Africa Union Youth Volunteer Corps 2018 – Apply now!

Deadline: May 31, 2018

The African Union Youth Volunteer Corps program is open for applications. The African Union Youth Volunteers Corps (AU-YVC) is one of African Union’s initiatives for promoting youth participation, capacity building and empowerment through service and skills exchange, driven by the philosophy of Pan-Africanism and Youth Leadership.

The African Union Youth Volunteer Corps (AU-YVC), established in 2010, is a continental development program that promotes youth volunteerism in Africa. The program aims to deepen the status of young people as key actors in Africa’s development targets and goals, enhancing their participation in policy development as well as design and implementation of relevant interventions towards the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063, ‘The Africa we want’. It brings people together to share skills, knowledge, creativity and learning to build a more integrated, prosperous and peaceful Continent driven by its citizens. The volunteering opportunities are intended to build professionalism and a sense of responsibility among the participants, thus enhancing their employability.

Young African professionals are recruited to serve for a period of 12 months as AU Volunteers in an AU Member State other than their own. The next intake of volunteers for deployment in 2019 will be from the 15 – 31st May 2018.

Responsibilities

Your duties and responsibilities would mainly be to serve the community, organization or institution where you will be deployed. This will be in relation with your field of study or past experience. At present the main areas of focus for AU-YVC are: Education; Health and HIV/ AIDS; Peace and Security; Information and Communications Technology; Business and Youth Entrepreneurship; Agriculture and Environment.

During your deployment your overall objective shall remain to bring a lasting and sustainable impact and benefits to your host community/ organization and promote the spirit of volunteerism and values of service.

This would require you to demonstrate leadership, discipline and dedication throughout your service and especially during challenging and difficult times.

Timeframe

Your deployment will be a minimum of 12 months and however shall not exceed 24 months.

Benefits

For the successful candidates, the African Union Commission and partners will cover the full costs of their pre-deployment training and cost of their deployment.

On deployment, the African Union Youth Volunteers receive the following:

• Economy return air ticket from home town to place of deployment
• A modest monthly stipend
• Health insurance cover
• AU Service Passport
• Separation allowance on successful completion of twelve months service

Eligibility

Applicants have to meet the following criteria:

1. Citizen of AU Member State or African Diaspora;
2. Aged between 18 and 35 years;
3. Have at least a post-secondary education certified training and qualifications, from the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree
4. Available to dedicate 12 (twelve) months for volunteer work;
5. Willing to live and work in another AU Member State;
6. Be proficient in at least one official AU language (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese);
7. Have at least one year verifiable experience as a volunteer and or one year of professional work experience

The Ideal Candidate

• Is change driven and has passion for Africa’s development;
• Embraces Pan-Africanist ideals of solidarity, peace and unity in diversity;
• Self-motivated and has interest in volunteer work;
• Appreciates and respects other languages, cultures, religious and social norms;
• Has great deal of leadership skills and can guide others;
• Remains productive under pressure and in challenging environments;
• Has a great deal of social networking skills;

Evaluation Criteria

Once an application is received it would be accessed against our Evaluation Matrix based on the following criteria:

1. Type of qualification acquired and grades received (Bachelors-, Masters Degree, PHD);
2. Number and Type of languages spoken (with primary focus on Arabic, English, French, Portuguese Swahili and possible combinations);
3. Type of volunteer and work experience: more weight would be given to community outreach and working with others in teams;
4. Comparative Advantage I: Why does one want to become an AU-YV
5. Comparative Advantage II: What makes an applicant a good candidate for placement?
6. Comparative Advantage III: Previous Volunteer Experience (its significance to the vacancy)
7. Each application is scored based on the requirements of the vacancy. This means the same application may score different for different vacancies.

After receiving the evaluation matrix and the CVs of applicants, requesting organizations are given time to select their preferred candidate.

Application

To submit your application:

• Create an account on the http://aucareers.org/ portal (instructions and video tutorial available)
• Fill out your personal information and the application form
• Attach the following documents:
  • Your updated professional CV (no longer than 3 pages)
  • Bio page of your passport (or national ID)
  • Copy of your highest completed qualification (no transcripts)
  • Attach a letter of recommendation (not older than 2 years) attesting to your leadership qualities
• Attach your cover letter. In your cover letter please respond to the following questions:
  • Why do you want to become an African Union Youth Volunteer?
  • What makes you the best candidate for AU-YVC?
  • What skills are you bringing to the AU-YVC and your host organization?
• Review and submit your application before: Thursday, 31st May 2018 midnight (Addis Abeba time)

Click here to apply.

For more information, visit Africa Union Youth Volunteer Corps.