Contracts and Vacancies for Costa Rica

Peace Corps Costa Rica is seeking to engage the local market on the requirements listed below.

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENTS

POSITION: Youth Development Program Assistant (YD PA)

VACANCY OPENING DATE: July 2nd, 2026

VACANCY CLOSING DATE: July 19th, 2026

OPEN TO: Costa Ricans or Foreigners with valid authorization to work in Costa Rica at the time of application.

Peace Corps is a U.S. Government agency that works in over 60 countries around the world to bring U.S. Volunteers to work collaboratively, side by side with local partners for two years.

Location of the position: San José, Costa Rica.

Summary of the Program Assistant (PA) position:

Responsible for supporting the assigned Program Managers (PM) and the Director of Programming and Training (DPT) in the administration and coordination of Peace Corps programming and training. Focused on one project sector; however, works closely in collaboration with all Program Team members (Program and Training Specialists (PTS) and PMs) to support Peace Corps/Costa Rica programs. Work is primarily focused on: logistical coordination and administration of Volunteer-related events, maintaining Volunteer and Site records, and keeping program monitoring and evaluation systems accurate and updated, and providing Volunteer support when necessary. Functions under the coordination and supervision of assigned PM(s) with general overview from the DPT.

Minimum Qualifications:

•Studies in Office Administration, Professional Secretary, Bilingual Secretary, Social Sciences, Education, or related field.

•Two years of experience performing administrative tasks such as preparing and formatting reports and maintaining accurate and up-to-date records, gained within the last 5 years.

•One year of experience planning and/or coordinating logistics of training events, gained within the last 5 years.

•One year of experience working in collaboration with public schools and/or other government or NGO partner organizations in the youth, or volunteer sector.

•Experience using Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Google Apps, Survey Monkey, Google Drive, Learning Management Systems, etc.

•Intermediate high English and Spanish level, both written and oral.

•Costa Rican citizenship or applicant has current, valid authorization to work in Costa Rica.

•Valid B1 driver’s license and experience driving vehicles (will be tested).

Desirable Qualifications:

•Experience or willingness to develop skills driving manual transmission 4x4 vehicles within the first year of contract.

•Experience working, studying or living in a multicultural environment, preferably with foreigners from US cultures.

•Soft skills: mission driven, organizational skills, attention to detail, flexibility, interpersonal skills.

BENEFITS AND CONDITIONS

The anticipated contract will be for a base period, with up to four 1-year option periods, exercisable at the unilateral option of the Peace Corps based on satisfactory performance, continued need for the position, and availability of funds. The benefits are in accordance with local labor law. This is a full-time position, requiring a minimum working schedule of 40 hours per week.

The contract is contingent on availability of funds, reference checks, security background check, medical examination.

Only those invited to an interview will be contacted by end of July. One or more positions may be filled from the announcement, or Peace Corps may choose not to fill any positions from the announcement.

Peace Corps reserves the right to not evaluate or to withhold an offer of a personal services contract to an individual that has a history of poor past performance or conduct as a Peace Corps Trainee, Volunteer, or staff member (USDH, PSC, or FSN).

Peace Corps reserves the right to withhold an offer of a personal services contract to an individual that is a relative or household member of a current Peace Corps staff member.

Individuals who have current or prior connections with intelligence activities or agencies through employment, related work, or even family relations may be ineligible for a personal services contract.

The selected individual will be required to follow any workplace health and/or safety rules indicated for their position – including complying with any medical and/or training requirements specified for their position in accordance with public health and/or occupational health or safety policies.

Peace Corps will not discriminate against an applicant because of that person's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older, except when the applicant is beyond the mandatory retirement age in the country of assignment), disability, or other bases provided for under the Peace Corps Manual Section 653 – Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Employment, or history of participation in the Peace Corps discrimination complaint process, which arise in connection with their employment outside of the United States.

The individual may be asked to complete one or more temporary duty assignments at other Peace Corps posts, transfer to another Peace Corps post, or to complete a detail with another USG Agency, a Peace Corps Headquarters office, or with a post other than the post of assignment. As part of an approved detail, the individual may be requested to perform work that may be specifically in line with or may add to the duties stated in the contract.

PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION

Please submit your 2 application materials in English and in PDF format to [email protected] no later than July 19th, 2026, 23:59. Identify your application in the subject line as: “YD PA – Costa Rica”.

1. A resume or C.V. in English —of no more than 3 total pages— that demonstrates that the applicant meets at least all minimum qualifications listed above to be considered a candidate and continue in the selection process. Also, list three professional references and contact information (one should be a recent supervisor if not working currently) and salary history (“constancias” are not needed).
2. Letter of interest in English—of no more than 2 pages—that highlights the skills, knowledge, and attitudes.

-Specify in the letter if you have a relationship with anyone that works with Peace Corps/Costa Rica; you must provide their name(s) and relationship.

-Include in the letter if you have ever served Peace Corps as a Trainee/Volunteer or as a staff member (USDH, PSC, or FSN); if so, identify the position location, position type, title, and starting and ending dates.

-Include your Costa Rican ID (“cédula”) number or DIMEX number.

Applications must follow all the above instructions to be considered.

Only those candidates moving to the second phase in the process will be contacted by end of July 2026.

Deadline: July 19, 2026