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Connect with the Peace Corps
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Serve where you’re needed mostSmall Business Development Advisor
Community Economic Development
Job highlights
- Share your expertise to support entrepreneurs and business owners in Ecuador to identify growth opportunities.
- Strengthen Spanish language skills through daily collaborations and interactions.
- Gain international experience developing business solutions and a deeper understanding of South American culture
Ecuador • South America
In partnership with: Saraguro Women’s Artisan Cooperative (Cooperativa Artesanal de la Mujer Saragura)
Get answers live — every weekday at .
Apply by
November 15, 2026Know by
January 1, 2027Depart on
May 30, 2027Duration
12 monthsAbout the project
Are you a business-savvy creative ready to make an impact in the arts? A community in Ecuador is waiting for you.
Launched in 2007, the Saraguro Women’s Artisan Cooperative sold their beadwork at the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for several years, gaining confidence that their work appealed to international buyers. They created a catalog for wholesalers and used sales proceeds to support their households, proving that their traditional beadwork is both culturally significant and economically viable. The cooperative remains committed to preserving this ancestral art form among younger Indigenous women. To successfully tap into new markets, the cooperative members seek business and marketing strategy training.
As a Small Business Development Advisor, you will develop the basic business and digital marketing skills of cooperative members. Together, you will establish processes to track sales and gain a deeper understanding of customer interests. Your collaborative efforts will improve livelihoods and protect the area’s cultural identity for generations to come.
Learn more about what Volunteers do in country by visiting our Ecuador project page.
Required skills
Qualified candidates will have the following criteria:
Bachelor's degree in business, administration, marketing, entrepreneurship, or business education.
AND
Two or more years of experience working at a startup/social enterprise or running a small business.
Language: Spanish
A. Completed 4 years of high school Spanish coursework in the past 8 years
B. Completed college-level Elementary II Spanish semester (Elementary III in quarter system) within the past 6 years
C. Score between 50-62 on the Spanish College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam in the past 6 years
D. Score Novice-High or Intermediate-Low on official American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) in Spanish within the past 6 years
Required behavioral competencies
These competencies are essential for all service assignments and are assessed in the application and interview process:
Motivation for and commitment to service
Adaptability and open-mindedness
Problem solving and resourcefulness
Behavioral maturity and professionalism
Photos from Ecuador
How you and the community will make an impact together:
Build an inventory system to track sales and observe consumer habits.
Assist in establishing quality standards for work and ongoing training.
Build a simple budget for tracking expenses associated with running a business.
Document art pieces through digital photography and provide basic photography training.
Develop a multilingual website that tells the cooperative’s story, feature the available work, and facilitate online sales.
Develop a social media strategy to expand national and international reach.
Conduct simple market studies on customer profiles and recommend strategies for maintaining and expanding the customer base.
You may also work on additional projects that meet the community’s interests and priorities, such as teaching English and community-level tourism projects.
The Volunteer will live independently in an apartment in an urban area in Ecuador’s southern highlands. The five Indigenous communities where the women’s groups are located near the town's center, making travel on foot, by bus, or by bicycle possible.
Learn more about the living conditions, including detailed information on culture, communications, housing, and health/crime statistics on our Ecuador country page. You can also delve into stories about local communities by reading our blog or Volunteer stories.
Meet a Volunteer in Ecuador
Maja S.
Health and Well-Being Volunteer
"[From my community] I learned to conserve resources by doing dishes once a day; taking short, cold showers; unplugging electronics while not in use; and taking advantage of natural light whenever possible."
See full Volunteer profile
After a 1-week orientation on topics such as health and safety, you will move to a town in the southern highlands of the Loja province where you will collaborate with artisans and entrepreneurs to assess needs and develop a work plan in line with their established goals.
Peace Corps/Ecuador will equip you with Spanish language resources, and you may work with a local tutor who can help you build basic language skills to connect with the community.
No couples are accepted for this position.
Application process
From application to departure takes around nine months. Learn about the application process for Volunteer opportunities.
Medical/legal clearance
You will need to be cleared medically and legally in order to serve in Ecuador. Review information on medical clearance and legal clearance to learn about the process.
