Rural Business Development Mentor

We’re looking for a Rural Business Development Mentor who can live and volunteer in Timor-Leste for 12 months.

• This assignment seeks to advance Abundant Water’s growth as a locally-led organisation by strengthening the capacity of Timorese staff and rural vendors in marketing, sales, and business development. The volunteer will contribute to building sustainable micro-enterprises that generate long-term income streams, supporting families and communities across Timor-Leste.
• To be considered for this role, you’ll need a degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field, along with experience in sales strategy or enterprise development. Experience in grant writing or partnerships would be highly beneficial.
• Work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Finally, you will work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by: SDG 1 (No Poverty): Supporting vendors to generate stable income streams. SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): Strengthening micro-enterprises and local business capacity.SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): Expanding access to safe water through sustainable vendor networks.

About the Partner Organisation 

Abundant Water is an NGO and social business based in Dili, Timor-Leste, working across rural communities to improve access to safe drinking water.

The organisation trains and supports local entrepreneurs to sell affordable household water filters, creating sustainable microbusinesses that expand access to clean water. Alongside product-specific training, Abundant Water provides business development and marketing support to help vendors grow their enterprises and achieve financial security.

Abundant Water requires a volunteer to mentor local staff and vendors in advanced business and marketing practices that are not widely available within Timor-Leste. This external expertise will strengthen the organisation’s capacity to build resilient micro-enterprises, attract investment, and prepare the program to transition into a fully locally-led operation by 2028.

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.