Sandblast Arts — English Language Teacher to Refugee Children in the Saharawi Refugee Camps, Algeria

Sandblast Arts is a UK human rights and arts charity seeking two experienced English Language Teachers to join Desert Voicebox, our after-school English programme for Saharawi refugee children in the Boujdour refugee camp in southwest Algeria.

About the Saharawi people

The Saharawi people are an indigenous people of Western Sahara whose homeland was forcibly occupied by Morocco in 1975. Since then, close to 200,000 Saharawis continue to live as refugees in five camps in the harsh desert of southwest Algeria, in one of the world’s longest-running and least-known displacement crises. A third generation of Saharawi children continues to grow up in the camps, with extremely limited access to resources, stimulation, and educational opportunity beyond what the camp’s basic school system provides.

About Desert Voicebox

Desert Voicebox has run since 2016 in the Boujdour camp. It is an after-school programme bringing English language education, music lessons, and creative arts workshops to primary school-aged children, while simultaneously supporting local Saharawi women to develop as professional educators.

The programme currently reaches over 60 children aged 7 to 13 and is the only source of English language education available to the children we serve. Neither English nor music is taught in the camp’s primary schools, and Desert Voicebox is the sole provider of both. For these children, English is more than a subject. It is a language of agency, advocacy, and opportunity. It gives them the tools to tell their own story, connect with a wider world, and imagine futures beyond the camps.

About the position

Location: Boujdour Refugee Camp, Tindouf, Algeria

Timing and commitment:

• Virtual preparation meetings: 7 to 14 August 2026.
• Main onsite placement: 25 September to 18 December 2026.
• Follow-up visits in 2027: two short visits of up to 2 weeks each, likely one before and one after Ramadan, with exact dates to be confirmed.

Position: We are recruiting two experienced English Language Teachers to arrive and work together from late September 2026. They will lead English classes across Levels 1 to 4 for children aged approximately 8 to 12, with a maximum of 15 students per class. Children enter Level 1 with little or no English and build toward a strong A2 or early B1 level over the four-year programme.

Teaching approach: This is a deeply collaborative placement. Both teachers will work closely alongside our two local Saharawi women teachers, Nanaha and Tarba, in a structured team-teaching model. The aim is not only to deliver strong English teaching to children but to strengthen the classroom practice, lesson planning, and confidence of the local teachers through daily shared teaching and reflection. The skills and approaches developed during this placement are designed to continue shaping the programme long after the teachers leave.

Curriculum: Desert Voicebox uses the Macmillan Learning Lands curriculum as its core framework, and teachers are expected to adapt and enrich content so that it better reflects the children’s lived reality, community, and communication goals. Teaching in this context requires creativity, flexibility, and a genuine commitment to engaging, student-centred methods. Children thrive when lessons are joyful, relevant, and grounded in their own world, and teachers who bring energy, imagination, and an ability to inspire are the ones who make the most lasting impact.

Teaching schedule: Teaching takes place for approximately 3 hours per day, five days a week, alongside planning, reflection, and collaboration.

Accommodation: Volunteers live with a Saharawi host family in the camp throughout the placement, sharing meals, tea ceremonies, and daily community life. This is an immersive experience that is often one of the most meaningful parts of the role.

Requirements

Required qualifications and experience:

• Native or fluent English speaker.
• At least 3 years of substantial experience teaching English as a second language to primary-aged children.
• A recognised ELT qualification such as CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL, Level 5 TEFL/TESOL Diploma, CELT-P, CELT-S, DELTA, or MA TESOL.
• Strong lesson planning, curriculum adaptation, and classroom management skills.
• Confidence and experience in delivering engaging, creative, and student-centred English teaching, including in less traditional or non-Western classroom environments.
• The ability to adapt teaching approaches sensitively to different cultural contexts.
• Experience collaborating closely with other teachers through shared planning, co-teaching, or observation.
• Adaptability and confidence in a low-resource, cross-cultural setting.

Candidates with a DELTA, DipTESOL, or postgraduate qualification in TESOL, Applied Linguistics, or Education are particularly encouraged to apply. Please note that this is not an entry-level placement. Initial certificates are not sufficient on their own and must be accompanied by substantial relevant classroom experience.

Desirable: Experience working in a refugee camp, conflict-affected, or non-Western educational context Proven experience of team teaching Experience working in settings where resourcefulness and creative adaptation are essential.

Benefits

What we offer:

• A total honorarium package of €2,500 for the 12-week onsite placement, covering: €600 stipend €1,260 food and accommodation in the refugee camps.
• Up to €500 toward return flights to Tindouf from your destination in Europe.
• €80 toward external transport costs outside Algeria.
• €60 toward travel insurance.

In-country transport from Tindouf airport to the camps is also covered. For confirmed follow-up visits in 2027, Sandblast will cover flight costs, food and board, and offer a €100 stipend per two-week visit.

How to apply

Please send your CV and a short paragraph explaining why you are suited to the role to: commssandblast@gmail.com

Include that you came across our job posting on World TESOL Academy.

We aim to respond to all enquiries within one week. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a first round interview with our Assistant Director, followed where appropriate by a second round conversation with our Founder. We are actively recruiting between April and June.