What we look for in a volunteer
Each AVI program has different requirements regarding
citizenship and application processes which are all detailed on our
Application
Process page.
Personal competencies
Being a successful AVI volunteer requires more than professional
skills and experience. You will also need a unique set of personal
competencies to cope with being in a new place and culture, to
enable you to share skills, and to connect with the people around
you.
Consider the following questions before you apply for an AVI
assignment:
- Do I understand my own strengths and weaknesses?
- How well do I cope with change?
- How do I respond when something doesn't go according to
plan?
- Can I cope with some personal hardship?
- Can I commit to learning a new language?
- Do I relate well to people who are different to me?
- Do I complain about problems or try to find solutions?
If you are open to new experiences, willing to live out of your
comfort zone, and committed to helping others, then you're likely
to make a good AVI volunteer.
Read the full description of the personal competencies displayed
by successful volunteers below. Assessment of AVI candidates is
based on their demonstrated commitment to these behaviours.
Code of Conduct
All AVI volunteers sign and follow a code of conduct, which
ensures that they live and work in ways that are lawful and
culturally appropriate. In particular, volunteers must:
- Abide by all the laws, regulations and employment requirements
of
- the host country
- Refrain from public comment on political and religious
matters
- Show respect for symbols of nationalism and religious
practices
- Not attempt to proselytise
Read the full AVI
Volunteer Code of Conduct.
Child Protection
AVI has policies in place to protect the rights of children in
all aspects of our programs. All AVI volunteers must comply with
AVI's Child Protection Policy.
The AVI Volunteer Guidebook contains a lot of
useful information for both potential and current volunteers. Download the AVI
Volunteer Guidebook (pdf).
Personal Competencies
AVI responds to the needs of our overseas partner organisations
(employers) by recruiting volunteers with the right mix of skills,
both personal and technical, for assignments in developing
countries. Each volunteer's placement is a direct response to a
locally-identified need articulated through a request for specific
personnel.
Volunteers and project deployees are recruited on the basis that
they can assist their employers to achieve specific development
objectives. With their colleagues, volunteers design and monitor
the achievement of work objectives. AVI recognises that a volunteer
placement is more than 'just a job'. Volunteers are expected to
become members of their communities and to engage and interact with
local people and colleagues.
In order to meet the needs of our key stakeholders, AVI's
recruitment process utilises a structured, behavioural interview
process to select suitable and qualified candidates. The first
interview focuses on the technical skills required to be successful
and the second interview focuses on the 'soft skills', or personal
competencies required to be successful. The competency framework
provides the foundation for assessing these soft skills.
Throughout our recruitment process, AVI provides information and
feedback to our applicants and expects that they will conduct
personal research into their assignments and reflect upon their
decisions to volunteer. AVI recognises that applying to be an
international volunteer is a big step and may not be right for
everyone at particular points in their lives.
Integrity
Managing stress
Self-reliance and
self-confidence
Self-awareness
Resilience
Cross-cultural
sensitivity
Working with and developing
others
Flexibility
Problem solving
Achievement oriented
Integrity
Maintains and promotes social, ethical and organisational norms.
Adheres to AVI protocols and code of conduct and abides by socially
accepted norms within a given context (including, but not limited
to, relationships, and sexual conduct).
Key behaviours:
- Fairly represents organisation's capabilities
- Identifies and responds to unethical behaviour in an
appropriate manner
- Maintains confidentiality, where appropriate
- Acts in accordance with accepted ethical standards and codes of
conduct, avoiding inappropriate relationships within a given
context
- Adheres to policies and regulations
- Meets commitments and promises
Managing
stress
Maintaining stable performance under pressure and/or opposition
(eg, time pressure, job ambiguity); able to relieve stress in a
manner acceptable to other people and the organisation or
situation.
Key behaviours:
- Identifies personal signs of emotional and physical stress
- Uses adaptive coping strategies to manage stress
- Able to recognise stressful situations
- Maintains composure when dealing with difficult situations or
people
- Identifies ways to reduce stress
- Seeks support from others when stressed
- Uses appropriate coping techniques
Self-reliance and
self-confidence
Able to confidently manage own affairs and look after own needs.
Possesses belief in self.
Key behaviours:
- Able to identify and meet personal needs
- Shows ability to function independently in isolated
situations
- Displays an optimistic attitude in the face of challenges
- Has faith in own ability to be successful or overcome
difficulties
- Confident in own judgement of ability
- When appropriate, expresses own position clearly and
confidently, even when it is evident that others don't agree
- Maintains self-esteem without personal support networks
Self-awareness
Demonstrates an awareness of own strengths, limitations and
personal values. Understands how own beliefs, thoughts and emotions
influence behaviour and actions.
Key behaviours:
- Able to describe own strengths and limitations
- Able to articulate beliefs, motivations and values
- Able to describe thoughts and emotions and how they influence
behaviour in a given situation
- Understands how own actions impact on others
Resilience
Aware of personal signs of stress. Able to respond positively to
challenges and to recover quickly from disappointment, setbacks or
rejection.
Key behaviours:
- Maintains enthusiasm after disappointment or rejection
- Accepts criticism or negative feedback without loss of
self-esteem
- Recovers from setbacks
Cross-cultural
sensitivity
Remains open to all people regardless of race, religion or
culture. Seeks opportunities to learn and understand other
cultures. Able to communicate and interact effectively with people
from different geographies and organisations.
Key behaviours:
- Shows interest and curiosity about other cultures through
questioning, reading and travelling
- Checks to ensure mutual understanding when working across
cultures; helps others to understand own culture
- Checks own understanding before acting in new situations,
recognising that own interpretation may not be correct
- Incorporates an understanding of how other people and
organisations do things into own approach
- Adjusts behaviour to others' cultural and work
environments
- Able to suspend personal judgement to understand different
perspectives
Working with and developing
others
The ability to impress upon others a sense of humility, humour,
friendliness and sensitivity. Establish cooperative
relationships.
Key behaviours:
- Establishes and maintains a connection with others
- Propensity to observe and listen before speaking/ responding to
a situation
- Demonstrates patience, tolerance and respect for others
- Assumes that most people are honest and well-intentioned
- Understands and interprets the needs, concerns and feelings of
others
- Readily establishes rapport and trust with others
- Seeks opportunities and makes time to coach/mentor people
- Provides tactful feedback and guidance to help others achieve
their goals
Flexibility
Modifies style and approach in order to achieve a specific
objective(s). Adapts behaviours to meet the situational needs.
Key behaviours:
- Identifies and adapts to other people's style of working
- Able to change working habits
- Able to change strategies or approaches when necessary
- Willing to change mind in light of new evidence
- Adjusts behaviour to others
- Adjusts behaviour to the work and/or cultural environment
Problem
solving
Demonstrates an ability to analyse a situation, to develop
solutions to problems and implement the solutions.
Key behaviours:
- Recognises and identifies the existence of problems
- Breaks down a complex task into manageable parts in a
systematic way
- Anticipates obstacles and thinks about next steps
- Demonstrates the ability to gather and prioritise information
effectively when making decisions
- Finds the most appropriate general concepts or rules which fit
the situation
Achievement oriented
Staying with a position or plan of action until the desired
objective is achieved or is no longer reasonably attainable.
Key behaviours:
- Demonstrates willingness to pursue and achieve personal and
career goals
- Overcomes obstacles to accomplish goals
- Makes repeated attempts to meet objectives when required
- Adjusts plans or actions to respond to constraints
- Knows when to adjust to new goals