Programme

FAO Regular Volunteer Programme

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Closes 31 December 2026, 70 days left No fee to apply Last checked 5 Oct

At a glance

Deadline: Closes 31 December 2026, 70 days leftThe posting gives a date, not a time. Days left are counted in Lagos time.
Fee: No fee to apply
Who may apply: a national of an FAO Member, which every African country is
18 or over
completed secondary school
Where: FAO offices, subject to holding residence or immigration status in the country of assignment

Volunteer work supporting FAO that asks only for a completed secondary education and an age of 18 or over, which makes it one of the very few UN routes with no degree requirement. FAO states it pays volunteers nothing.

The facts

What you get: None. FAO states that it does not provide any remuneration to FAO Regular Volunteers.
Where: FAO offices, subject to holding residence or immigration status in the country of assignment
How long: Set by the individual assignment

Where you stand

This one is free. There is no fee to apply, and nobody should ask you for money at any point.

What they ask for

a national of an FAO Member, which every African country is
18 or over
completed secondary school
you must already hold residence or immigration status in the country of the assignment, and there is no pay

Get ready to apply

Built only from what this listing states. Tick as you go; the ticks stay on your phone and are not sent anywhere.

The application takes real work, by our reading.

1. What to get ready

Cover or motivation letterShort, written for this one: why this, what you have done that fits.

In their words: “Online application through the FAO careers portal with a motivation letter”

2. Dates

Closes 31 December 2026, in 70 days.
On the date, the listing says: Standing Call for Expression of Interest on the FAO careers portal, closing 31 December 2026. A new Call replaces it when it closes.
Aim to send it by 28 December 2026. Websites slow down near a deadline, and data runs out. Our advice

Download checklist (.txt) Send to WhatsApp

The download is a small text file. You can read it later without data. It also lists each condition they set, so you can tick yourself against them. WhatsApp sends the same list to you, or to somebody helping you.

No CV yet? Make a plain one from your answers. Nothing you type is kept.

Tips for applying for a programme

General advice from us, the same for every programme. It is not what this organisation says; that is above.

Check the dates and the time it needs. Programmes often need you at set times, and missing sessions can mean losing your place.
Say plainly what you want from it and what you will do with it after.
If it asks about a project or business, describe what exists today, not only what you hope for.

If there is an interview or a test

Expect to be asked why now, and what you will do if you are not chosen.
Be ready to describe your project in two minutes, in plain words.

All our tips and messages to copy. Practise answering, with nothing kept. Received an offer? Check whether it is real, then read before you say yes.

How to apply

You apply on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations's own website, not here. We never send an application for anybody and we never ask you for anything to pass on. Check their page for anything not shown here.

Go to the application

How we checked this

This was opened and verified at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations's own website on 5 October 2026: it was real, still open, and open to people from African countries. If anything here is wrong, tell us.