Climate Resilience Technical National Volunteer

Job Description

Introduction to VSO
VSO is the world’s leading international non-governmental organisation that works through volunteers to create a fair world for everyone. Our work centres on those who are left out by society – those living in extreme poverty or with disability and illness, those who face discrimination and violence because of their gender, sexuality, or social status, and those who are at risk from disaster, disease, and conflict. But they are not passive beneficiaries of aid; they are the “primary actors” at the heart of our efforts. From their perspective, we define the issues, opportunities, and solutions that drive sustainable, locally led change. These individuals are the key agents of their own transformation.

Our Approach
Our Volunteering for Development (VfD) method supports the most vulnerable and marginalised to achieve their rights and bring about lasting change to create a fair world for everyone. Rooted in addressing the fundamental causes of marginalisation and vulnerability, our three core approaches – social inclusion and gender, social accountability, and resilience – guide our work in inclusive education, health, and resilient livelihoods.

Our Volunteering for Development method recognises the importance of relationships in forging a shared understanding and commitment and building collective action to lasting change. With most of our volunteers being national, we build blended teams of community, national, and international volunteers, uniting diverse perspectives and experiences to generate insight, innovation, and action that tackles the complex issues faced by our communities. This kindles the potential for active citizenship worldwide, encouraging people to step forward and lead the change that fosters a fair world for all.

Project background and contextual information
The ACTIVE Extension Project is a multi-country programme across Asia and Africa focused on strengthening the capacity of CSGs by fostering volunteerism and civic engagement while simultaneously improving the capabilities of governments and services, making the system accountable to their collective needs through VfD interventions.

ACTIVE supports CSGs to lead their own development pathways, engage in civic and policy spaces, and build inclusive systems that reflect community priorities. It empowers them to foster inclusion, apply participatory practices, strengthen accountability, build resilience, adapt to risks, mobilise resources, and secure funding to sustain development impacts.

Volunteering plays a role of collective catalyst—where volunteers accompany CSGs in building confidence, fostering peer learnings, and accessing tools and networks. Volunteers do not deliver services but contribute to locally led development by enabling CSGs to organise, collaborate, and advocate—always centring their voice, pace, and leadership. Volunteers support a shift in power through equitable partnerships and mutual respect.

Role outputs
Provide climate resilience technical capacity strengthening initiatives that are designed based on the specific needs and aspirations of the CSGs, ensuring they are demand-driven and context-specific.
Co-design the toolkits and learning resources in response to local priorities and inclusion needs.
Facilitate the development of climate resilience strategies and action plans tailored to specific community contexts. Support CSGs, IPs, and volunteers in the integration of adaptation and mitigation measures into project designs and policy frameworks.
Work alongside local CSGs and local government systems to develop and implement locally led climate adaptation and service continuity plans. Integrate climate adaptation planning into system-strengthening approaches.
Build the capacity of local CSGs to embed crisis modifiers within their operations so they are able to adapt practices, advocate, and demand responsiveness from duty bearers and other stakeholders in the event of climate or humanitarian disruptions.
Strengthen the voice and leadership of youth, women, and marginalised groups in climate actions and mentor them to engage effectively with local authorities.
Support the adoption of community risk assessment and crisis modifier tools and leverage the Resilience Dashboard.
Convene and facilitate collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including government, local authorities, community groups, volunteers, IPs, and other CSOs. Foster meaningful relationships based on shared values and common purposes to build collective action focusing on climate resilience, DRR, and humanitarian response.
Support CSGs in engaging with local and regional policymakers to influence climate-resilient policies. Catalyse innovation by identifying and supporting challenge awards and small grant schemes for resilience projects by CSGs.
Extend technical support to other countries through cross-country learnings, coaching, mentoring, and remote technical accompaniment. Collaborate with VSO, partners, and other volunteers to ensure coherent support and alignment with CSGs’ strategic priorities. Share insights with VSO to strengthen support for CSG sustainability and local ownership.

Experience and skills required for this volunteer placement
Expertise in climate resilience, DRR, and participatory methods, with ability to adapt and tailor tools across diverse contexts.
Experience in CSG capacity strengthening and ability to build capacity of CSGs.
Experience in co-designing and contextualising technical resources, ensuring accessibility for grassroots groups with varied literacy, digital access, and inclusion needs.
Digital and data literacy, including resilience dashboards, data analysis, visualisation, and integration into advocacy platforms.
Demonstrated ability to influence system-level change, working across civil society, government, and media to institutionalise feedback mechanisms and accountability.
Demonstrated ability to support CSGs in building and sustaining climate resilience partnerships across sectors, enabling collaborative governance and collective resilience efforts.
Ability to facilitate climate resilience strategy development and youth-led action planning, translating capacity-building insights into practical project or policy design. Able to build trust and facilitate learning, coaching, and mentoring in remote and hybrid settings, creating safe, inclusive spaces where all voices—especially marginalised groups—are heard, valued, and empowered.
Commitment to VSO’s Volunteering for Development approach, mission, values, safeguarding policies, Code of Conduct, and demonstrated VSO behavioural competencies.

Deadline: 5 Nov 2025

About the Organization

VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers. Our vision is a world without poverty in which people work together to fulfil their potential. We bring people together to share skills, creativity and learning to build a fairer world. VSO welcomes volunteers from an ever increasing range of countries, backgrounds and ages. National agencies in Canada, Kenya, the Netherlands and the Philippines recruit volunteers from many different countries worldwide and this international approach allows us to combine and learn from a rich variety of perspectives. Tackling Disadvantage at "Grass Roots" Level Ours is a very individual "people to people" approach to development. Instead of sending food or money, we send women and men from a wide range of professions who want the chance to make a real difference in the fight against poverty. These volunteers work in partnership with colleagues and communities to share skills and learning and jointly achieve change. But we have to be realistic in our expectations. We commit to long-term development goals and long-term partnerships and focus on sustainable development rather than the short-term relief of certain problems. VSO also works to address the structural inequalities and barriers that prevent people from exercising their rights. We use our experience and our supporter networks to work for changes in policy and practice - rich and poor countries - that reduce disadvantage. VSO is by far the largest independent volunteer-sending agency in the world. Since 1958, we have sent out more than 29,000 volunteers to work in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific region and, more latterly, Eastern Europe in response to requests from our overseas partners. At the moment we have around 1,500 people working in placements in these regions. Shared Partnerships, Shared Benefits You only have to talk to VSO volunteers to realise that they gain from their experience, personally or professionally, as much as they contribute. Many will enthuse how fascinating it was to explore a different culture at first hand. Others will point to the friendships they have made. But many will also tell you how their professional talents have been stretched, and how they have learnt new skills that will significantly enhance their career prospects on their return home. If ever it was true that "you get out what you put in", VSO is proof positive. This experience makes volunteers passionate in challenging misconceptions about developing countries. In the current climate, it is more urgent than ever that we work to achieve a global community where people of all cultures are seen as equal, learn from each other and share a common sense of rights and responsibilities as global citizens. VSO builds on this experience and passion to support a range of global education activity. To find out more about volunteering with or supporting VSO visit our website at www.vso.org.uk