Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2020 for Mid-career Professionals

Application Deadline: August 3, 2020

The Fellowships are for mid-career professionals from low and middle income Commonwealth countries to spend between six weeks and three months at a UK Host organisation working in their sector on a programme of professional development.

Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Commonwealth Professional Fellowships provide talented and motivated professionals with the opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in their given sector.

These Fellowships are offered under six development themes:

• Science and technology for development
• Strengthening health systems and capacity
• Promoting global prosperity
• Strengthening global peace, security and governance
• Strengthening resilience and response to crises
• Access, inclusion and opportunity

Fellowship

Each fellowship provides:

• Approved return airfare from the Fellow’s home country to the UK.
• Stipend (living allowance) payable monthly (or pro rata) for the duration of the award at the rate of £1,696 per month, or £2,104 per month for those at organisations in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2019-2020 levels). Exceptionally, depending on the programme arranged, a peripatetic living allowance may be payable. Further details if applicable will be given at the time of offer.
• If a Fellow declares a disability, a full assessment of needs and eligibility for additional financial support will be offered by the CSC.
• Arrival allowance of up to £953.45 at current rates, including an element for warm clothing.
• Reimbursement of the standard visa application fee.
• Flat rate contribution of £800 to the costs of the Host organisation relating to the administration and support of the Fellow, setting up of appropriate meetings, any materials required, and incidental travel for the Fellow during the award (to be paid to the Host organisation on receipt of an invoice).
• Fees can be agreed for costs associated with Fellows attending short courses/conferences as well as travel to visit other UK organisations where this forms an integral part of the Programme.
• Up to £2,000 can be agreed for awards under two months and up to a maximum of £3,000 for awards of three months (to be paid to the Host organisation on receipt of an invoice).

Eligibility

Applicants must

• Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person;
• Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country;
• Have at least five years’ full-time, or equivalent part-time, relevant work experience, in a profession related to the subject of the Fellowships programme, by the proposed start of the fellowship – voluntary work experience will not be counted towards this minimum;
• Be in employment at the time of application that they will return to upon completion of the fellowship;
• Not have undertaken a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship within the last five years (at the time of application);
• Not be seeking to undertake an academic programme of research or study in the UK. Academics are eligible to apply for the scheme, but only to undertake programmes of academic management, not research or courses relevant to their research subject;
• Be available to undertake the Fellowship between February 1, 2021 and March 15, 2021. You should check exact dates with the prospective Host.

Host Programmes for 2020

The following organisations have been approved by the Commission to host Professional Fellowships for the current round.  Information on each programme along with the eligibility criteria is available below for each organisation as well as a link to their Website for more information. Please note the eligibility criteria carefully as applications not matching the stated criteria will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered by the Host organisation.

• British Geological Survey
• Cardiff University, The Phoenix Project
• Central & North West London NHS Foundation Trust
• Conciliation Resources
• Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital NHS Trust
• Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London
• Justice Defenders
• Knowledge for Change
• Liverpool John Moores University
• Meriden Family Programme
• Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Sheffield Hallam University
• Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust
• The Law Society of England and Wales
• The Royal Veterinary College
• UK Statistics Authority
• University of East London- School of Health, Sport and Bioscience
• University of Salford

Application

Your application must include at least two references, one of which must be from your current employer, otherwise it will be considered ineligible.

Once the closing date for Fellows’ applications and references has passed your application will be shared with the Host organisation you have applied to in order for them to review all applications and nominate the candidates they wish to put forward to the Commission. The Commission will make the final selections of individual Fellows.

Click here to apply

For more information, visit Commonwealth Professional Fellowships.