants offering both local and other foods. In your village you are likely to find seasonal and regional fruits and vegetables at the markets and smaller shops.
We’ll ask you to commit to 12 - 24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

Sierra Leone is one place from the bottom of the global Human Development Index. A little over 40% of the population is younger than 15 years, with young people among the poorest and most marginalised. Livelihoods are a critical issue in Sierra Leone with unemployment around 50%. You’ll be working with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS) where your skills and experience will provide much needed support to colleagues in the area of the statistics and data analysis. MAFFS formulates government policies that regulate the agriculture sector. This placement is therefore key in allowing VSO and its local partners to leverage the MAFFS policy process in favour of poor men and women in the agriculture sector. By enabling MAFFS to set up systems for the collection, collation and processing of agricultural data, you’ll improve their policy planning and market assessments. You’ll work with MAFFS to better understand the opportunities for exports and imports within the agriculture sector. By building your colleagues’ technical skills, you’ll ensure that the Ministry is better resourced to provide to analyse agricultural data needed to develop their policies and programmes.

What does the role involve?

Ø Training your colleagues at MAFFS to collect statistical information through surveying techniques.
Ø Providing training on the processing and storing of agricultural data.
Ø Developing a database of all agricultural produce using the value chain business approach.
Ø Providing guidance on the use of agricultural statistics in policy development.
Ø Developing the capacity of the Assistant Director in charge of Statistics to collect, process and store data electronically.
Ø Contributing to agricultural policy formulation and execution.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be educated to degree level in agriculture, rural engineering or a related field. You’ll need at least 5 years’ work experience where you’ll have developed strong technical expertise in working with data collection and analysis. You’ll have experience of working with policy development and have knowledge of GIS and developing computer programmes. In addition you’ll be comfortable working with participatory approaches and have excellent communication skills. Patience, self-assurance, flexibility and a good sense of humour are important qualities in all VSO volunteers. You’ll need to get used to living and working in a new culture with limited resources and facilities, adaptability is an essential requirement.

And the rest...

You’ll be living and working in Freetown the capital of Sierra Leone. There is a large expatriate community in Freetown and you’ll find most foods available. Fruits (bananas, seasonal mangoes, oranges, pineapple, watermelon, grapefruit) and vegetables (pepper, potatoes, eggplants, cabbages, cassava, carrots, avocado etc) are available at the local markets. A lot of traders also carry goods for sale (bread, fresh and dried fish, vegetables etc) around commercial and residential areas.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

 You’ll be working in Guyana’s Region 7, which is one of the most marginalised and disadvantaged areas of the country. Communities in these areas suffer from poor communication and transport infrastructure, limited availability of agriculture extension services, small local markets for local produce and limited business support services. The current volunteer has begun the process of co-ordinating work between the local council and the agri-extension unit whilst also securing funds for agri-initiatives in the region. However, there’s a need for a stronger economic and market-driven strategy and stronger business cases need t be made to secure further funding. You’ll develop the capacity of the unit to assess the economic feasibility of recommendations made to farmers, ensuring that projects have the potential to be sustainable. In doing so you’ll work to improve the livelihoods of farmers in these remote areas.

 

 

What does the role involve?

- Developing the skills of colleagues at the agri-extension unit to prepare funding proposals.
- Conducting cost-benefit analysis for planned projects and providing recommendations on the use of limited funds to support these.
- Training staff to provide extension services from a market-driven perspective, encouraging farmers to view agriculture as a business.
- Providing basic bookkeeping training.
- Assisting with business plan proposals for banks and micro-finance institutions.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be educated to degree level in agriculture, agri-economics, agri-marketing and related field and have at least five years work experience. You’ll have some strong training skills and will be able to work with colleagues to increase their skills in preparing business plans and assessing the feasibility of agricultural projects. Ideally you’ll be familiar with poultry and aquaculture, with experience of working on agriculture extension projects.
Patience, self-assurance, flexibility and a good sense of humour are important qualities in all VSO volunteers. You’ll need to get used to living and working in a new culture with limited resources and facilities, adaptability is an essential requirement.

And the rest...

We’ll ask you to commit to 25 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.