Category: Travel/Study Abroad

You can only have one active Peace Corps Volunteer application, so choose a position that best fits your skills and interest. You have the opportunity to tell us if you’d like to be considered for other openings and more about the ones that interest you most!

Project Description

Health Education (HE) Volunteers are assigned to a community in which they co-teach Health Education at a middle school or combined elementary and high school, and/or work within a regional community visiting several schools co-teaching lessons with “Life Skills” teachers.

A significant component of Peace Corps Albania’s Health Education project is to co-teach students as well as to help train teachers on Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health. Some Volunteers may also liaison with a health education unit or at a community health center to provide staff trainings, which have a long history of being under-resourced. Volunteer placement is typically in smaller towns and rural areas, and no Health Volunteers are placed in the capital city of Tirana.

In addition to classroom teaching and facilitating other health education trainings, Volunteers may also liaison with local health directorates on community-wide health promotion and education campaigns.

In the summer months, HE Volunteers will be leading summer camps and other youth development efforts/activities by working through the schools, or with NGOs that focus their efforts on youth/children, or by taking part in youth-centered projects such as Model UN, Outdoor Ambassadors (an environmental-themed afterschool program begun by Volunteers), Girls Leading our World (GLOW) camps, etc. Volunteers may develop or participate in summer youth camps, promote “life skills” education, tutor students in other school subjects including English; and assist with efforts on the development of school student governments or linkage with projects that promote career development and foster youth employability.

Volunteers, especially those with prior health education-related technical training, may work closely with health education professionals at health centers or NGOs, or with other health professionals, in addition to being at schools and kindergartens to increase their capacities regarding new techniques and methods of teaching preventive health education. Volunteers will also link with NGOs and other community-based organizations to provide basic health education, instruct proper sexual and reproductive health practices, and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and other emerging health issues.

Some of the HE Volunteers’ work takes place outside the school as well, and Volunteers will likely have more than one main colleague, depending on the projects or activities you are involved in. Health Education Volunteers work with multiple schoolteachers responsible for health education classes, and sometimes with representatives of NGOs (if they are located in the community), as well as with representatives from the District Health Promotion Unit. If you are placed in a school within a community that also has a rural health center, you may also focus on linking directly with the doctors and nurses staffing those facilities and the smaller health posts in the surrounding villages, as well as schools and kindergartens linking them with resources and assistance to improve their skills and implementation of health education efforts. Finding colleagues to work with on diverse projects will not be automatic but will demand a concerted effort on the Volunteer’s part to seek out active community members. For this reason, successful community integration and language acquisition is crucial.

Required Skills

Competitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:
• Master of Public Health degree or Master of Arts/Master of Science degree in Public Health
• Certified Physician’s Assistant or Public Health Nurse with expressed interest in public/community health
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition, Health, or Nursing

For more information, and to apply, click here.

You can only have one active Peace Corps Volunteer application, so choose a position that best fits your skills and interest. You have the opportunity to tell us if you’d like to be considered for other openings and more about the ones that interest you most!

Project Description

As a Community and Organizational Development (COD) Volunteer, you may be placed with either a local government unit (Municipality Regional Council) or one of a variety of different community-based organizations. Depending on your background, you may be placed with a department within Municipal Unit (Social Services, Planning, or Development Department), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) or other institution. Project activities are focused in several key areas: municipal development, business development, tourism/cultural development and preservation, youth development (including youth employability and job skills) and/or capacity-building in the areas of information and communications management and technology. Post may find a limited number of sites that can utilize Volunteers with education or experience in GIS/Mapping or Information/Communication Technology Development, but this may not likely be the primary focus of one’s site assignment

COD Volunteers often target youth and work to increase their capacities in starting up businesses, developing their entrepreneurial skills, and provide employability trainings to teach skills such as resume writing, cover letter writing, and job interviewing skills. Volunteers and a local counterpart are often the main liaison with their community’s Youth Council, working to develop internship programs, civic awareness campaigns and other community projects.

Depending on the specific placement, your role may be to work in partnership with the key actors in the community, to build the capacity of local institutions, or to increase the involvement of citizens and youth in local decision-making. You may facilitate collaborative activities between local non-governmental organizations, businesses, and citizen groups. You may provide assistance to all sectors of the community in strategic planning or in project design and management. You may also support the development of non-governmental organizations and youth groups, depending on locally- identified needs.

Other potential activities include:
• Coordinating with other Peace Corps Volunteers in the sphere of youth development and employability and implementing grassroots community development projects.
• Providing direction and training within specific areas of expertise; i.e. marketing, administrative, financial, IT or business English.
• Becoming aware of and competent in the use of all available resources for community development; i.e. small project grants, etc.
• Providing support in editing materials that are prepared by your organization in English, basic training in the use of computer hardware and software, and at the same time helping your colleagues improve their business – English skills.
• Improving marketing PR strategies of organizations and businesses.
• Conducting needs assessment surveys to determine development opportunities within the community and organization.
• Building the capacities of your counterparts in management, organizational development, customer service and financial management.
• Promoting networking and partnership-building in communities among business development organizations, local governments, NGOs and citizens groups; and between these groups and outside resources.
• Providing assistance to all sectors of the community in strategic planning or in project design and management.

Despite the challenges, there are many opportunities for change and growth, and increasing attention is being paid to the development of local capacity of local organizations. You will find support for your activities from both the host agencies that have requested you, and from organizations working to promote civil society and institutional development in the country.

Required Skills

Competitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any business discipline
• 5 years professional experience in business management

For more information, and to apply, click here.

Project Description

English Education Teachers support Moldovan teachers, students and community members to strengthen their personal and professional capacities by improving English language teaching and learning, critical thinking instruction, and school and community-driven initiatives. This is a full-time, in-class, formal team-teaching position, requiring a minimum of 18 hours of instruction per week. All instruction complies with the English language teaching curriculum requirements of the Moldovan Ministry of Education. English Education Teachers will be part of the Peace Corps English Education Project in Moldova.

English Education Teachers will teach conversational English, TEFL, or content-based English in middle and high schools to gymnasium or lyceum students of ages 11 to 18 (i.e., grades 4 to 12). Volunteers will be full-time classroom teachers. They will team-teach with their Moldovan school-teaching colleagues. Through team-teaching, English Education Teachers and partners will develop lesson plans together, learn how to share responsibility for the quality of their team-taught lessons, enhance each other’s creativity, use individual strengths to complement each other, and share teaching responsibilities, which makes it easier for both teachers to combine efforts to meet students’ learning needs. Watching their teachers work together, students will also see the value of teamwork and partnership.

Team-teaching is a process, and it takes time for effective relationships to develop between teachers. The ability to communicate is the thread that binds teachers together to successfully team-teach. Flexibility, humility and patience are key characteristics Volunteers can bring to assist this process of relationship building.

The English Education Teacher’s teaching schedule will be from Monday to Friday and will include a minimum of 18 hours per week of team-taught lessons. In addition to classroom teaching, Volunteers share resources, develop teaching materials with local teachers and become involved in community- and school-based projects. Volunteers also undertake and implement a variety of extra-curricular/ secondary activities with youth.

Successful secondary activities in Moldova have included organization of volunteer tree-planting, town or lake clean-ups, promoting health awareness activities in schools, establishing English language and other after-school clubs for youth, creating and organizing libraries, assisting schools with using computers to help with teaching and learning, creating a local park, and supporting the development of playgrounds and sports fields for schools.

Peace Corps Moldova Volunteers promote gender awareness, girls’ education and empowerment through their activities. Volunteers in this program will receive in-depth training on the incorporation of gender analysis into education, community assessment and development efforts. Volunteers are encouraged to find culturally appropriate ways to incorporate gender awareness and the promotion of youth, especially girls, into their work and projects.

Required Skills

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in teaching English to students at school and one or more of the following criteria:
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field, preferably Education or Language Acquisition;
• At least 30 hours of English, foreign language, or literacy instruction/tutoring experience with primary, middle, or high school students or adults; and/or
• A strong desire to teach English.

For more information, and to apply, click here.

You can only have one active Peace Corps Volunteer application, so choose a position that best fits your skills and interest. You have the opportunity to tell us if you’d like to be considered for other openings and more about the ones that interest you most!

Project Description

Peace Corps Moldova seeks Health Education Teachers to work with children and adolescents throughout the country. There is a significant need to develop life skills and knowledge for healthy lifestyles including basic hygiene, prevention methods of communicable diseases (such as tuberculosis, viruses, gastrointestinal diseases, STIs, and HIV), as well as the prevention of substance abuse and non-communicable diseases (such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, and chronic respiratory diseases).

Volunteers will be placed in rural schools to co-plan and co-teach with Moldovan teachers on health topics to students of various ages. Schools are often the strongest community institution, making students in these settings an ideal audience. Volunteers will also lead youth peer education groups in after-school activities for youth (ages 7-18).

In addition to teaching, Volunteers may have the opportunity to work to increase the availability and quality of existing health information and health education school programs through close collaboration with school and community professionals.

Health Education Volunteers may also have the opportunity to develop in-school and community-wide health awareness campaigns and other projects based on needs, identified in collaboration with their students, teacher partners, school administrators, local health professionals, parents and other community members.
The majority of Health Educators’ time will be spent teaching and giving health education presentations in schools as well as in community venues such as youth centers, houses of culture, and libraries. Health Education Volunteers will not engage in clinical work.

Peace Corps Moldova Volunteers promote gender awareness and girls’ education and empowerment through their activities. All Volunteers in this program will receive in-depth training on the incorporation of methods of gender analysis into community assessment and development efforts. Volunteers will be encouraged to find culturally appropriate ways to incorporate gender awareness and the promotion of youth, especially girls’ education, into their work and projects as appropriate.

To be successful as a Health Education Volunteer in Moldova, Volunteers will need to understand and share Peace Corps Moldova’s accountability to its national partners (the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, schools and communities), to act with commitment and respect for the Moldovan culture and to demonstrate good Romanian language skills.

Required Skills

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in the health sector and one or more of the following criteria:
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field
• 5 years’ professional work experience

You can only have one active Peace Corps Volunteer application, so choose a position that best fits your skills and interest. You have the opportunity to tell us if you’d like to be considered for other openings and more about the ones that interest you most!

Project Description

Volunteers in the Community and Organizational Development Project provide assistance to community-based organizations and local public administrations to strengthen their leadership skills and organizational capacity in order to better respond to community-identified needs and interests. The Community Organizational Development Project aims to strengthen civil society and local public agencies for sustainable community development and is focused on partnerships with communities with limited access to external resources and expertise. Positions are largely in rural locations and involve work with host organizations that tend to routinely have more informal work plans/schedules and may only have basic facilities and/or minimal staff.

Community Development Workers promote gender awareness and girls’ education and empowerment through their activities. All Volunteers in this program will receive in-depth training on the incorporation of gender analysis into community assessment and development efforts. Volunteers will be encouraged to find culturally appropriate ways to incorporate gender awareness and the promotion of youth into their work and projects.

Community Development Workers may work with public libraries, local NGOs or local administrative offices and will assist local partners in community development and in organizational development. Volunteers will be tasked to conduct surveys and interviews with community members and to plan activities which promote civic engagement. They will help motivate individuals to volunteer, train community groups to take action, and assist partners with planning, budgeting, project proposal writing, and evaluation of activities. Popular community projects include development and renovation of community resources (e.g. playgrounds, libraries, parks, community resource rooms, etc.), environmental cleanup (e.g. increase access to clean water), promotion of healthy lifestyles (e.g. develop sports rooms) and creation of local volunteer clubs and service-learning/civic engagement programs. Community Development Workers will support youth by planning and facilitating non-formal education programs including income-generating efforts, English language-learning and development of basic IT skills for youth and adults.
Volunteers placed with NGOs will work alongside local partners to support their organizational development. They may assess the organizational capacities, develop SWOT analyses, or establish new work systems, methods or services. They may also design promotional materials to improve the organizational image and visibility in the community. The Community Development Workers will have unique opportunities to experience the challenges and rewards of grassroots community development alongside Moldovans.

Required Skills

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in community organizational development, youth, and underserved communities demonstrated by significant relevant volunteer or work experience and one or more of the following criteria:
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field
OR 5 years’ professional work experience
•Ability to function in unstructured, unpredictable and slower-paced work environments
•Ability to transform opportunities into work activities with the engagement of local partners

For more information, and to apply, click here.

You can only have one active Peace Corps Volunteer application, so choose a position that best fits your skills and interest. You have the opportunity to tell us if you’d like to be considered for other openings and more about the ones that interest you most!

Project Description

Organizational and Community Development Facilitators work under Peace Corps Georgia’s Individual and Organizational Development (IOD) Project to contribute to Georgia’s efforts to build a strong democratic and economically sound society. Through this project, Volunteers will help citizens of Georgia, particularly youth, women, and vulnerable populations, to attain improved social and economic well-being.

Volunteers are placed in small cities, towns, and villages to work with local non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, regional youth departments, educational centers, departments of local municipalities, or other not-for-profit or governmental organizations. The capacity level of these organizations varies, ranging from well-established, high-functioning to newly-established and limited (both human as well as infrastructural) capacity organizations. You will serve as a facilitator, adviser, mentor, and consultant to your organization and community. You will work closely with local counterparts and community members to design and implement projects and activities to build individual and organizational capacity in project design and management skills, grant writing, fundraising, information technology, marketing, advocacy, and networking. In collaboration with your counterparts you will design and deliver professional development trainings or mentorships in the areas of employability skills, basic financial literacy skills, leadership, girls’ empowerment, and gender issues.

In addition, volunteers work to expand access to education for adolescent girls around the world by abolishing barriers to their education and career paths. While girls in Georgia often outperform boys at school, they face challenges pursuing successful careers after school due to existing rigid gender norms. All Volunteers in Georgia have an opportunity to work on girls’ leadership and empowerment through both primary and secondary activities. Please keep in mind that as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Georgia, you are not expected to identify problems but rather to help your partners identify strengths and build on individual, organizational, and community assets. You will join your partners on an exploration of the best of what is and the best of what might be. If you focus in this way, you will work on project activities that are designed to be sustainable both during service and after you finish service.

Peace Corps Georgia offers high quality technical training and support in the areas of assignment for all Trainees and Volunteers, earning a strong reputation of excellence. Peace Corps Georgia is committed to providing all Volunteers with relevant professional and cultural training for effective service in their communities.

Required Skills

Competitive candidates will meet or exceed the following criteria:
* MA/MS in a discipline with an emphasis in non-profit management, public administration, or organizational development; or
* BA/BS in any discipline and 2 years of management, leadership, or organizational development experience with non-profit or community based organizations; or
* Minimum 5 years professional work experience with nonprofit organizations in a management or organizational development capacity
* Basic computer skills (required)
* Interest and curiosity in Georgian culture and a willingness to integrate into a new culture and community;

For more information, and to apply, click here.

You can only have one active Peace Corps Volunteer application, so choose a position that best fits your skills and interest. You have the opportunity to tell us if you’d like to be considered for other openings and more about the ones that interest you most!

Project Description

English Education Volunteers co-teach conversational English or content-based English in middle and high schools with an Albanian Counterpart. In addition to classroom teaching, Volunteers share resources, develop teaching materials with local teachers and become involved in community- and school-based projects.

Volunteers are assigned to a small community in which you will be co-teaching English Education at a high school or combined elementary and middle school. You will co-teach English as a foreign language to Albanian students as part of a regular general middle or high school program, but will have many related duties in helping both students and teachers practice using English to communicate. During their first school year, most TEFL Volunteers peer teach alongside an Albanian English teacher, supporting and enhancing the existing English language program with the Volunteer’s skills in spoken and conversational English. They may also assist teachers with the development of teaching materials and integrating innovative teaching techniques into their current practice. Volunteers may teach upwards to 15 – 18 hours per week. After peer teaching during your first year, some of these Volunteers may start to teach more on their own.

English Education Volunteers may also spend part of their time working with teachers from neighboring village schools to help them improve their English and increase their classroom repertoire and may conduct some teacher training workshops through collaboration with partner organizations and regional or local level education offices. Volunteers are also asked to use their English teaching to help improve the critical thinking and problem solving skills of their students, often through after-school activities or English clubs.

Whatever your English teaching assignment, you will help students, teachers, and other members of your community learn to use the English language through such activities as supporting summer camps, assisting with Model UN projects, Girl Scouts or GLOW (Girls Leading Our World), drama activities, contributing to school newspapers, creating English language materials or videos, and participating in community sports, arts or clubs. In addition, you will work with the school’s leaders to assess and determine ways to improve the schools systems and resources, such as library development, student government, and other school-based activities.

Albania has development needs in all areas and English Education Volunteers have ample opportunities to conduct other community development projects once they are grounded in their community. There are pressing needs for improving the overall quality of life in rural areas, strengthening the educational system, identifying income-generating opportunities, and managing the natural resources. Volunteers will have opportunities at local or regional level to participate in youth development efforts/activities by working through the schools, or with NGOs that focus their efforts on youth/children, or by taking part in youth-centered projects such as Model UN, Outdoor Ambassadors (an environmental-themed afterschool program begun by Volunteers), Girls Leading our World (GLOW) camps, etc. You may develop or participate in summer youth camps, promote “life skills” education, tutor students in other school subjects; and assist with efforts on the development of school student governments or linkage with projects that promote career development and foster youth employability.

Required Skills

• Competitive candidates will have a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline and a strong desire to teach English
Desired Skills
• Experience teaching, co-teaching, or tutoring English language, foreign language, or literacy tutoring with primary, middle, or high school students or adults
• Experience working in extra-curricular activities with primary, middle, or high school students or young adults (such as sports, leadership, or academic programs)

Required Language Skills

There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position. Please take a moment to explore the Language Comments section below to find out more on how local language(s) will be utilized during service.