Community Economic Development Promoter

Job title: Community Economic Development Promoter

Company: Peace Corps

Job description: Positions Available20DescriptionThe Community Economic Development (CED) sector’s purpose is to support Paraguayan families-especially women and youth-increase access to and/or expand their economic opportunities. Volunteers work both in high schools and with women’s group and other groups outside of school. With schools, Volunteers work in conjunction with teachers on student personal money management, including forming saving clubs, and entrepreneurship training. Volunteers will also coordinate with the local municipality and other local organizations such as women’s groups to form community saving groups and increase money management skills; and with out-of-school youth and adults on entrepreneurship training. Additionally, with the women’s group, CED Volunteers will work to support the creation of home-based Income Generating Activities (IGAs).The CED Sector has the following three goals and activities:Goal 1: Personal Money Management – Increase individuals’ capacity for personal money management

• Create and support Community Savings Groups (CSGs) with adults, especially with women
• Create and support CSGs with youth [e.g. in schools]
• Plan and facilitate personal money management training in a CSG setting
• Guide individuals to apply personal money management skills

Goal 2: Entrepreneurship – Develop individual’s (especially youth’s) entrepreneurial potential

• Plan and facilitate a training that includes both entrepreneurship behaviors, business planning and basic business skills using the Build Your Dreams curriculum (Construye Tus Sueños)
• Guide individuals to adopt entrepreneurial behaviors and apply basic business skills to their new or existing entrepreneurial activity
• Organize events for aspiring or existing entrepreneurs (ex: Paraguay Emprende, business plan competition)

Goal 3: Income Generating Activities (IGAs) – Improve individuals’ (especially women’s) capacity to implement income-generating activities

• Plan and facilitate training on how to select and implement an effective IGA
• Guide individuals on how to implement an IGA
• Plan and facilitate basic business skills training for individuals with an IGA
• Guide individuals to apply basic business skills to their new or existing IGA

In both small and large urban areas of Paraguay, a small business can be described as a micro-enterprise. In some cases, Volunteers can work with a señora selling empanadas, a carrot vendor at the local market or a couple of young adults trying to start a juice business. Typically, the businesses or IGAs are very informal.
The work setting consists of high schools and women’s groups, but could also include cooperatives, municipalities, governmental and non-governmental organizations or neighborhood commissions.According to the strategic plan of the National Youth Secretariat, Paraguay has one of the larger youth populations in the region. Investing in youth will play an important role in promoting community economic development in Paraguay. For this reason, the CED sector focuses its effort on this stratum of the population, by building the capacity of youth as community leaders and business owners.Volunteers serve in urban and semi-urban areas where there have historically been higher incidence of unemployment. All Volunteers in the CED sector will be co-facilitating in a formal classroom setting and coordinating activities with teachers and students.Many Volunteers also work on secondary activities outside the sector’s framework which may be started/proposed by the community and carried out with the Volunteer’s support. Depending on the community, secondary projects might include teaching English, community clean-up events, promotion of dental health, art classes, healthy nutrition habits, recycling projects or water sanitation.Volunteers will receive specific technical training to learn how to design, implement, and evaluate primary and secondary project activities. Trainees receive 10 weeks of Pre-Service Training before moving to their communities and then attend additional training events during their two years of Volunteer service with their community counterparts.Request Type162 Community ServicesPostParaguayRequired SkillsQualified candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field

OR

• 5 years’ professional work experience

Start Date25-May-2026Desired SkillsCompetitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:

• Bachelor or Master of Business Administration, or a Master of Arts/Master of Science degree in Public Administration, Management, Accounting, Banking, or Finance
• At least one year of experience in business management
• Experience in business strategy or consulting
• Experience in entrepreneurship or business training
• Basic to moderate knowledge of family finance or micro-finance/community savings groups
• Experience forming, leading or supporting student youth groups or community groups
• Experience working with women’s group
• At least one year of community service or volunteer experience

Living ConditionsCommunity Economic Development Volunteers serve primarily in medium-sized towns (4,000-12,000) or urban areas (12,000+). Each Volunteer is assigned to serve in an individual community that will be located approximately 1 to 8 hours from the capital city of Asunción by bus. In a few rare cases, more than one Volunteer may be placed in the same community if it is large. In this case, each Volunteer will have their own specific organization or neighborhood with which to work.Public buses to Asunción from most communities are available, although depending on the size of the community may have infrequent service or require the Volunteer to connect multiple bus routes. Volunteers may need to bike or walk up to 6 miles in heat and humidity, often in the 90s (Fahrenheit) with 80% humidity during the summer. The temperature can drop during the winter months to be in the 40s (Fahrenheit). Most homes where Volunteers live do not have air-conditioning or heating.
Volunteers typically have access to electricity, running water and local cell service in the community. However, temporary electricity and water outages are common in many communities. Reliable Internet and Wi-Fi will be limited or not available in the community. However, most Volunteers are within an hour’s traveling distance to another location with more reliable Internet. People in Paraguay use messaging apps, like WhatsApp that are capable of many functions without requiring access to strong Wi-Fi.All Trainees are required to live with a host family for the 10 weeks of Pre-Service Training and the first two months of Volunteer service in their assigned communities. Some homes may be very basic but they have all met or exceeded Peace Corps’ safety and security criteria. During Pre-Service Training Trainees will receive specific training sessions on cultural differences and community integration that promote a healthy and safe lifestyle. Trainees and Volunteers will also partake in training sessions and discussions on specific strategies for integration into Paraguayan culture.The Paraguayan diet is heavily based on meat; therefore, it can be challenging for vegetarians. The diet is also very high in carbohydrates and many meals involve more than one starch at a time (e.g. yuca and pasta or yuca and rice). In many Paraguayan families, manioc and meat are eaten almost every day. Fruits are available seasonally. Most communities have access to tomatoes, onions and green peppers, but limited access to other vegetables. Some Volunteers plant gardens to increase access to vegetables.Working situations range from outdoor manual labor in a field to facilitating lessons in a classroom to official meetings in a local government office. Paraguayans place high importance on personal appearance, including cleanliness. Paraguayans may get offended by visitors to their homes or offices who have body odor or an unkempt appearance. Therefore, cleanliness and a neat personal appearance are very important for Volunteers who represent the Peace Corps and host partner organizations.This is a valuable concept to remember as it will help Volunteers integrate into their community, because it shows respect for Paraguayan values. It is expected that Volunteers wear business casual clothing as a working professional would in the U.S. Most Paraguayans dress up for special occasions. In schools and offices – including the Peace Corps facilities – “office casual” is appropriate (nice jeans, khakis, and knee-length skirts; button-down shirts or nice pullover blouses; closed-toed shoes or dressy sandals). Shorts, flip-flops, and tank tops are inappropriate except around the house or for recreational activities.Language RequirementNoneLanguage Skills Additional InformationTrainees will learn basic Spanish and Guarani as Paraguay is a bilingual nation where both are official national languages.While there are no prerequisite language requirements, applicants who come with some prior Spanish language skills may be able to start learning Guarani sooner during pre-service training. To communicate in the capital city of Asunción (and other large urban areas), Spanish is most commonly spoken. However, in most semi-urban to rural areas where Volunteers are placed, Guaraní or “Jopara” (a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish) is the most common way to communicate. Trainees will have daily language classes in small groups during their Pre-Service Training. Once Volunteers move to their communities, they receive tutoring and additional language classes during In-Service Training events.Successful Volunteers have a strong interest and positive attitude about language learning and dedicate a substantial amount of time outside of class to studying and practicing both languages, especially with their host family. Trainees are required to successfully pass language benchmarks in Spanish and Guaraní during training. Learning an indigenous language like Guaraní is something unique that will enrich your Peace Corps experience, impress Paraguayans, and make you stand out after your Peace Corps service to future employers. If perfecting or becoming fluent in Spanish is a main goal of your Peace Corps service, Paraguay may not be the best fit.Primary SectorCommunity Economic DevelopmentAccepts CouplesYesCouples CommentsParaguay is happy to accept couples within this same programmatic sector. Therefore, your partner must apply and qualify for: Community Economic Development PromoterCouples will live together with the same host family during Pre-Service Training (PST) and for the first two months of service; but may be separated for certain field-based activities during PST. Volunteers who serve with their partners will have the opportunity to work on projects together and individually in their community. As a couple they will enjoy the added benefit of having each other as a built-in support system to process and learn throughout their Volunteer service.Peace Corps works to foster safe and productive assignments for same-sex couples and same-sex couples are not placed in countries where homosexual acts are criminalized. Because of this, same-sex couples’ placements are more limited than heterosexual couple placements. During the application process, Recruiters and Placement Officers work closely with same-sex couple applicants to understand current placement opportunities.Apply By01-Oct-2025Know By01-Dec-2025Language Requirements InformationThere are no prerequisite language requirements for this position.Total Number of Positions Available25Assignment Length (months)24Accepting Applications?YesProgramPCVTEFL certificate programNoPost to LinkedIn?No

Expected salary:

Location: Paraguay

Job posting date: Fri, 02 May 2025 07:08:05 GMT

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