Volunteering Opportunities in Boston

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at PIH. If you are interested in volunteering at our Boston office but do not see an opportunity listed below that matches your skills, interests, and availability, you may still wish to download and complete our Volunteer Application form [MS Word, 60 KB] [PDF, 16 KB]. Due to the volume of inquiries we receive, we are not always able to acknowledge receipt of your application. We will contact you only if your application is selected for additional review.

IT Volunteer – Boston: Partners In Health is seeking a volunteer in the Boston office to help with our never-ending computer support. Volunteers need to be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours per week during regular business hours, 9-5, Monday-Friday. Experience working with computer hardware and software is a must! Tasks will vary from cleaning off old computers, to installing programs, to installing hard drives. We will need particular help preparing computers and other electronics for our office move in August.  Interested applicants should complete the volunteer application form and send it to volunteer@pih.org. Thank you in advance for your interest.

Volunteer Editor – Boston or remotely: Partners In Health is seeking an experienced volunteer editor to edit a program management guide for a high-literate audience. The purpose of this guide is to disseminate the PIH model more widely, to ensure quality and consistency by developing standardized material where appropriate, and to serve as a resource for improving the overall delivery, quality, and impact of both PIH programs and other health-related NGOs operating in resource-poor settings. The qualified candidate can work remotely, but may be expected to attend occasional meetings at the PIH Boston office. At least 5-10 years of experience editing professional-level training materials desired. Please send resume and letter of interest to: jnoguchi@pih.org

Volunteer Java Programmer – Various locations: Partners In Health’s supported project in Mexico will be piloting a ground-breaking technology that allows health workers in remote areas to use clinical protocols on cell phones. Partners In Health seeks a programmer proficient in Java to help translate these clinical protocols into the software program CommCare. This position is an excellent opportunity to connect programming skills with social entrepreneurship and global health. The project will benefit a rural, underserved area of Chiapas, Mexico. Time commitment is 10 hours+ per week for 12 weeks. The majority of volunteer hours may be completed remotely if desired, or may be completed at the PIH office.  The Programmer will be supervised and mentored by programmers at Dimagi, Inc. and from the PIH Clinical Director.  To apply, please send a resume and statement of interest to Chiapas@pih.org. 

CommCare is a program based on JavaRosa, an open source platform for mobile data collection. Dimagi, Inc. is leading the development of CommCare, and D-Tree International is leading implementation.

Volunteer Curriculum Writer – Boston: PIH is seeking a Volunteer Curriculum Writer to assist the training team in developing and coordinating training curricula on a wide variety of HIV and primary health care related topics. This includes the support of colleagues in PIH project sites worldwide who are developing curricula and training materials. Specifically, the training team has a list of training materials it would like to develop in response to program needs identified within our accompagnateur (community health worker) program, and would appreciate the help of a volunteer in creating these resources. This is a volunteer position and preferably the candidate would be available a minimum of 10-15 hours/week starting as soon as possible. More information about this position.

Volunteer Medical Writer – Boston: Partners In Health is seeking a medical writer to assist with the overall development and completion of a curriculum for nurses and doctors providing HIV care in resource-poor settings. The main task of the medical writer will be helping to develop, review and strengthen the medical content of the curriculum (read more information about this position). This is a volunteer position for a period of 12 weeks. Preferably, the candidate would be available a minimum of 10 - 15 hours/week during this 12-week period. To apply, please complete the volunteer application form and send it to volunteer@pih.org.

Office Volunteers – Boston: Partners In Health is seeking detail-oriented volunteers to help in the Boston offices with regular administrative responsibilities. Volunteers need to be available during regular business hours for a minimum of 15 hours per week and should be able to commit for three months. Patience, flexibility, and attention to detail are mandatory for this position.  Interested applicants should complete the volunteer application form and send it to volunteer@pih.org. Thank you in advance for your interest.

Translators – Boston: Partners In Health is seeking volunteers with translation experience to support our office in Boston, MA.  Candidates must be fluent in English and be proficient in speaking and writing at least one of the following languages: Spanish, French, Russian, or Haitian Creole. Volunteers must be able to commit to either: 1) ongoing volunteer work for at least 10 hours a week, or 2) a short-term intensive project during specified dates. Interested applicants should complete the Volunteer application form and submit it along with a sample of previous translation work to volunteer@pih.org.  In the application question about specific skills and talents, please list each language for which you are applying and evaluate your proficiency in speaking and writing using the following terms: beginner, intermediate, advanced, fluent.

Village Health Works Web Design and Development Internship – New York or remotely:
This is a volunteer position that would require 10-20 hours per week. Tasks would include working with the Executive Director and Communications Team to keep the website up-to-date with new content, developing designs and implementing new web features, and working with print publishing. Additionally, an ideal candidate would have a good understanding of social media, be a self-starter, and be able to work in a team. A solid knowledge of HTML, CSS,and Photoshop required. Understanding of the Wordpress backend, PHP, MySQL,and/or JavaScript a plus. Ideally, this position would work from our New York office, but working from home is a possibility. Please email a resume alongwith samples of your work to resumes@villagehealthworks.org. Please put “WEBMASTER” in the subject-line.

International Opportunities

Aside from the postings below, we generally do not recruit volunteers for overseas work. Local medical professionals and community health workers at our partner projects carry out the bulk of the work, and language barriers and our limited resources for supervision and training also prevent us from accommodating volunteers. While on occasion we do engage volunteer medical and technical specialists, we’re committed to working with the members of the communities we serve in order to expand local skills and knowledge, build up local infrastructure, and ensure sustainability.

If you are interested in overseas work, we encourage you to explore opportunities at other organizations; Idealist.org , The International Volunteer Programs Association, and The International Medical Volunteers Association are three of many excellent web and print resources.

Volunteer English Teacher – Haiti
PIH’s supported project in Haiti, Zanmi Lasante, seeks an English Teacher for a 3-12 month period. With the volume of English speaking volunteers flying to Haiti after the devastating earthquake, Zanmi Lasante seeks to improve the dialogue between the Haitians staff and Americans. This position will entail teaching English to the Zanmi Lasante staff, whose English language level vary from beginning to conversational. For more information about this position and how to apply, please click here.

Volunteer Dentist – Guatemala
Partners In Health’s supported project in Guatemala, ETESC, seeks a volunteer dentist for a 3-6 month period.  ETESC is an autonomous, grassroots organization in Huehuetenango, a state in the northwest of Guatemala.  Founded by refugees and victims of the civil war, ETESC focuses on helping affected communities realize their social, legal and economic rights, as well as increasing health care access.  The group seeks to re-launch a successful dental clinic that was recently discontinued due to funding constraints.  The clinic provides cleaning, extraction, dental education and other services at low or no cost, and conducts occasional outreach to rural communities.

The volunteer dentist will help reestablish the dental clinic, provide consults for patients, and help apprentice a dental technician-in-training.  There will also be the option to assist in publicizing clinic services, delivering oral health education workshops, and helping evolve the direction of the clinic. More information about this position.

Inshuti Mu Buzima Volunteers – Rwanda: IMB is accepting applications for volunteers to work on a variety of projects, ranging from research to clinical to program support. Ideal candidates will be available to volunteer for six months to one year. Positions become available on an intermittent basis, based on the needs of the project team in Rwanda. When positions are identified by the local national team, existing volunteer applications will be reviewed to identify appropriate candidates. At that time, candidates will be contacted for further conversation. Due to the volume of applications we receive for volunteer positions, we kindly ask you to refrain from contacting the PIH office in Boston to inquire about the status of your application or the interview process.  Please complete this application and send it with a cover letter specifying your career goals and project interests, as well as a resume, to rwandavolunteers@pih.org

Volunteer Agronomist, Village Health Works – Burundi: Village Health Works (VHW), a nonprofit with close ties to PIH, is looking for an experienced agronomist to help develop its agriculture program on site in Kigutu, Burundi. The agriculture program is the core component of VHW's Food Security Program. The ideal candidate for the VHW agronomist position will be able to make use of and grow the infrastructure already in place, help train program staff in agriculture care and techniques, and work closely with the team members to create efficient food production systems on site and to educate people in the local community about how to do so themselves. The ideal person will be interested in passing on their own knowledge of sustainable agriculture practices and won’t be afraid to get their hands dirty working alongside the team. Also will have some knowledge of global health issues and is eager about being part of VHW’s growth. More information and information on how to apply.

Volunteer Training and Community Health Program Organizer – Rwanda: The Program Organizer will provide programmatic and administrative support to the Partners in Health Community Health and Training Programs in the District of Burera. He/she will work closely with the Departments of Training, Community Health and Burera Program Management to support the planning implementation, and monitoring of all training and community health activities in the District of Burera. This person will help to strengthen the partnership between PIH and the Ministry of Health and will serve as a liaison between the Burera team and the Community Health and PIH Training Departments. Download this PDF file for more information. Interested candidates should send their resume and cover letter to hr@pih.org.

Surgeon – Zanmi Lasante, Haiti: Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante is looking for a volunteer general surgeon to work with the Zanmi Lasante surgical team in Haiti. This volunteer will report to PIH's Boston-based Medical Director and Zanmi Lasante's Director of Surgical Services, based in Haiti. The volunteer will be posted initially in Cange, Haiti and then possibly at one of our two other surgical sites in the Central Plateau. The caseload would include routine general surgery as well as management of surgical emergencies, trauma, and emergency caesarian sections. The individual must have completed residency training and be proficient in general surgery and caesarian sections. Experience working in a developing country is helpful, and a strong commitment to social justice is essential. Fluency in either French or Haitian Creole is preferred. A minimum commitment of 6-12 months is necessary. Interested candidates should send resume and letter to volunteer@pih.org.

Socios En Salud Volunteers – Peru: There are currently openings for ten volunteers to work for periods of 5 months to a year on a variety of projects, ranging from research to graphic design and assisting with program design and management. Download this PDF file for all the details. All positions are available immediately. Please send a cover letter specifying the position in which you are interested and when you are available to start as well as a resume to Elaine Weisman, Peru project assistant at eweisman@pih.org.