The head of international savings investments and insurance group Aviva has announced that he and his wife will be joining the international relief and sustainable development charity Concern Universal on a voluntary basis for one year after he retires on 11 July.

Richard Harvey, Group Chief Executive of Aviva plc, and his wife Kay will travel to Kenya, Mozambique and Malawi in the autumn to meet the Concern Universal teams there and gain an understanding of the realities of development work in these countries.

They then plan to live for extended periods in Malawi and Kenya working in rural communities on a range of projects including the installation of sustainable clean water supplies, micro-finance programmes and education in schools on issues such as HIV and Aids, health and sanitation.

Mr Harvey will bring to the field the organisational, financial and communications expertise from his years as a FTSE CEO, along with a personal hands-on interest in building, engineering and woodwork.

Mrs Harvey, meanwhile, has already had significant experience as a volunteer across a number of community organisations in the UK and New Zealand and has also worked previously as a teacher of PE and English as a foreign language. She will support education projects for Concern Universal over the coming year.

Concern Universal works to deliver sustainable change that enables people in developing countries to improve their lives and shape their own futures. It has grown to over 500 staff and volunteers across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Mr Harvey said: "We are in the fortunate position of having both the energy and freedom to take the gap year we never had - this is a timely opportunity for us to live and work for a substantial period in Africa. In the financial services industry we worry about people living longer and out-living their savings. In Malawi, the problems are very different. Life expectancy is estimated to be about 37 years and decreasing."

He praised Concern Universal, which he said he had selected from a number of different organisations he and his wife had been considering.

"We looked at volunteering our services to a number of organisations but it was the nature and scale of Concern Universal that appealed to us; the chemistry with the people was good, its cost effective reputation in developing countries excellent; it was large enough for us to make a genuine contribution, but at the same time had the feel and personal approach of a smaller organisation that we were looking for.

"Their down-to-earth approach will give us the insight and practical experience needed to make a meaningful contribution to the charity sector in the longer term."

Dr Ian Williams, Executive Director of Concern Universal, commented: "Concern Universal is well known in parts of Africa, but not so well known in the UK. We're delighted that Richard and Kay have chosen us as their charity in a field where there are other, more high profile charities that they could have chosen."

He added: "They will be facing some uncomfortable issues, and will no doubt raise some challenging questions. We will learn a lot from each other and it will help us engage much more effectively with businesses and business people in future."