Program specialist Jobs in Thunder Bay, ON

This Volunteer Placement is Located in: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Start Date: August 2026

Placement Length: 6 months

Language Requirements: English Level 4-Advanced

Eligibility: Open to Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada only

The Volunteer’s Role

Our partner, the Tanzania Health Forum Initiative (THFI), is seeking a dedicated and highly skilled volunteer to lead and optimize their resource mobilization efforts. In this volunteer placement, you will work closely with the team to drive initiatives that successfully secure essential funding, build high-value partnerships, and build sustainable institutional capacity for long-term financial growth.

Don’t miss this opportunity to make an impact - apply today!

As a volunteer, you will:

• Drive Proposal Development: Lead and coordinate the end-to-end proposal development process, transforming complex project concepts into high-quality, highly competitive concept notes and proposals to successfully secure funding from institutional and private donors.
• Strategic Resource Mobilization: Design, refine, and execute robust resource mobilization systems to ensure coordinated, efficient, and proactive grant tracking, significantly boosting internal preparedness for upcoming funding calls.
• Donor Landscape Mapping: Conduct advanced mapping and strategic analysis of funding opportunities to maintain a dynamic donor database, identifying and capturing new, diverse, and high-yielding revenue streams.
• High-Impact Partnership Engagement: Cultivate and bolster strategic relationships with potential donors and partners, developing sophisticated external communication and advocacy materials tailored to resource mobilization and donor retention.
• Knowledge Management for Fundraising: Establish a centralized repository of winning proposals, capacity statements, and data points to preserve institutional memory and rapidly support future fundraising efforts.

Essential Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree in development studies, sociology, project management, entrepreneurship and business development, agribusiness, or value addition.
• A Master's degree and familiarity with media relations and communication are considered additional assets.

Essential Background:

• Demonstrated Fundraising Track Record: A minimum of four years of experience directly managing fundraising projects, with a proven track record of successfully securing funding (experience within women's and youth empowerment initiatives is highly desirable).
• Advanced Proposal Development: Expert-level skills in grant proposal writing, budget design, and financial literacy, with deep knowledge of what institutional donors look for in competitive applications.
• Strategic Resource Mobilization: Proven experience in donor mapping, relationship cultivation, and managing complex, multi-stakeholder funding pipelines.
• Project Management & Collaboration: Strong proficiency in project management frameworks and the Microsoft Office Suite, paired with excellent cross-cultural networking abilities.

What’s in it for YOU? A life-changing experience!

About Us

Cuso International (Cuso) is an international cooperation and development organization based in Canada that works to create social and economic opportunities for equity-deserving groups. Building on over sixty years of impactful work, we address global challenges by tackling the root causes of inequality. Working alongside our partners, we are focused on efforts to improve economic resilience, advance equity and inclusion for all, and deliver progress on climate action. We believe that by sharing skills, we can build better futures. Guided by our values of courage, inclusion, sustainability and accountability, Cuso combines innovative strategies and enduring partnerships to create lasting, meaningful change in communities across Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada.
Project: Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership RWVL-T

Partner: Tanzania Health Forum Initiative (THFI)

Volunteer Support and Requirements

Support Package

Cuso International provides a comprehensive support package to ensure volunteers maintain a modest and healthy lifestyle aligned with local standards. This includes:

• Monthly living allowance
• Accommodation
• Health insurance (including required vaccinations and antimalarial medication)
• Round-trip airfare and visa/work permit costs
• Pre-placement, in-country and reintegration training (along with access to self-directed materials and online resources)
• Ongoing local support
• Access to the Employee Assistance Program during and after placement

Selection and Screening

If you are shortlisted, you will need to:

• Confirm passport or permanent resident details for travel
• Provide two professional references and one personal reference
• Complete a language assessment during the initial phone interview
• Pass a police check and medical clearance before departure
• Comply with anti-terrorism checks
• Agree to uphold the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) policy and Code of Conduct

Residency and Citizenship: Candidates are responsible for confirming how volunteering internationally may affect their citizenship or residency status. Canadian Permanent Residents should verify requirements with Immigration Canada before travel.

Inclusion and Accessibility: Cuso International welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds and equity-deserving groups. We provide reasonable accommodations throughout recruitment and placement. If you have accessibility needs, please contact us for support.

Ready to Make a Difference? Apply to volunteer today!