Co-facilitate Teaching English and Improving Students’ Soft Skills - Onsite in Ukraine
Peace Corps
United States
Posted on May 30, 2026
Start date
September 28, 2026
End date
March 29, 2027
Duration
26 weeks
ELIGIBILITY: Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a U.S. citizen.
Activity/project background
Vocational colleges in Ukraine – particularly applied pedagogical and electromechanical institutions – are committed to preparing resilient educators and technical specialists who sustain both the social and industrial workforce development during challenging times. Their aim is to equip students with advanced teaching and technical skills in fields such as pedagogy, social work, electrical engineering, mechanics, and information technology, while fostering a culture of innovation and lifelong learning. They combine practical training with applied knowledge to ensure students are prepared for immediate employment, ensure graduates can contribute to schools, communities, and critical infrastructure and will be able to meet the demands of the modern labor market.
As prospective educators and engineers, they would benefit from greater exposure to contemporary, student-centered teaching approaches and genuine American cultural contexts. While students receive strong theoretical grounding in English, there is a critical need for consistent interaction with native speakers to improve fluency, listening comprehension, and confidence, which is limited at the vocational educational establishments. By collaborating with the Virtual Service Pilot Participants, these colleges seek to empower students with intercultural communication skills, technical precision, and the ability to advocate for Ukraine on the global stage.
The vocational colleges in Ukraine are requesting three Virtual Service Pilot Participants to support the English language development of groups of approximately 15–20 high-achieving motivated students (aged 15–18). The VSPPs will collaborate with a local faculty counterpart to co-facilitate weekly 60-minute virtual sessions focused on art, social media, and youth life. The VSPPs will co-design interactive lesson plans and speaking activities aimed at boosting students' conversational confidence and cross-cultural understanding. This engagement will provide future teachers and technical specialists with a model of communicative language learning that they can later apply in their own professional careers and social interactions.
The organizations have previously collaborated with the Peace Corps. They understand that the role of a VSPP is very different than a Peace Corps Volunteer or Peace Corps Response Volunteer.
Engagement and tasks
The VSPP will engage in the following tasks, in collaboration with their host country partners:
Online collaboration will generally occur between 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Ukraine time. Specific times will be determined during orientation.
The Host Country Counterpart will have access to email, Zoom, and phone for regular communication and collaboration.
Per the Child Protection Code of Conduct, when engaging online with minors (0–18), two adults must be present.
Optional Additional Activities
The Peace Corps mission is to promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals:
Essential Qualifications
Education: Bachelor’s degree in any field
Experience: 1 year of TEFL/TESOL teaching in the U.S. or abroad
Intercultural skills and motivation: Flexible, strong cross-cultural agility, high tolerance for ambiguity, able to work independently, resourceful, creative, and genuinely motivated and capable to serve virtually
Education
Desired qualifications
VSPPs will be engaging with the host country partner, in coordination with Peace Corps post staff, remotely from the US. They should have access to a computer, internet, and telephone in order to enable direct engagement with the Peace Corps overseas office and the Host Country Counterpart assigned by the host country partner.
Orientation with the host country partner will be provided, within the designated virtual service hours, during the first week of virtual service via an online presentation and discussion. The host country partner will provide an overview of its organization, the local context, and how they envision collaborating with the VSPP.
The VSPP will have regular check-ins with their counterpart and bi-weekly check-ins with Peace Corps staff. Spending unstructured time with counterparts can be critical to relationship-building and is encouraged through activities such as coffee chats and informal calls within the weekly 5-15 hours.
Engagement safety and security
The VSPP will receive an orientation on Peace Corps’ Child Protection Policy and how it relates to online engagement along with IT security best practices. The VSPP will be expected to follow safety and security guidelines for online engagement to ensure their safety and that of the Host Country Partner and their counterpart, and any beneficiaries of the engagement.
Supervision Requirements
The VSPP will report to a designated Peace Corps staff member. The VSPP will be expected to abide by the Virtual Service Pilot Participant and Donation Agreement and Participant Principles of Engagement. The VSPP will also be expected to check in with the designated host country counterpart as assigned by the host county partner.
September 28, 2026
End date
March 29, 2027
Duration
26 weeks
ELIGIBILITY: Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a U.S. citizen.
Activity/project background
Vocational colleges in Ukraine – particularly applied pedagogical and electromechanical institutions – are committed to preparing resilient educators and technical specialists who sustain both the social and industrial workforce development during challenging times. Their aim is to equip students with advanced teaching and technical skills in fields such as pedagogy, social work, electrical engineering, mechanics, and information technology, while fostering a culture of innovation and lifelong learning. They combine practical training with applied knowledge to ensure students are prepared for immediate employment, ensure graduates can contribute to schools, communities, and critical infrastructure and will be able to meet the demands of the modern labor market.
As prospective educators and engineers, they would benefit from greater exposure to contemporary, student-centered teaching approaches and genuine American cultural contexts. While students receive strong theoretical grounding in English, there is a critical need for consistent interaction with native speakers to improve fluency, listening comprehension, and confidence, which is limited at the vocational educational establishments. By collaborating with the Virtual Service Pilot Participants, these colleges seek to empower students with intercultural communication skills, technical precision, and the ability to advocate for Ukraine on the global stage.
The vocational colleges in Ukraine are requesting three Virtual Service Pilot Participants to support the English language development of groups of approximately 15–20 high-achieving motivated students (aged 15–18). The VSPPs will collaborate with a local faculty counterpart to co-facilitate weekly 60-minute virtual sessions focused on art, social media, and youth life. The VSPPs will co-design interactive lesson plans and speaking activities aimed at boosting students' conversational confidence and cross-cultural understanding. This engagement will provide future teachers and technical specialists with a model of communicative language learning that they can later apply in their own professional careers and social interactions.
The organizations have previously collaborated with the Peace Corps. They understand that the role of a VSPP is very different than a Peace Corps Volunteer or Peace Corps Response Volunteer.
Engagement and tasks
The VSPP will engage in the following tasks, in collaboration with their host country partners:
- Co-assess student needs and existing pedagogical resources to develop a comprehensive syllabus for 26 virtual English Club sessions
- Co-design and adapt interactive teaching materials and multimedia resources focusing on American culture, youth life, and modern pedagogy
- Co-facilitate a 60-minute virtual English-speaking session once per week for a group of 15–20 students to enhance their fluency and cultural awareness
- Co-evaluate student progress and debrief with the Host Country counterpart to adapt future lesson plans and teaching strategies
- Co-develop a final digital portfolio of the resources and lesson plans created during the engagement to ensure sustainability for the college's future curriculum
Online collaboration will generally occur between 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Ukraine time. Specific times will be determined during orientation.
The Host Country Counterpart will have access to email, Zoom, and phone for regular communication and collaboration.
Per the Child Protection Code of Conduct, when engaging online with minors (0–18), two adults must be present.
Optional Additional Activities
The Peace Corps mission is to promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals:
- To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
- To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
- To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
Essential Qualifications
Education: Bachelor’s degree in any field
Experience: 1 year of TEFL/TESOL teaching in the U.S. or abroad
Intercultural skills and motivation: Flexible, strong cross-cultural agility, high tolerance for ambiguity, able to work independently, resourceful, creative, and genuinely motivated and capable to serve virtually
Education
Desired qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in education, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), or pedagogy.
- Certificates in online teaching or curriculum development
- Virtual engagement and communication
- Working with pre-service teachers, student teachers, or conducting training for trainers workshops
- Knowledge of secondary education
- Familiarity of European educational standards
- Proficiency using digital engagement tools
VSPPs will be engaging with the host country partner, in coordination with Peace Corps post staff, remotely from the US. They should have access to a computer, internet, and telephone in order to enable direct engagement with the Peace Corps overseas office and the Host Country Counterpart assigned by the host country partner.
Orientation with the host country partner will be provided, within the designated virtual service hours, during the first week of virtual service via an online presentation and discussion. The host country partner will provide an overview of its organization, the local context, and how they envision collaborating with the VSPP.
The VSPP will have regular check-ins with their counterpart and bi-weekly check-ins with Peace Corps staff. Spending unstructured time with counterparts can be critical to relationship-building and is encouraged through activities such as coffee chats and informal calls within the weekly 5-15 hours.
Engagement safety and security
The VSPP will receive an orientation on Peace Corps’ Child Protection Policy and how it relates to online engagement along with IT security best practices. The VSPP will be expected to follow safety and security guidelines for online engagement to ensure their safety and that of the Host Country Partner and their counterpart, and any beneficiaries of the engagement.
Supervision Requirements
The VSPP will report to a designated Peace Corps staff member. The VSPP will be expected to abide by the Virtual Service Pilot Participant and Donation Agreement and Participant Principles of Engagement. The VSPP will also be expected to check in with the designated host country counterpart as assigned by the host county partner.