FAQs

As a Christian mission, we seek people with suitable skills, qualifications and experience who also sense God is calling them to work abroad. Serving with MAF is an adventure and there are many benefits, but MAF seeks those who are flexible and resilient enough to thrive in a dynamic environment.

Anyone interested in serving with MAF should get in touch with us early on so that we can advise on requirements and suitability. We are happy to meet with you for an informal chat about life and work with MAF. Those meeting role requirements are initially interviewed by MAF UK. Those put forward will undergo further interviews and assessments carried out by MAF International.

These will include personal and spiritual maturity, professional skills, and personality assessments. Spouses will also be interviewed. Pilot candidates will undertake aptitude, flight, psychological and technical evaluation. Management candidates will undertake management assessments.

MAF recruits on an ongoing basis for Pilots, Engineers and Avionics Technicians, and a wide range of management roles including maintenance, security, finance, HR and IT. We also occasionally recruit for education roles. Please check our vacancies page for current vacancies. If you don’t see your specialism, we’d still love to hear from you!

We’d love to hear from you if you are considering training as a pilot or engineer with a view to work with MAF. We recognise it’s a big investment so having early contact with MAF is vital to get good advice and help to confirm potential suitability.

We do have limited training opportunities available in both our Engineering Training Scheme and our Future Pilot Programme. Click here for more information.

Occasionally we can place short term staff within MAF programmes, these roles tend to be for those with specific skills required for a project or to cover staff absence. Volunteer opportunities are occasionally available for those exploring their call to mission and suitability for a cross cultural work. Unfortunately. we can’t accept Pilots for short term assignments.

Staff receive a basic salary and access to agreed allowances to cover housing, travel, medical, schooling etc. All staff contribute to these costs through personal support raising. This is done with the support and guidance of MAF UK and involves building a group of supporters who will pray and financially support you.

From time to time MAF host events around the UK which can help you get to know us better and meet others also considering serving, as well as members of current MAF staff. For more information on MAF UK events please sign up for our Recruitment E-Bulletin here.

We also recommend you check out the resources and information on events available via the Oscar website www.oscar.org.uk

Working hours for MAF staff working abroad are usually 38 hours per week. Staff are entitled to 20 days annual leave plus a minimum of 8 public holidays per year. Home assignment is provided in addition and accrues at 3 weeks per year, it is normally taken every 2 years, and is used for support raising, visiting MAF UK, medicals and debriefs.

Pilots must abide by duty hours set in each country according to local CAA requirements.

This varies dependant on the role and training required and is agreed between staff and MAF. However, pre-field preparation is usually 6 months. This covers induction, support raising, a visit to the location of service, as well as practical arrangements for leaving the UK.

MAF considers family needs seriously and takes these into account where possible when deciding the deployment location. Work opportunities for spouses and accessibility to visas also vary by location, as do schooling levels for children. Sometimes staff relocate to a different programme to accommodate stages of education.

MAF takes the broad pastoral care of staff and their families seriously and does not send a staff member overseas to work for normal assignments without their spouse or any children living at home under their parent’s responsibility.

The home Church is a partner in supporting staff throughout their MAF journey. They will help test calling and will provide prayer and pastoral support before, during, and following service. They may or may not be able to support financially. If helpful, we can arrange for a MAF speaker to visit your home Church.

There is good medical care available in most locations and, where necessary, we support travel to higher levels of care. MAF holds emergency medical and evacuation insurance and has self-funded medical coverage for general ailments. Candidates undertake medical and psychological assessments to determine their suitability and to provide guidance for their location of service.

Throughout service, medical and psychological reviews or debriefs are available. MAF provides access to pastoral care and counselling services via an employee assistance programme and this is available for job holders and accompanying family members.