Volunteer Placements

In Romania, VSO is looking to recruit volunteers from among professionals in the following skill areas:

Health Care
Social Development: NGO & Social Welfare Workers
Organisational Development & Business Management
Communications / Marketing
Information Technology
Education
Social Research
Natural Resources
Miscellaneous (external link)

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Doctors

Necessary qualifications: If you’re a qualified doctor with at least 2 years’ post-registration experience, you can help change lives in the world’s poorest countries. We particularly need Paediatricians, Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, General Practioners and physicians for roles working in HIV and AIDS, GPs and physicians with experience in Infectious Diseases (especially TB) and doctors with combined Surgical and Obstetrics experience. Doctors with other specialisms may also apply, as their skills may be needed in the future. Doctors can apply for 1 year volunteer positions also, although we prefer applicants who are willing to stay for 2 years.

Paediatricians

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Paediatrician – Malawi
Working at the national referral hospital in Blantyre, you could inspire the next generation of Malawian doctors. You beed to combine teaching and clinical supervision to build their paediatrics expertise. Read the volunteer job description here.

Paediatrician in The Gambia
Working at this leading teaching hospital in Banjul, you’ll develop standard hospital procedures and train Gambian counterpart doctors. Read the volunteer job description here.

Paediatrics lecturer in Uganda
VSO urgently needs a paediatric specialist registrar or consultant paediatrician to change the lives of countless children in Uganda by training the next generation of paediatricians. Read the volunteer job description here.

Obstetricians / Gynaecologists

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Obs and Gyn Specialist - Indonesia
As an Obs and Gyn Specialist at Ende District Hospital, you’ll work with hospital staff to improve maternity services in Flores. With no specialist clinician for its delivery ward, perinatal complications were the hospital’s second highest causes of death in 2006. Your expertise will make motherhood safer for vulnerable women and their babies. Read the full job description here.

Obs and Gyn Specialist - Tanzania
Alongside colleagues at the Village of Hope, you'll support improvements to obstetric care for HIV positive mothers, develop vital gynaecology services, and promote reproductive health in the community. Read the full job description here.

General Practitioners

Preventable diseases cause high levels of mortality and morbidity in many of the countries in which VSO works, with remote or rural communities often left unsupported. You could help strengthen primary care, improve referral, and help widen access to treatment. Right now we need General Practitioners for volunteer work in community healthcare. You could be working in countries such as Uganda, Namibia, Zambia and Tanzania.

If you're a qualified doctor with at least 2 years post-registration experience, and an interest in working in HIV, you could help vital services reach some of the poorest patients in the world. You'd be supporting the administering of anti-retroviral medication and coordinating hospital services.

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

General Practitioner, Uganda
Within the International Hospital Kampala, you'll help the hospital to develop its outpatients and home-based care for some of Kampala's poorest communities. Read the full job description here.

General Practitioner - Zambia
As a GP working in the Monze District Hospital in Zambia, you'll support the introduction of Antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs to build a sustainable hospital service and play a key role in strengthening community follow-up to ensure patients in remote areas can better access primary care. Read more here.

For HIV-AIDS roles:

HIV Services doctor - Zambia
Teaching, training and developing HIV services for rural patients in St Francis' hospital, you'll work to ensure more people access prevention, treatment and support, and regain their dignity and quality of life. Read more here.

HIV / GU specialist - Tanzania
As a HIV / GU specialist in Ndolage Hospital, you'll support the introduction of Antiretroviral drugs and work to improve the quality and sustainability of hospital services to patients living with HIV and AIDS. Read the full job description here.

HIV and AIDS medical officer in Namibia
As a Medical Officer at the Kunene Regional Health Office, you’ll help to improve health services and access to anti-retroviral treatment for patients living with HIV and AIDS in the region. Read the attached job description.

Physicians

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Lecturer in General Medicine, Malawi
As a lecturer at the Malawi College of Health Sciences, you'll take a vital role teaching, training, and doubling the numbers of urgently-needed Malawian doctors. Read more here.

Emergency Medic – Uganda
You’ll develop the ability of the International Hospital in Kampala to manage emergency admissions, especially from road traffic accidents, establishing emergency triage, assessment and treatment systems. Read the full volunteer job description here.

Surgeons

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Surgeon – Malawi
In this high-responsibility Medical Officer role at Ntchisi District Hospital, you’ll plan and conduct surgical care provision, and supervise staff and medical students. Read the full job description here.

Physiotherapists

We urgently need experienced physiotherapists to work in countries such as Ghana, The Gambia, Malawi, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea. You'll support people with disabilities to exercise their rights and to promote their full inclusion and participation as equal members of their families and communities.

Necessary qualifications and experience: You'll be a registered physiotherapist with at least 2 years's experience. The majority of our placements require training and management skills as well as specialised experience in an area such as paediactrics or mental health. Previous experience of working in a community setting is also highly desirable.

Types of opportunity available: Placements range from hospital-based jobs to setting up community-based rehabilitation programmes. Many physiotherapy placements focus on physical disability (e.g. cerebral palsy) in both adults and children. There is also some work in mental health. Physios are involved in hands-on clinical work, training local staff and developing the physiotherapy unit.

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Physiotherapist - Ghana
As a Physiotherapist at New Horizon Special School you'll support children with cerebral palsy to participate in school activities. Familiarity with Bobath or neurodevelopmental therapy approaches would be useful for this placement. Read the full job description here.

Physiotherapist in Papua New Guinea
You'll build up a newly-established hospital physiotherapy department, providing vital services for disabled people in this remote Pacific region. Read more about the job details here.

Regional Physiotherapist in Namibia
The Ministry of Health and Social Services is looking for an experienced Physiotherapist to support their community rehabilitation programme. You'll develop training sessions and raise awareness of disability amongst local staff and the community. Read the full job description here.

Nurses

Experienced adult nurses are in high demand to help improve healthcare delivery in countries where people struggle to gain access to even minimal health care. You could be sharing your skills and experiences with colleagues in countries such as Malawi, Sierra Leone or Cambodia.

You’ll need to be a Registered General Nurse with at least 2 years’ post-qualification work experience. A diploma in tropical nursing and/or HIV and AIDS experience is desirable. Some placements require a qualification in teaching or training.

You’re most likely to be based in a hospital or training school, providing theoretical training and/or clinical instruction to trainee nurses. Some jobs also involve curriculum development.

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Nurse practitioner - Sierra Leone
Working at the Makeni District Hospital, you'll build the capacity of nursing staff at the hospital through on-the-job training, strengthening clinical skills. Read the full volunteer job description here.

Lead Nurse – Uganda
You’ll build the confidence and capability of Ugandan nurses, especially in post-operative nursing. Providing on-the-job training and CPD, you’ll ensure your colleagues can improve patient care. Read the full volunteer job description here.

Nurse and Midwife Teacher – Malawi
Malawi suffers from an acute shortage of qualified medical workers and maternal mortality rates are on the increase. As a motivational clinical instructor looking for a new challenge, you’ll inspire the next generation of nurses and midwifes in Malawi. Read more about the job here.

Nursing Adviser - Cambodia
Kratie Provincial Health Department needs an experienced nurse to help improve services in rural health centres and hospitals. You'll train local nursing staff and promote healthy living practices that will help reduce child and maternal illnesses. Read the full job description here.

Clinical Lecturer – Malawi
As a motivational nurse teacher looking for a new challenge, you’ll inspire the next generation of nurses at Trinity Nursing School. Read the full job description here.

Midwives

Experienced midwives are urgently needed in communities where people struggle to gain access to even minimal healthcare. You'll help improve mother and child health in countries such as Cambodia and Indonesia.

You’ll need to be a Registered Midwife with at least 2 years’ post-qualification work experience. Training and management experience is desirable. You would be working as a midwifery teacher in a hospital, or as a community midwife. Midwifery teachers are based in small schools of midwifery (usually at district hospitals) and are involved in classroom and clinical teaching. Some placements may include an element of curriculum/course development.

Community midwives are based in rural community health projects. They often help provide training for traditional birth attendants. There are also requests for safe motherhood advisers who can develop reproductive health services at regional and national levels.

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Midwife – Sierra Leone
Tackling some of the highest maternal death rates in the world, you’ll help rebuild Sierra Leone’s maternity services, providing clinical instruction for student midwives in Tonkolili District hospital. Read the full volunteer job description here.

Maternal and Child Health Educator - Indonesia
As a Maternal and Child Health Educator at the Belu District Health Office, you’ll help health workers in the field to improve maternal and child healthcare services in their communities. Read the full job description here.

Nurse and Midwife Trainer – Indonesia
As a nurse and midwife trainer in West Timor, you’ll build the hands-on skills of newly qualified staff, improving healthcare for rural families. Read more about this job here.

Maternal and Child Health Adviser - Cambodia
In Kratie province, you’ll make motherhood safer for women and babies by strengthening the provision of life-saving maternal healthcare. Read the full job description here.

Health Managers

Experienced senior managers from the health sector with 2-3 year's experience are urgently needed in hospitals and health authorities in countries such as Cambodia, Malawi, and Uganda. You’ll build your own professional confidence while you gain an invaluable insight into healthcare in the developing world.

As a management adviser working with hospitals and health centres in one district, you’ll develop hospital management systems through staff mentoring and development, budget planning and resource management. In improving the standard of services offered to patients and their families, you may also have a role in quality assurance and standard setting. Or you could be working with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to improve its management capacity through training and practical input. You could be using your skills to devise strategic management systems or advise on national health policies.

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Hospital Management Adviser - Cambodia
Samrong Referral Hospital needs you to help strengthen its management of vital health services, and tackle the public health inequalities affecting people in this rural province. Read more here.

Health Capacity Builder - Indonesia
This exciting role requires an experienced community health professional to raise awareness of healthy living practices and support SSPs Maternal and Child Health Programme in West Timor. Read the full job description here.

Audiologists

We’re looking for experienced audiologists to help improve services for the hearing impaired in disadvantaged communities. You could be sharing your vital skills and experience in countries such as Sri Lanka, Guyana and Namibia. You’ll need a degree or a diploma in audiology and at least 2 years’ recent post-qualification experience. Formal or informal training experience is desirable. For our current placements experience of working with deaf children and their parents is essential.

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Audiologist and Sign Language Instructor - Rwanda
Audiology is a new discipline in Rwanda and you'll work with recent trainees to put their skills into practice and improve the provision of audiology services in the country. See details here.

Audiologist - Guyana
With only six practitioners in the country, there's a great shortage of audiologists in Guyana. You'll provide training to more practitioners and improve the quality of vital outreach programmes in Georgetown and the surrounding area. See details here.

Health Educators

Volunteer Health Educators help improve community health and awareness in disadvantaged communities. You could be working in countries such as Indonesia or Namibia.

You could be a qualified health professional from any discipline with experience in health promotion. Or you might have a degree/diploma in Health Education or a Msc in Health Promotion, Primary Health Care, Mother and Child Health or a community nursing qualification. In either case, 2 years’ experience in a health promotion role is required.

Most volunteers work with community-based organisations or government departments. You could be involved in developing a community-based health project, or have a national or regional project planning and coordination role. Health educators are frequently involved in mother and child health, training of village health workers, drug awareness, water sanitation or community programmes. Many jobs require health educators with experience of working with HIV and AIDS.

Examples of placements in this field:

Public Health Educator - Mongolia
Working with the Darkhan Health Department, you'll develop a health promotion campaign focusing on illness prevention at community level. You'll also encourage health professionals to adopt client-centred approaches. Read the full volunteer job description here.

Health Promotion Specialist - Indonesia
As health promotion specialist with the National Family Planning Board, you’ll empower women and their families to plan pregnancies and safely space births. You’ll help ensure that rural women have access to accurate reproductive health information and champion safer choices. Read the full volunteer job description here.

Nutritionists/Dietitians

Experienced nutritionists and dietitians are urgently needed in countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia and Tajikistan. You’ll work with local governments or civil society to improve nutrition in disadvantaged communities.

You’ll be qualified to degree level in Nutrition, Dietetics or a relevant subject and have at least 2 years’ post-qualification experience. You’ll need to be either a registered clinical dietitian with experience of community and hospital work, or a registered nutritionist with experience in community or public health nutrition. Strong health promotion, management and training skills are important.

As a community nutritionist, you could be helping to build the capacity of local organisations by developing their expertise in nutrition, building up health education, or conducting community based research. As a nutrition adviser for a government programme, you’d support the planning and management of regional activities to combat malnutrition, focusing on rural women and children. Whatever your role, you’ll train local staff and coach colleagues, so they can facilitate behaviour change and improve nutrition long after you have gone.

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Nutrition Adviser - Cambodia
You'll work in Kratie province, building up health promotion activities, and reducing the impact of malnutrition upon families left vulnerable by poverty and food insecurity. See details here.

Nutritionist - Indonesia
As a roving Nutrition Adviser across NTT Province in Indonesia, you'll help VSO's partner organisations to fight malnutrition in pregnant women and children under five. See details here.

Nutritionist - Malawi
The National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Malawi (NAPHAM) is looking for a Nutritionist to provide advice on the diet for people living with HIV and AIDS and to build the capacity of the nutrition section of the organisation. See details here.

HIV/AIDS Professionals

The HIV & AIDS pandemic affects the lives of millions of people, devastating families and economies, and reversing hard-won development gains. We're urgently looking for volunteers from a health or social development background as well as advocacy, fundraising and management professionals. You could be working in prevention, treatment or care, or help local non governmental organisations to raise funds and awareness within affected communities.

The required qualifications and experience depend on the type of placement. For medical placements, we generally need qualified doctors, nurses or health educators with a minimum of 2 years' experience. We are looking for people with HIV programming, mainstreaming, provision of technical support to HIV services targeting paediatric care and support, and roll out of VCT and ARV services. Some placements require training experience.

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

HIV and AIDS Counselling Adviser - Pakistan
DOST Foundation needs an experienced counsellor to help develop and implement counselling services for those at high risk from HIV and AIDS. The organisation provides treatment, counselling and education for intravenous drug users and homeless children and adults.See details here.

Community Health Coordinator - Malawi
Strengthening home-based care and health education work, you'll contribute to Common Visions' goal to increase services and reduce the stigma faced by people affected by HIV and AIDS. Read the full job description here.

Medical Laboratory Biochemist/Technician

We currently need experienced and highly skilled biomedical scientists to work in countries such as Malawi, Tanzania or Zambia. By developing the quality of hospital laboratory services in sub-Saharan Africa, you will play a key role in strengthening the provision of treatment for people living with HIV & AIDS.

You’ll need to be a state-registered biomedical scientist with at least 2 years' post qualification experience. Biomedical scientists are involved in training local counterparts and upgrading diagnostic services in hospital laboratories. You would be involved in improving safety procedures and may be expected to manage the laboratory or department. There are also some opportunities to become involved in formal training such as designing syllabi and teaching.

Examples of VSO placements in this field:

Biomedical Scientist - Malawi
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Malawi needs an experienced biomedical scientist to improve lab management and provide on-the-job practical training for lab staff. Read more here.

Speech Therapists

We urgently need qualified speech and language specialists to help develop rehabilitation programmes and improve the technical ability of local professionals in Africa and Asia. Most placements have a strong emphasis on mentoring, coaching and providing on-the-job training. You may be working for the Ministry of Health or a regional hospital to support rehabilitation programmes or for the speech and language department at a university.

You’ll be a qualified speech therapist or pathologist with at least 2 years’ experience working with children or adults with communication disorders. Experience of working with children with autism is desirable.

You could be working in countries such as Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Guyana or Vietnam.

Occupational Therapists

Due to a distinct lack of programmes catering for the needs of mental healthcare for children, adults and those living with disabilities, our partners require occupational therapists to help develop and strengthen rehabilitation programmes. Most placements will have a strong emphasis on training local professionals and improving their technical capacity.You could be working in countries such as Sri Lanka, Malawi or Guyana.

You’ll be a qualified occupational therapist with at least 2 years' experience of working with children or adults with mental health issues or disabilities. You’ll need excellent management and organisational skills and training experience is desirable.

Psychologists / Therapists

We are looking for qualified psychologists with at least 5 years' post-qualification experience in treatment of the mind or in counselling people in need. Training experience is essential for the available placements.

Sample placement in this field:

HIV and AIDS Counselling Adviser - Pakistan
DOST Foundation works with some of Pakistan’s most vulnerable people and those at high risk from HIV, providing treatment, counselling and education services for intravenous drug users, homeless children and adults, and prisoners. They are looking for an experienced counsellor to help review, develop and implement its strategy for counselling services. Read more.

Mental Health Development Worker - Sri Lanka
As a mental health development worker with the Meedumpitiya Rehabilitation Centre for women, you'll improve and develop rehabilitation activities and introduce best practice in mental health care. Read the full volunteer job description here.

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Important notes:

There is constant change in the volunteer demand and requirements, so please check www.vso.org.uk for the latest information! There may be other type of volunteer placements suitable for you, which are not currently listed on this web page.

You will not be applying for any of these jobs specifically, they have been listed here for sample purposes only.

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