Right now, Afro Delegates Foundation and our partners are looking for volunteers like you. Are you ready to use your professional skills and experience to change people’s lives – including your own?

We welcome volunteers from most professional backgrounds, between the ages of 24 and 70

Requirements vary according to the needs of the Afro Delegates Foundation and our partners, but you’ll typically need:

• at least two years’ relevant experience in your field (see detail below)
• a degree or other recognized qualification (to help secure your work permit)
• to pass Afro Delegates Foundation’s medical assessment and clearance process, and a criminal record check
• to be available to start your placement within the next 18 months, and be away from home for between six and 24 months
• to be willing to live on a basic allowance, adapt to new living conditions, and be prepared to learn the local language
• to have experience of (or interest in) mentoring others, so you can pass on your knowledge to local colleagues
• Are you keen to leave your comfort zone to make a difference overseas? Check you have sufficient experience in your profession:

Do you have the skills, experience and personal qualities needed to work and live overseas? Learn about our selection procedures before you submit your volunteer application.

Your volunteer work with Afro Delegates could take you all over the world, to rural or urban communities, all with acute development needs – but all safe enough to host you. The safety and well-being of our volunteers and staff is paramount, and we conduct thorough risk assessments as part of our placement design process. Local partners identify their specific requirements and then advertise these jobs to talented professionals like you.

It’s important that you take the time to find the right volunteer job for you. Once you’ve browsed current Volunteer vacancies, you can submit your online application form to apply for that volunteer job.

If you are not ready to apply yet, or we are not currently advertising volunteer jobs that match your skill set, then you can register for job alerts so we can stay in touch when suitable roles become available.

Our regional recruitment managers will review your application within two weeks of the closing date. If you are shortlisted for a role, we will invite you to participate in selection activities, including an online panel interview.

As well as learning more about your skills and experience, we’ll be looking for the personal qualities that all volunteers need to meet the challenge of living and working overseas – such as flexibility and resilience. Here are some top tips for applying to volunteer with Afro Delegates Foundation

You’ll soon hear whether your application has been successful. If we place you in the role for which you applied, we’ll immediately start helping you prepare. Soon you’ll be using your skills to inspire more people than you’d ever imagined.

If you successfully complete the selection process, but we offer the volunteer job to a different candidate, we will let you know about similar roles you can apply for via our job alerts. If you are shortlisted for another volunteer job, you would not need to repeat the full assessment process.

We provide with necessary support, advice and resources to help you meet your fundraising target.
If you’re a volunteer coming from outside Africa when you accept your placement you’ll agree a fundraising plan with our dedicated volunteer fundraising officer and commit to raising at least $5000 prior to going overseas for Afro Delegates Foundation Volunteer experience placement.

If you’re from within Africa we may discuss a different fundraising target with you. Don’t worry if you’ve never fundraised before. You’ll get advice, support and resources to help you reach your individual fundraising target.

We see fundraising as an essential part of your volunteer journey. Asking our volunteers to fundraise has a double impact: it provides much needed income for the charity to keep sending volunteers overseas, and it also presents an invaluable opportunity to raise Afro Delegates Foundation’s profile within your community

Volunteering abroad is a life-changing experience, therefore you will need training. The Afro Delegates Foundation training program enables you to meet fellow volunteers, broaden your understanding of international development, and help you adapt to living and working in a new environment.

The Afro Delegates Foundation training program uses a blended learning approach which includes elements of self-briefing, e-learning and residential courses.

Volunteering Starts Here is our online self-briefing course that gives volunteers insight into the realities of volunteering in a development context.

Depending on your country of residence, you may be invited to a residential training weekend.
Our weekend residential course Skills for International Development (SID) covers working in a cross-cultural context. The training is fun and interactive, and is delivered by our friendly training team – many of whom have extensive experience of working overseas.

Before departure, you can begin to learn the local language of your host country through audio language resources on our learning hub, connect with serving and returned volunteers through forum discussions, and read other self-briefing materials.

To support your adaptation and settling in, a detailed in-country orientation is provided upon arrival by the local Afro Delegates Foundation country office. Part of your in-country training may include further language training which can last for anywhere between two weeks and three months.

Discover the inside story of volunteer training: The Afro Delegates Foundation volunteer journey & residential weekend: a personal reflection

During your placement

Afro Delegates Foundation will be there to support you throughout your volunteer placement.

Our local country chapter office will meet you when you arrive, and organize a briefing and further training.
Your in-country Orientation will last between two weeks and three months, depending on the country, and covers everything from medical and security procedures to language training to country-specific information.

As well as helping you understand the locally important issues, the Orientation also allows you to meet other volunteers.
You will agree on your objectives with the Afro Delegates Foundation Country chapter office and on the relevant partner organizations. Once you arrive in-country, your primary relationship will be with your partner organization, but the Afro Delegates Foundation country office is always there to help with major personal, medical or security problems.

Your day-to-day routine will vary depending on your volunteer placement, but you will be enjoying a new culture, mixing in a different community and challenging yourself professionally.

Accommodation varies, but is generally basic. Afro Delegates Foundation works with some of the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in the world and you should be willing to live in accommodation similar to that of your colleagues. You can have a private room or shared room.

If you are a professional volunteer working for more than 12months, you are entitled to four weeks leave every year. However, we cannot cover your travel expenses to return home in this time, so you will have to pay for the transport costs yourself.

We have comprehensive medical insurance and procedures put in place for all of our volunteers. In country, you will normally consult local doctors about health problems.

Each of our country offices has an appointed medical adviser, usually a local doctor or nurse, whom you can consult with (contact details will be provided during your in-country training).

You will also receive the Afro Delegates Foundation country office’s emergency contacts and medical emergency procedures, together with a list of recommended doctors, clinics, dentists and pharmacies in your region.

Afro Delegates Foundation takes its responsibility for safeguarding and child protection seriously.
We will do all we can to ensure, as far as possible, the safety and protection of children, young people, and vulnerable adults involved in the Afro Delegates Foundation.

If you have concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a young person or wish to talk to someone in confidence about a safeguarding issue, please contact the Afro Delegates Foundation Lead Safeguarding Officer at safeguard@afrodelegates.org

Many volunteers request extensions to their placements and are often successful. Whether this is possible depends on the needs of the organization and whether they need you to stay longer than planned in order to complete the job or extend its benefits and impact.
You can also stay involved with Afro Delegates Foundation after your placement.

After your placement

Depending on which country you are originating from as a volunteer, we invite all volunteers to attend a Returned Volunteer weekend on your return home.

The returned Volunteer weekend is a chance to:

• catch up with home-based volunteers you previously worked with, as well as volunteers that were placed in other countries you might have met pre-departure
• give feedback to Afro Delegates Foundation on your volunteer experience
• share the experience of resettling back into life in your home country
• think about how your overseas experience can have an impact on your life in future

Stay involved after your placement

Volunteers usually return from overseas keen to remain engaged with both Afro Delegates Foundation and with international development. There are many different ways you can do this, but one of the best opportunities is to join your local Afro Delegates Foundation supporter group.

You’ll be able to connect with a wider community of people who may have shared similar experiences, have similar interests and now share your passion for change.

You might not have a lot of time to spare, as you catch up on life back home and settle into your new routine. But there are all sorts of simple things you can do to keep your experience at the front of your mind, and share it with the people around you.

The best way to recruit more volunteers is for you to talk about your experiences. Would you consider giving a talk in your workplace, posting your achievements on LinkedIn, or writing a blog post about the issues you faced? Our alumni and resettlement manager can support you with all these activities.