Following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on 28 March 2025, a coordinated effort involving local volunteers, affected communities, civil society organisations, and both local and international humanitarian workers has been initiated to assist millions of individuals impacted by the disaster. In response to this crisis, United Nations Volunteers (UNV) stands ready to deploy onsite UN Volunteers and Online Volunteers to assist the relief efforts in Myanmar and neighbouring countries, where the impact of the earthquake has also been felt. At the time of the earthquake, more than 70 UN Volunteers have been serving with 10 UN partners in 19 duty stations across Myanmar.
How to Deploy UN Volunteers
To initiate UN Volunteer recruitment, UNV requires a Description of Assignment (DoA) which serves as Terms of Reference/Job
description of the assignment and Service Request Form (SRF)/Funding Authorization. DoA and SRF templates are available online. Click Here.
UNV has sample/standard DoAs for crisis response and recovery available online, for example: UN Volunteer Engineers, Medical Personnel, Administrative Associates and other occupational categories. Click Here.
For more information, please access UN Partner Toolkit.
NEW information on United Nations Volunteers response efforts in Myanmar, please view the UNV Offer in Support of the UN System Emergency Response.
For Online Volunteers, please view the UNV Online Volunteering Offer in Support of the UN System Emergency Response.
Benefits and Entitlements of UN Volunteers
UN Volunteers receive a comprehensive benefits and entitlements package, including:
- Monthly living allowance, including Well-Being Differential
- Relocation support (travel and entry lump sum)
- Health, life, and permanent disability insurance
- Family allowances (when applicable)
UN Volunteers—a Fast and Flexible Talent Solution
Deployment time: 20 days for national volunteer assignments, 30 days for international volunteer assignments (as applicable).
- Onsite UNV Categories: Community, Youth, Specialist, Expert Volunteers.
- Direct Recruitment Option: Possible to contract pre-identified talents within 10-14 days.
- Large Active Talent Pool: More than 2,200 active candidates in Myanmar. More than 400,000 active candidates globally.
- Bulk recruitment: UNV support for (direct or competitive) bulk recruitment of large numbers of UN volunteers.
- Online Volunteers: UNV supports UN Partners' outreach through Online Volunteers available at the UNV Online Volunteering Platform, at no cost. Immediate mobilization for crisis response is possible in less than 48 hours, for example: on communication support, data collection, monitoring, reporting, and more. Online Volunteers are engaged on task-based assignments in various areas of expertise.
Examples of Available UN Volunteer Profiles Include
- Architecture and settlements
- Communication
- Community development
- Crisis and emergency response
- Development programmes
- Education
- Energy and Environment
- Engineering and construction
- Health
- Information technology
- Logistics and Inventory
- Procurement and contracting
- Security and protection
- Social work
- Translation and interpretation
- Volunteer management
- And Many Other Areas as needed
Estimated Proforma Costs (USD) for UN Volunteers 6 months as of 3 April 2025
| Myanmar | International | National |
| Community Volunteer | 6,576.62 | |
| University Volunteer | 30,719.12 | 10,185.34 |
| Youth Volunteer | 37,532.69 | 13,118.07 |
| Specialist Volunteer | 38,629.01 | 14,318.29 |
| Expert Volunteer | 45,997.24 | 17,379.73 |
Cost estimates for volunteer categories based on various contract durations are available upon request.
Online Volunteers Bring Innovation and Diversity to UN Entities Without Any Cost
Online Volunteers offer diverse skills and expertise to assist in a quick, flexible, and task-based manner. Online volunteering is location-neutral and free of charge. Online Volunteers can provide dedicated support in various areas of collaboration, such as:
- Damage/needs assessment
- Mapping of emergency response activities
- Collecting data and preparing situation analyses
- Monitoring, evaluating, and reporting
- Outreach design and development
- Communication, writing, and editing
- Translation and interpretation
- Web and graphic design