Description
The Peace Corps Volunteer program is often called life-defining by the more than 235,000 Americans who have served. Get the chance to fully integrate into a host country community, where you will live and work on projects ranging from education to business development. Peace Corps Response sends experienced professionals to undertake short-term, high-impact service assignments in communities around the world. Bring valuable skills and experiences to projects in places where they are needed most.
As an Organizational Development (OD) Volunteer, you will be assigned to work in a municipal government office, a non-governmental organization (NGO), state institution, or a state social services department. From these organizations you will address the needs of the community in regards to social services, youth culture, sports and civil society, project development, or European Union (EU) integration.
The Organization Development project has three objectives:
1. Strengthen the capacity of organizations to improve the services to their constituents.
2. Develop the capacity of organizations and community members to empower them & increase their civic engagement.
3. Promote increased collaboration between and among community organizations and their stakeholders.
To achieve these objectives, you will work alongside others at your host organization to engage in the following:
• Building civil society
• Cultivating a culture in which individuals actively participate in identifying and assessing community needs and priorities as well as in local decision-making;
• Youth development: Creating programs and community services that develop youth job skills, professional readiness, leadership, and volunteerism;
• Marketing and outreach: Promoting the historical, cultural, and touristic assets of your community;
• Advocacy and lobbying: Assessing community needs and outreaching to build support for important community issues;
• Project design and management.
Your work is not limited to these areas – Volunteers in the OD project are encouraged to work on a broad base of topics and issues as directed by the needs of the community.
Volunteers heavily work with youth to develop their entrepreneurial and employability skills, including resume writing, job research, interviewing, mentoring, internships, and job-related soft skills. Volunteers and their local counterpart/s are the main liaisons with their community's youth council, working to develop civic awareness campaigns and youth participation in decision making and other community projects.
Volunteers also collaborate with their colleagues to promote networking and partnership-building among local stakeholders and assist community organizations with project design and management. They support their counterparts, build skills in management, organizational development, customer service, and financial management.
In many Albanian communities GIS (geographical information system)/mapping or information/communication technology development experience may be useful for secondary projects or as a minor part of your main project.
Additionally, as a Volunteer you may also engage in the editing of English language materials, training others in basic computer skills, helping your colleagues improve their business English skills, teaching conversational English to colleagues and other community members, or promoting healthy lifestyles. Your host agencies and other organizations working to promote civil society and institutional development in Albania will provide various types of support for your activities.
Volunteers are placed in communities throughout Albania, excluding the capital city of Tirana. The vast majority of Volunteers will live in rural areas, however, in some rare cases Volunteers may be placed in a few of the larger towns.
The Peace Corps Volunteer program is often called life-defining by the more than 235,000 Americans who have served. Get the chance to fully integrate into a host country community, where you will live and work on projects ranging from education to business development. Peace Corps Response sends experienced professionals to undertake short-term, high-impact service assignments in communities around the world. Bring valuable skills and experiences to projects in places where they are needed most.
As an Organizational Development (OD) Volunteer, you will be assigned to work in a municipal government office, a non-governmental organization (NGO), state institution, or a state social services department. From these organizations you will address the needs of the community in regards to social services, youth culture, sports and civil society, project development, or European Union (EU) integration.
The Organization Development project has three objectives:
1. Strengthen the capacity of organizations to improve the services to their constituents.
2. Develop the capacity of organizations and community members to empower them & increase their civic engagement.
3. Promote increased collaboration between and among community organizations and their stakeholders.
To achieve these objectives, you will work alongside others at your host organization to engage in the following:
• Building civil society
• Cultivating a culture in which individuals actively participate in identifying and assessing community needs and priorities as well as in local decision-making;
• Youth development: Creating programs and community services that develop youth job skills, professional readiness, leadership, and volunteerism;
• Marketing and outreach: Promoting the historical, cultural, and touristic assets of your community;
• Advocacy and lobbying: Assessing community needs and outreaching to build support for important community issues;
• Project design and management.
Your work is not limited to these areas – Volunteers in the OD project are encouraged to work on a broad base of topics and issues as directed by the needs of the community.
Volunteers heavily work with youth to develop their entrepreneurial and employability skills, including resume writing, job research, interviewing, mentoring, internships, and job-related soft skills. Volunteers and their local counterpart/s are the main liaisons with their community's youth council, working to develop civic awareness campaigns and youth participation in decision making and other community projects.
Volunteers also collaborate with their colleagues to promote networking and partnership-building among local stakeholders and assist community organizations with project design and management. They support their counterparts, build skills in management, organizational development, customer service, and financial management.
In many Albanian communities GIS (geographical information system)/mapping or information/communication technology development experience may be useful for secondary projects or as a minor part of your main project.
Additionally, as a Volunteer you may also engage in the editing of English language materials, training others in basic computer skills, helping your colleagues improve their business English skills, teaching conversational English to colleagues and other community members, or promoting healthy lifestyles. Your host agencies and other organizations working to promote civil society and institutional development in Albania will provide various types of support for your activities.
Volunteers are placed in communities throughout Albania, excluding the capital city of Tirana. The vast majority of Volunteers will live in rural areas, however, in some rare cases Volunteers may be placed in a few of the larger towns.
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Benefits
Health coverage, Housing, Living allowance, Non-competitive eligibility (federal jobs), Stipend, Training
Education Requirements
College Graduate
Desired Languages
English
Other Conditions
Subject to criminal background check