Volunteer with PBI Canada

PBI Canada relies on trained, unarmed civilian volunteers to carry out its core mission of protecting threatened human rights defenders through non-violent accompaniment. Volunteers are central to every layer of our work—from sustaining advocacy efforts, to supporting communications, research, fundraising, public outreach, and preparing new volunteers for deployments.

We recruit only at specific times when volunteer accompaniment teams are needed for active field-project intakes. While deployments are scheduled around recruitment and training cycles, people interested in volunteering are encouraged to stay tuned for when new calls open.

Our work is grounded in a simple idea: a visible international presence can deter violence. Volunteers accompany human rights defenders who face threats rooted in repression, intimidation, surveillance, or militarisation. This protective presence helps create the political space defenders need to continue their work for social change.

By volunteering with PBI, you join a global community that strengthens the safety and legitimacy of non-violent human rights work, amplifies the visibility of frontline movements, and supports long-standing international accompaniment models that prioritise local leadership and requests.

PBI volunteers are committed to:

• Non-violence in practice as a mode of protection and deterrence
• Non-partisanship, fairness, and accountability to local requests and leadership
• Calm, disciplined presence in complex and high-risk situations
• Intercultural respect and relational awareness
• Consensus-based and collaborative team work
• Acting as unarmed civilian peacekeepers and observers
• Listening, witnessing, and supporting—without leading or speaking for the communities we accompany

Strong applicants are ready to build or bring:

• Political literacy – reading context, power dynamics, and risk environments accurately and impartially
• Observation skills – noticing escalation patterns, tensions, and conditions impacting defender safety
• Emotional intelligence & community trust – working respectfully, accountably, and from relationship
• Team collaboration – comfort working horizontally with volunteers and staff
• Communications competence – writing, documentation, broadcasting, analysis, or media skills
• Privacy and digital awareness – understanding security, dignity, and consent in communications

• Strong host country language proficiency is mandatory for training, advocacy, and reporting.
• At least one additional language with professional or functional fluency is strongly preferred for field readiness or interpretation.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills are assessed during recruitment and training.

Many volunteer paths align well with PBI, including background in:

• Community or union organising
• Human rights advocacy and observation
• Communications, media, documentation, or research work
• Fundraising, donor engagement, and outreach
• Post-conflict or intercultural community support roles
• Experience working with at-risk movements or organisations in Canada or across the Americas
• Academic or applied work in political economy, legal accompaniment, or social anthropology

• Volunteer intake opens at specific times of operational need.
• Training cohorts and field deployments are scheduled around project-cycle recruitment windows.
• Applications may be received year-round, but interviews and selections take place during recruitment cycles.
• We invite interested people to stay tuned to our updates for new volunteer calls, training dates, and deployment opportunities.

Volunteers who thrive with PBI are not defined by one background or one skillset, but by shared values: a belief in non-violence as protection, sensitivity to context, a capacity to witness without taking over, and a willingness to step into pressured situations from a place of discipline, integrity, clarity, and care.

PBI is structured to support volunteers to grow into field duties through training, team preparation, political-context education, and a supportive volunteer community. We do not expect volunteers to have all the answers at the outset—but we do ask that they are ready to train deeply, observe carefully, stay impartial, work collaboratively, and show up with integrity when the moment calls for it.