Engineering Project Mentor

We’re looking for an Engineering Project Mentor who can live and volunteer in Timor-Leste for 12 months.

• This assignment seeks to contribute to the organisational and technical capacity of EWB Timor-Leste by supporting the planning, delivery, and monitoring of community-led engineering projects. The key objective is to strengthen project design, prototyping, and implementation while ensuring sustainability and alignment with community needs.
• To be considered for this role, you’ll need a degree in Engineering (civil, mechanical, or related discipline) or International Development, with demonstrated experience in project design, monitoring and evaluation, and community-based development.
• You will be working alongside EWB Timor-Leste’s country team, including engineers, project officers, and local partner organisations, as well as liaising with government agencies and community representatives.
• As a volunteer, you will support capacity building, project reporting, mentoring of local staff, and strengthening systems for project planning and delivery.
• Participate in design workshops, planning meetings, consultations with communities, and coordination sessions with partner organisations and government stakeholders.
• Provide support in project design, monitoring and evaluation, data analysis, reporting, and relationship management with partners and donors.
• Work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by supporting community water and sanitation projects under SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), strengthening sustainable engineering solutions under SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and building strong collaborations with local and international partners under SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

About the partner organisation 

The partner is Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB), located in Melbourne with international programs in Timor-Leste, Cambodia, and Vanuatu.

EWB is a humanitarian development NGO that combines engineering expertise with community development. In Timor-Leste, EWB works with local communities and partners to design, deliver, and monitor grassroots engineering projects that improve access to essential services and promote sustainable development.

EWB Timor-Leste requires a volunteer to strengthen project planning, design, and monitoring, and to build staff capacity in technical and organisational areas. Qualified engineers with specialised skills are difficult to recruit locally, so the volunteer’s expertise is essential to support technology development projects, enhance reporting and evaluation systems, and ensure projects are community-led, sustainable, and aligned with international best practice.

About the Australian Volunteers Program  

The Australian Volunteers Program is an Australian government-funded initiative. We support partner organisations across the Pacific, Asia, and Africa to achieve locally led change.  

Volunteers are supported throughout their volunteer journey. We actively support and encourage people of all backgrounds and abilities to volunteer and aim to make the program as accessible and inclusive as possible. If you have accessibility requirements, please contact us to discuss how we can support you to volunteer with us - inclusion@australianvolunteers.com. Learn more about our commitment to inclusion.