By sharing your professional knowledge and expertise, you can make a positive difference in Canada and around the world. We’ve been successfully matching our volunteer CESO Advisors with clients and partners in over 120 countries since 1967. Our volunteers drive both economic and social change by strengthening the private sector and creating an environment for communities to thrive.
Our Advisors are highly-skilled professionals who advise, mentor and share strategic and technical expertise with partners and clients through a planned sequence of short-term, strategic assignments. They are Canadian citizens (or permanent residents) who represent a wide range of industries and professional skill sets.
Typically, a minimum of 15 years working experience is required, with at least ten years of experience in the field or with a role that an Advisor is looking to support. In select cases, we work with Advisors with less experience, provided they have the right mix of knowledge and expertise to suit CESO’s partner needs.
CESO is looking for a diverse range of skills and experience to ensure that we can offer support to all our partners. We work in many sectors and industries. Here are a few of the areas where we focus:
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Tourism and Hospitality |
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Agribusiness and Agroforestry |
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We are also looking for interpreters to support assignments conducted in Spanish, Vietnamese, Dutch, Swahili and Amharic, among other languages.
Cyndi’s professional career spans 18 years. Thirteen of those years were spent as an accountant. Cyndi has worked with a wide variety of public and private clients over her career, executing strong accounting expertise and tools, which she can share to build the capacity of CESO partners. Cyndi works full time at her job but has flexible work hours. Her evenings and weekends are also available, which makes it possible for her to support virtual assignments.
Tony has recently retired following a 35-year career in the manufacturing of consumer goods. His background includes an executive MBA, several C-suite and advisory roles and board positions ranging from non-profit to publicly listed companies. Eager for a way to fill his time by giving back and creating long-lasting impact, Tony volunteers with CESO regularly, working primarily in Latin America.
Fill out the CESO Advisor application form, and attach your résumé in Microsoft Word format. Please ensure your contact information (address, phone and email address) is included on your resume.
Please note that you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident under the age of 79, and covered under a Canadian provincial health program (e.g. BC Services Plan, OHIP, Quebec Health Insurance Plan).
We carefully review each application to ensure a strong match between an Advisor’s skills and the needs of the project.
You will receive a link to watch a 15-minute orientation video where you will learn more about CESO and how to apply and prepare for an assignment.
We will contact you to schedule a phone interview, followed by checking references.
The compliance training consists of three on-line modules:
You can complete the modules in one sitting or save your work and come back at a later time. If you choose to complete the modules in one sitting, please note that it can take up to 3 hours depending on what format you choose: the text-only version is the shortest (approx. 2 hours).
CESO is now requesting a criminal record check from all CESO Advisors going on assignments.
You will be required to read and understand CESO’s policies. A signed acknowledgement form must be returned through an online portal.
Pay the one time $100 administration fee through Paypal.
Successful candidates will receive a welcome letter and log-in information for the myCESO online information portal.
Congratulations – you are now eligible to apply for assignments!
Apply
Complete the CESO Advisor application form and attach your resume.
Review
Each application is carefully reviewed to ensure there is a strong match between an Advisor’s skills and the needs of CESO assignments.
Orientation and Interview
You will be sent a link to watch a 15-minute orientation video to learn more about CESO, followed by a phone interview and reference checks.
Complete the online compliance training
This training consists of three modules – Ethics and Code of Conduct, Global Workplace Harassment and Intercultural Communications. The training can be done in one sitting, or you can save your work and come back to it at a later time.
Provide a completed Criminal Record Check
All new volunteers joining the roster and going on an assignment must submit a completed Criminal Record Check.
Read and sign off on CESO policies
Candidates will be required to read and understand CESO’s policies. A signed acknowledgement form must be returned through an online portal.
Pay a one-time $100 administration fee
Pay the $100 through PayPal.
Welcome!
Successful candidates will receive a welcome letter and log-in information for the myCESO online information portal.
Apply for Assignments
Congratulations – you are now eligible to apply for assignments!
CESO is continually monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic updates and travel advisories. The safety of our Advisors is our primary consideration at this time. As such, all in-field assignments are temporarily suspended. We have pivoted to doing virtual assignments as we continue to provide critical online and remote support and mentoring to our local partners at this important time, while the world responds to the economic impact of this pandemic. We look forward to resuming in-field operations at such a time that we are able to ensure confidently the safety of our Advisors. To learn more about CESO’s approach to COVID-19, please visit our COVID-19 Update page.
Before becoming an active CESO Advisor, you will be asked to pay the one-time $100 Administration Fee.
All volunteers applying to CESO for the first time pay a $100 Administration Fee. This fee is to cover the costs associated with the services that help make your entire advisor experience a positive one. Please note, your payment of the fee does not guarantee that you will be selected for an assignment, however, you will be eligible to see a full list of current assignment opportunities in our internal myCESO portal.
International assignments – CESO covers the costs associated with:
National assignments – CESO covers the costs associated with:
When booking airfares, CESO must comply with the requirements stipulated in our funding agreement with our program funder, which states:
“Global Affairs Canada will limit the reimbursement of plane tickets to the lowest fare available at the time of reservation even when the Organization chooses not to use this fare”
This means that you must accept the most direct and cost effective route to and from the assignment and travel will be in economy class. If you would like to book upgraded seats, you will be responsible to pay the difference. Please speak with your Program Coordinator if you would like to learn more.
CESO is not able to provide insurance for CESO Advisors who are 79 years of age or older as the eligibility for medical coverage and AD&D (Accidental Death & Dismemberment) insurance through our provider, AIG, ceases at 79 years of age.
All CESO Advisors must be covered under a Canadian provincial health program (e.g. BC Services Plan, OHIP, Quebec Health Insurance Plan). Applicants without this will not be permitted to go on assignment.
Yes, you can bring your spouse/partner at their own expense and only with the permission of both CESO and the client. Our funding applies only to the expenses of the advisor, not the spouse/partner.
International assignments typically last from two weeks to four weeks. Indigenous Services assignments typically last from two days to two weeks. There are some exceptions for mentoring assignments which could last up to a year with a few site visits.
Our assignments are driven by client demand and as such, we cannot guarantee a certain number of assignments over any period of time. We regularly speak with program partners and communities in need to see where we are able to provide services. The number of available assignments is constantly changing.
As an Advisor you are expected to:
We try to provide advisors with as much notice as possible about a potential assignment. Typically, for national assignments successful candidates will be given two weeks to one month’s notice to prepare and deploy for assignments. For international assignments, successful candidates will typically be given two weeks up to a few month’s notice.
myCESO is our internal web portal that gives you access to all current advisor opportunities, as well as detailed information and any documents necessary for your assignments. You will gain access to myCESO upon becoming an active CESO Advisor (CA).
If you are experiencing difficulties logging into your myCESO account, please send an email to volunteerservices@ceso-saco.com for immediate assistance.
For questions in English or French, please contact Natalia Daza, Volunteer Recruitment Officer at 1-800-268-9052, ext. 5801, or at ndaza@saco-ceso.com