* Due to the high volume of applicants, you may not receive an invitation to apply for several months. If you are curious about the status of your application, please reach out to volunteercoordinators@kiva.org to receive an update.
All Loan Review Team Leader applicants on the waitlist will be invited to apply once the application opens.
Review and Translation Program
Kiva Editing
If you love English grammar or consider yourself a language enthusiast, you may be able to support Kiva’s mission as a Volunteer Editor. This is a remote volunteer position.
What do Kiva Volunteer Editors do?
Kiva’s Review and Translation Program is made up of 400+ volunteers that support Kiva's mission by editing, translating, and providing a thorough policy review of borrower loan profiles before they are published to Kiva.org. As a Kiva Editor, your responsibilities would include:
- Gently editing borrower loan profiles for grammar and punctuation errors
- Reviewing each loan profile for clarity and adherence to Kiva's policies
- Important: Volunteers do not determine borrower creditworthiness. This is done by Lending Partners in coordination with Kiva; volunteers neither approve nor deny loans.
Although loans are posted by Kiva's Lending Partners daily, the loan review platform is flexible. It allows you to self-assign loans to review any time of the day or night. In return for your time and effort editing for Kiva, you will have the chance to use your language skills to create opportunities worldwide!
Requested qualifications
We are looking for applicants with a personal or professional interest in language, English grammar, microfinance, and/or international development.
You should be:
- Proficient and comfortable with written English
- Able to pay close attention to detail
- Able to preserve the Lending Partner's voice while editing loans
- Able to commit to at least 2 hours per week (i.e., about 40 loans per month) for a minimum of 6 months, though one year is preferable
- Responsive and communicative via email
- Comfortable with new technology
- Able to access a desktop or laptop computer and internet -- loan profiles cannot be reviewed properly on a tablet or mobile device
- Willing to sign Kiva's volunteer agreement
- At least 18 years of age
The waitlist includes:
- Name
The full onboarding includes:
- An application with questions related to your interest in the volunteer role and potentially relevant experience
- The application also includes a Kiva loan review policy exercise. Kiva's loan policies relate to borrower privacy and the overall logic of the information shared in the loan profile. You will never be asked to verify if someone should receive a loan.
- Upon successful completion of the policy review exercise, you will be asked to take an editing test. This editing test will ask you to retain the voice of the Lending Partner--as well as the profile details shared--by not adding, removing, or distorting any of the information. Please note that all applicants, regardless of experience, are required to take a language test.
- Upon successful completion of the editing test, you will be asked to complete a loan review training.
- Upon successful completion of training, you will begin reviewing 40 loans per month on your own time.
Kiva Translation
If you are proficient in English and another language (French, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish), you may be able to support Kiva’s mission as a Volunteer Translator. This is a remote volunteer position.
What do Kiva Volunteer Translators do?
Kiva’s Review and Translation Program is made up of 400+ volunteers that support Kiva's mission by editing, translating, and providing a thorough policy review of borrower loan profiles before they are published to Kiva.org. As a Kiva Translator, your responsibilities would include:
- Translating borrower loan profiles while maintaining the Lending Partner's voice
- Reviewing each loan profile for clarity and adherence to Kiva's policies.
- Important: Volunteers do not determine borrower creditworthiness. This is done by Lending Partners in coordination with Kiva; volunteers neither approve nor deny loans.
Once you complete volunteer testing and training, you will have access to Kiva's loan review platform. You can review Kiva loans on your computer wherever you have an internet connection, e.g., your home, office, local coffee shop, airport lounge, the beach, etc. Unfortunately, complete review on devices other than desktop or laptop computers is not possible at this time, as key policy fields are not accessible for smartphones or tablets.
Although loans are posted by Kiva's Lending Partners daily, the loan review platform is flexible. It allows you to self-assign loans to review at any time of the day or night. In return for your time and effort translating for Kiva, you will have the chance to use your language skills to help create opportunities worldwide!
Kiva currently has volunteer teams for translation from French, Portuguese*, Russian, and Spanish into English.
*Due to low Portuguese loan volume, translators must also be proficient in another Kiva review language.
Requested qualifications
We are looking for applicants who are proficient in English and who have experience in one (or more) of Kiva’s translation languages. A personal or professional interest in microfinance or international development is also welcome!
You should be:
- Proficient and comfortable with written English
- Proficient and comfortable with written French, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish
- Able to pay close attention to detail
- Able to preserve the Lending Partner’s voice while translating loans
- Able to commit at least 2 hours per week (i.e., about 20 loans per month) for a minimum of 6 months, though one year is preferable
- Responsive and communicative via email
- Comfortable with new technology
- Able to access a desktop or laptop computer and internet -- loan profiles cannot be reviewed properly on a tablet or mobile device
- Willing to sign Kiva's volunteer agreement
- At least 18 years of age to apply
The waitlist includes:
- Name
The full onboarding includes:
- An application with questions related to your interest in the volunteer role and potentially relevant experience
- The application also includes a Kiva loan review policy exercise. Kiva's loan policies relate to borrower privacy and the overall logic of the information shared in the loan profile. You will never be asked to verify if someone should receive a loan.
- Upon successful completion of the policy review exercise, you will be asked to take a translation test. This translation test will ask you to retain the voice of the Lending Partner--as well as the profile details shared--by producing a highly literal translation and not adding, removing, or distorting any of the information. Please note that all applicants, regardless of experience, are required to take a language test.
- Upon successful completion of the translation test, you will be asked to complete a loan review training.
- Upon successful completion of training, you will begin reviewing 20 loans per month on your own time.
Kiva Loan Review Team Leaders
If you are interested in leading a team of up to 35 volunteer translators or editors, you may be able to support Kiva’s mission as a Team Leader. This is a remote volunteer position.
Important Dates
Deadline
May 31, 2025
Start Date
September 2025
Term
September 2025
What do Kiva Volunteer Loan Review Team Leaders do?
Kiva's Review and Translation Program is made up of 400+ volunteers that support Kiva’s mission by editing, translating, and providing a thorough policy review of borrower loan profiles before they are published to Kiva.org. As a Kiva Volunteer Team Leader, your responsibilities would include:
- Leading a team of up to 35 volunteer translators and/or editors
- Motivating and supporting your team members to keep loans moving to the Kiva website
- Creating connections between the volunteer community and Kiva headquarters
- Regularly contacting team members over email to answer basic questions and solve problems
- Writing and posting weekly team updates that include updates from Kiva headquarters
- Developing innovative approaches to strengthen team engagement
- Exchanging ideas and perspectives with other Volunteer Team Leaders and Kiva staff in regularly-scheduled conference calls
- Creating, documenting, and sharing best practices for future Volunteer Team Leaders
- Important: Volunteers do not determine borrower creditworthiness. This is done by Lending Partners in coordination with Kiva; neither Volunteer Team Leaders nor volunteers approve or deny loans.
A successful candidate will have these essential skills and qualities:
- Proficient and comfortable with written English
- Able to commit to 4-6 hours a week for 13 months
- Able to attend 2-3 conference calls annually with fellow Volunteer Team Leaders/Kiva staff
- Organized and able to keep up with deadlines
- Self-motivated and comfortable working remotely
- Able to regularly check and respond to emails
- Able to provide feedback and instructions over email
- Able to work collaboratively and establish targets for themselves and their team
- Able to communicate well and build working relationships with colleagues they've never met
- Comfortable with internet, email, and basic office applications such as word processing and spreadsheets
- Location: Anywhere, but can join conference calls where differing time zones are prioritized.
- Willing to sign Kiva's volunteer and Volunteer Team Leader agreements
- You must be at least 18 years of age to apply.
The waitlist includes:
- Name
The full onboarding includes:
- An application with questions related to your interest in the volunteer role and potentially relevant experience
- Upon successful completion of the application, you will be asked to complete an editing test and a policy review exercise. Kiva's loan policies relate to borrower privacy and the overall logic of the information shared in the loan profile. You will never be asked to verify if someone should receive a loan. Additionally, the editing test will ask you to retain the voice of the Lending Partner--as well as the profile details shared--by not adding, removing, or distorting any of the information. Please note that all applicants, regardless of experience, are required to complete both the exercise and the test.
- Upon successful completion of the loan review policy exercise and the editing test, you may be asked to participate in an interview.
- The number of available Team Leader roles changes each year due to Kiva's needs
Volunteers make an impact
400+
Volunteers located worldwide
17,000+
Average loans reviewed per month
27M+
Words edited/translated per year
Steps for applying
In order to volunteer with Kiva, you will need access to the internet and a laptop or desktop computer.
Step 1: Indicate your interest
Please submit your name, email address, and answer a few brief questions to add your name to the waitlist.*
Step 2: Apply
We will email you when applications open and invite you to submit a completed application. Be sure to answer each question thoroughly so we can get an accurate understanding of your skills and background. You will also be asked to complete a loan review exercise.
Step 3: Test
If your application is selected for the next round, you will be asked to complete a written editing or translation assessment. This will be sent to you and re-submitted to us electronically.
Step 4: Offer
Upon successful completion of all previous steps, candidates will be invited to sign a volunteer agreement and begin training. As the entire program is remote, training will take place online.
To learn more about Kiva’s Review and Translation community and read what volunteers are saying about their experiences, visit the Testimonials page.
Want to see volunteers’ favorite loans? Visit Kiva’s Volunteer Favorites page.
Ready to make a difference?