2026 Pre-Departure Orientation Cycle
Job Description: Orientation Teacher
Purpose of Position: To prepare program participants for their exchange experience using materials provided by American Councils; to plan PDO sessions together with the local orientation team; to teach students in English about American culture and family life.
Description of Duties:
· Learn the established goals and objectives of the program and its pre-departure orientation materials.
· Attend the entire in-person three-day Training of Trainers workshop (TOT) held in April to become familiar with the assigned PDO lesson plan.
· Attend and actively participate in planning and preparation of the PDO.
· Teach classes consisting of up to 20 students and team-teach larger group sessions of up to 60 students.
· Create a well-organized classroom atmosphere that keeps to a time schedule and encourages student participation.
· Work effectively with Alumni Teaching Assistants while planning and presenting sessions.
· Assist American Councils staff with non-classroom responsibilities, as requested.
· During the TOT and PDO, teachers are obligated to attend meals, evening and other non-classroom activities.
Reports to: Hripsime Manukyan, Program Hub Director
Qualifications:
· American citizen with native English language skills and US high school experience.
· Professional teaching experience, preferably with high school students.
· Recent living experience in at least one Eurasian country; appropriate local language skills are desirable but not required.
· Demonstrated interpersonal skills and ability to function with staff of different ages and cultural backgrounds.
· Available to teach one to three PDO cycles between June 15 and July 15, 2026 (as determined by Program Hub Director)
If you are interested in the position of PDO teacher please submit a statement of purpose and resume to the Program Hub director Hripsime Manukyan at hmanukyan@americancouncils.org by February 7, 2026.
Please specify if you are willing to teach in a location other than the country where you applied.
FLEX Alumni Program
FLEX Alumni program starts right after the FLEX exchange year!
The FLEX program does not end when finalists return home. The opposite, the return fills in their lives with new opportunities and experiences as they become a part of the FLEX family.
After the program, FLEX Alumni are given the opportunity to put their skills and knowledge into practice, improve their skills in any given sphere, improve the situation in their community and change their country to the better.
Currently, the FLEX ALumni Armenia Program has around 1100 alumni from various regions, towns and villages of Armenia. The most active FLEX Alum communities are in Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor and Sisian. The FLEX Alumni coordinator helps alumni overcome the phrases of cultural shock after living in the US for a year and reach their professional and personal aspirations through networking.
FLEX alumni are eligible to join the U.S. State Alumni website, which is specifically designed for alumni of U.S. government-sponsored programs, including FLEX. This is a place where they can find out more about job and grant opportunities, as well as find alumni and host families. Among many other things, the website has a calendar of upcoming alumni events, a photo gallery and a variety of discussion forums. Interesting FLEX Alumni stories, professional opportunities, events and more information about alumni from all of the FLEX countries can also be found on the Bradley Herald, the international FLEX alumni website.
FLEX alumni have a chance to implement their skills and knowledge they have acquired in the United States and help their communities. FLEX Alumni Coordinator supports and helps the FLEX alumni to recover from the cultural shock of returning to Armenia after a year in the U.S., find friends with similar interests, overcome problems, and attain their goals – personally and professionally. FLEX alumni have the outstanding opportunity to participate in democracy-building workshops and round-tables, professional development seminars and trainings, sports events, monthly meetings with experts from different fields, volunteer activities, social events and holiday celebrations. These opportunities are the first steps to becoming the Future Leaders of Armenia.
The FLEX Alumni Coordinator keeps track of the contact information for alumni in order to keep them up-to-date on volunteer and development opportunities. To ensure that alumni from the regions remain active and engaged, there are FLEX alumni City Representatives in different parts of Armenia.
You can learn more about Armenian FLEX alumni and their activities via social media by following the alumni pages on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. For upcoming events and suggestions for FLEX alumni activities please feel free to contact the FLEX Alumni Coordinator at flex.alumni.am@americancouncils.org
Program Contact
Zaruhi Andreasyan
FLEX Alumni Coordinator
+ 374 91 10 08 49
flex.alumni.am@americancouncils.org
zandreasyan@americancouncils.org