IT professionals

This is an incredible opportunity to make a lasting contribution to Malawi’s Department of the Ministry of Health. By developing the systems necessary for effective HR management, you’ll increase the capacity of the department. The Ministry suffers from limited MIS, leading to inadequate HR planning and analysis. This results in loss of skilled staff, reactive rather than proactive management, limited capacity in analysising vacancies and imbalances in the geographic distribution of staff, all leading to a poor quality of health service. As well as providing you with a unique challenge, this high-level role will help to greatly improve the healthcare provisions in Malawi.

What does the role involve?

• Developing the specifications for an MIS system based on existing reports and recommendations
• Developing the human resources database management system for the Ministry of Health
• Piloting the system in focus districts liasing with stakeholders to ensure the system meets their needs
• Producing user-friendly guidelines
• Develop a training course of Ministry of Health staff
• Supporting and mentoring colleagues to deliver training

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be educated to degree level in computer sciences or similar with at least two years’ work experience in an IT company. You’ll need expert knowledge of RDBMS, SQL and PL/SQL. You’ll have developed high performance and high availability systems and systematic software development methodologies. Ideally you’ll have experience of delivering training in these systems, however the first objective is to setup appropriate HR MIS so technical computer skills are prioritised over training skills.

In addition you’ll need to be highly motivated and able to work in small teams. You’ll be used to working in pressurised environments, be flexible and self-motivated and prepared to work in a resource-poor environment where the technology used may be fairly basic.

And the rest...

Lilongwe is the capital and administrative center of Malawi. It is a relatively new city and is spacious and leafy. Whilst all of the amenities you would expect from a capital are present, Lilongwe lacks the hustle and bustle of many capital cities. It has a number of god restaurants, bars, supermarkets, internet cafes and many shops. Lake Malawi is just two hours drive away for weekend breaks.

Well ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, well give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

The Ethiopian Ministry for Education is implementing an ambitious policy to bring IT knowledge and facilities to all educational establishments. In support of this programme VSO is looking for highly motivated and innovative IT specialists to take on volunteer roles across Ethiopia. 

As an experienced IT professional, you’ll support the development of an IT Department at the College. You’ll be responsible for establishing an effective network, improving desktop support and training colleagues to become self-sufficient in network development and hardware maintenance.

What does the role involve?

• Developing a well networked IT training centre at the college
• Improving the existing Internet connection at the college
• Advising on the improvement, maintenance and upgrading of computer hardware, software, local area network etc
• Providing ICT training to college staff and teachers
• Training technicians/designated IT staff at the centre in hard and software maintenance so they can further develop and maintain IT equipment after your placement ends.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll need a degree or equivalent qualification in IT or relevant field with at least three years’ experience of working in an IT environment, ideally at management level. Broad IT skills are essential – you’ll need experience in network installation and administration, hardware maintenance and troubleshooting and have the ability to provide training in basic IT skills. Good communication and interpersonal skills are also important as you’ll be training and working closely with your local colleagues. You’ll be a self-starter, flexible with a patient and self-reliant approach, and a great sense of humour for when things don’t go to plan.

And the rest...

Landlocked Ethiopia is situated in North Eastern Africa, bordering Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti. The Simien mountains are arguably the most spectacular mountain range in Africa, and Lalibela, with its 13th century rock-hewn churches and the medieval castle of Gondar make for a very different experience from most other African countries. You’ll be based Abbiy Addi, a town of about 13,000 inhabitants in north central Ethiopia in the Tigray Region.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

VSO Ethiopia’s education programme supports the Ministry of Education’s policy to improve the quality of, and accessibility to, education, so that Ethiopians can gain practical skills that will advance sustainable development within Ethiopia. Improved IT skills and knowledge are vital parts of this initiative. VSO IT volunteers are working in colleges and universities around the country to develop the IT capacities of these institutions and train their counterpart Ethiopian IT staff. As an ICT Specialist at Haramaya University you’ll make a direct and important contribution to this development goal.

What does the role involve?

• Maintaining and trouble shooting computer hardware at the university
• Working with the IT support team at the university to improve bandwidth management, network reliability, developing usage policies and managing anti-virus updates
• Mentoring and building the technical skills of the IT support team, developing a culture of planning and strategic working in the IT team<

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll need a degree or equivalent qualification in IT or relevant field with at least three years’ experience of working in an IT environment, ideally at management level. Broad IT skills are essential – you’ll need experience in network installation and administration, hardware maintenance and troubleshooting. Good communication and interpersonal skills are also important as you’ll be training and working closely with your local colleagues. You’ll be a self-starter, flexible with a patient and self-reliant approach, and a great sense of humour for when things don’t go to plan.

And the rest...

Landlocked Ethiopia is situated in North Eastern Africa, bordering Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti. The Simien mountains are arguably the most spectacular mountain range in Africa, and Lalibela, with its 13th century rock-hewn churches and the medieval castle of Gondar make for a very different experience from most other African countries. Haramaya University is one of the oldest and largest universities in Ethiopia, situated in a town with same name. You’ll provided with accommodation on the campus, which will most likely be a single story house.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

The Ethiopian Ministry for Education is implementing an ambitious policy to bring IT knowledge and facilities to all educational establishments. Although computer related technology and IT are very recent phenomena in Ethiopia, technology is expanding rapidly. Despite this expansion there is a significant lack of skilled human resources.

Adwa College is looking to improve its IT infrastructure and skills. As an IT adviser at the college you’ll establish an effective network and train your colleagues in basic IT skills and software packages. You’ll also ensure that some of your colleagues become self-sufficient in network development and hardware maintenance before the end of your placement.

What does the role involve?

• General computer maintenance at the college
• Networking existing computers at the college
• Providing training to the college community in basic computer skills including Microsoft Office, using the Internet and other relevant programmes
• Installing a library automation system

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll have a degree or qualification in IT (or a related subject). You will have experience and skills in IT, database management, software and hardware development and management. This will include experience of network administration in a Windows server environment. You’ll have hardware maintenance and trouble-shooting skills and knowledge of basic LAN components. The ability to train others in Microsoft Office programs and basic IT is essential. You’ll be able to work well in a team and communicate effectively with others. The college is looking for a self-starter with patience and a good sense of humour for when things don’t go quite to plan.

And the rest...

Landlocked Ethiopia is situated in North Eastern Africa, bordering Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti. The Simien mountains are arguably the most spectacular mountain range in Africa, and Lalibela, with its 13th century rock-hewn churches and the medieval castle of Gondar make for a very different experience from most other African countries. You will be based in Adwa town, a semi-urban area in the northern part of the Tigray region. It is a beautiful market town surrounded by chains of mountains with the River Asab running through the centre.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our support package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

Tanzania is firmly committed to international education targets, and education is core to its development strategy. It recognises IT as an essential tool for improving educational prospects for youths and increasing the livelihood opportunities for adults. The Jifunze project is working to bring IT skills to rural areas, where computers are still quite new at present. As an IT trainer you’ll be based at one of the project’s rural IT training centres, building the IT skills of staff and delivering IT training to school teachers so that they can pass on IT knowledge to their students.

What does the role involve?

• Researching educational IT materials and supporting curriculum development at the training centre
• Helping to establish a database for the centre and developing network administration
• Conducting IT training to primary and secondary school teachers
• Trouble-shooting and hardware/software maintenance at the centre

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll need a degree level qualification in IT or related field and have experience in IT training. The ability to teach introductory computer courses, Microsoft Word and Excel is essential. You’ll also need basic knowledge of hardware maintenance and networking. Creativity and knowledge of older technologies and systems would be useful as the computers at the centre won’t be cutting edge. You'll need to be happy to live and work in a remote area, be culturally sensitive and have a flexible approach.

And the rest...

Over four times the size of Britain, Tanzania’s landscape is vast and richly varied, consisting of extensive plains and plateaus, gorgeous inland lakes, volcanoes (both active and dormant), palm fringed white sandy beaches and of course the world’s highest freestanding mountain - Kilimanjaro. You’ll be living in rural Kibaya, a friendly small village where you’ll have the opportunity to really integrate and live as part of the community.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

Panchayat is an Indian political structure where local elders are chosen to make decisions for the village community. These systems are meant to provide opportunities for poor and disadvantaged women and men to directly intervene in the process of governance to gain more control over their own lives. However, real participation of poor and disadvantaged women and men is negligible. Samarthan was started as a capacity building organisation in 1995 and since then has working with over 100 civil society organisations in Madhya Pradesh and over 50 groups in Chattisgarh to promote economic stability and capacity of panchayat institutions.

The purpose of this placement is to set-up Samarthan’s MIS system. You’ll be responsible for designing and implementing a MIS system for Samarthan and ensure that the systems are utilised, sustainable and contribute to the growth of the organisation.

What does the role involve?

• Strengthening design and content of website and training the team to manage the same
• Imparting MIS skills training to staff members and capacity building the organisation in information management.
• Ensuring that MIS systems contribute to improved monitoring of programmes, finances management and that relevant staff are trained in updating and maintenance.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll have relevant qualification in management information systems and at least two years’ work experience including designing and implementing an MIS strategy, practical experience in MIS including database management, information technology and website management. For this role, you’ll want high levels of innovation, and good computer skills including MS Office, Internet, multimedia and web content.

And the rest...

Bhopal is in the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of the district. Bhopal is located in the central part of India, and is just north of the upper limit of the Vindhya mountain ranges.  Eunuchs are an integral part of Bhopali culture as any celebration is incomplete without them, including fervently celebrated Diwali.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.