27 July 2006

London, UK: UK-based VSO is looking for senior and board level managers to volunteer for two weeks to six months as trouble-shooters in the developing world.

The international development charity is hoping to recruit 300 such volunteers this year.

Judith Brodie, director of VSO UK, said it was a "significant step".

"It enables us to offer our partner organisations overseas a more flexible and effective service," she said.

Trouble-shooters play a different, but complementary, role to traditional VSO placements

Volunteers would be working in areas such as a government department, private business, local non-government organisation, cooperative, women's group or youth project.

They could be mentoring and advising senior staff, developing new HR policies or financial systems, or completely reviewing how an organization works and making recommendations for improvement.

"We are increasingly being asked for more senior volunteers who can provide high-level consultancy on distinct projects. We also recognise that professionals at this level may not be able to make a one to two year commitment," she said.

"Trouble-shooters play a different, but complementary, role to traditional VSO placements.
 
Nick Boyd hopes to volunteer for a few weeks every year

"A long-term volunteer has to gradually immerse themselves in their new role and community, but a trouble-shooter has to hit the ground running and achieve a huge amount in a short space of time.

"Both approaches are equally valuable and both are instrumental in creating lasting change in poor countries."

Nick Boyd, 46, an independent business consultant, took part in a pilot project in April, spending a month in Ethiopia working as a marketing specialist at the Mekelle chamber of commerce.

He said he had always been interested in doing some kind of voluntary overseas, but had been put off from signing up for one or two years.

"Certainly for business people it is difficult to take that long out of your career," he said.

He was also attracted to the scheme as it utilised the skills he had.

"There aren't really that many opportunities to do that on a short-term basis."