Community Development Specialist

Channel your creativity to develop impactful projects that respond to community needs in North Macedonia.

North Macedonia faces several interconnected challenges affecting youth and local development, including limited employment and skill‑building opportunities, high levels of youth migration, uneven regional development, and limited opportunities for young people, particularly in rural areas. Each year, an estimated 12,000 young people leave the country. Research from Societas Civilis shows that 66% of young people would emigrate if given the chance, primarily due to concerns about overall quality of life. Youth unemployment remains high at 23%. Despite these challenges, there are opportunities to connect young people with community initiatives that teach professional and life skills. In many communities—especially rural areas—these institutions are overstretched, underfunded, and would benefit from additional training in project development, organizational management, partnerships, and community engagement.

As a Community Development Specialist, you will collaborate with groups, such as youth centers, culture houses, museums, and homes for the elderly. Through hands-on collaboration and intercultural exchange, you will introduce new approaches, build confidence, and help communities create programs that better engage youth and improve quality of life.

Associate degree in any field and at least two years of full-time, post-high school work experience (from any combination of roles).
OR
Bachelor's degree in any field.
OR
High school diploma or GED and four years of full-time, post-high school work (from any combination of roles).

Volunteers will live in a small village, town, or a larger city. Volunteers will live with a host family during training before moving to live with a new host family or in modest independent housing. Volunteers should expect to participate in host family events and daily chores, and respect the rules of each household, especially being frugal in the use of utilities because of high cost of electricity.

Develop strong project design and management, organizational capacity building, and youth development skills.
Develop a proficiency in Macedonian and Albanian through daily interactions.
Make lasting connections with community leaders while appreciating the country’s culture.

Identify local priorities, needs, and opportunities for development.
Facilitate workshops and activities that build youth leadership, communication, teamwork, project-planning skills.
Strengthen organizational planning, communication, partnership development, and community outreach.
Develop project ideas, identify resources, and prepare proposals or grant applications.
Create and implement community projects that respond to identified priorities and encourage leadership and participation.
Connect youth groups, municipalities, institutions, and community organizations to encourage collaboration, resource sharing, and new partnerships.
Organize events, activities, and outreach efforts that engage young people.
Document, evaluate, and communicate project results.

You may also work on additional projects that meet the community’s interests and priorities, such as facilitating informal English language classes and recreational youth camps.

As a Community Development Promotor, you will be trained on project design and management, community engagement, youth programming, and training design and facilitation. Peace Corps/North Macedonia will teach you Macedonian and/or Albanian to help you comfortably live in and connect with the community. You will also receive language resources to learn Turkish, Serbian, Roma, or Vlach, depending on your community placement.

After 11 weeks of training, you will move to a rural or urban community where you will collaborate with non-government organizations, municipalities, youth centers, universities, culture houses, museums, homes for the elderly, or other public institutions. You will work with the community to assess the needs and develop long-term solutions based on resources available.