Working in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance: A Career Guide

This is an indispensable career guide for everyone wanting to work in or already working in the international development and humanitarian emergencies sector. It provides a general introduction and insight into the sector, for those exploring it as a potential career, and offers students up-to-date advice when choosing a course, whether it’s at undergraduate or postgraduate level. Should they study International Development, or will Public Health, Environmental studies or Media get them closer to where they want to get? This book offers graduates or career changers who are new to the sector an understanding of what skills and experience will make them stand out above the competition and get that job. It enables those already working in the sector to gain a long term view of where they want to go and how they might structure their professional development to gain the skills and competencies necessary to get their career on to an upward trajectory.

This book draws heavily on insiders’ advice, case studies and top tips, to provide the reader with various perspectives and insights. How do you become a country director for an international NGO? How can one become a gender mainstreaming expert? What can you do to get in to consultancy? Career trajectories, Career clinics Q&A boxes and the personal planner in the appendix will help you get to where you want to go.

It also gives a detailed account of the myriad of careers and specialism available within the sector and methodologically describes the pros and cons of each option. So if you are not sure where you want to go with your career, you will be after you have read this book. Whether it’s Programme Management, becoming an Environmental Advisor, or an Acadmic this book will give you an insight into what the job entails and how you can get in to it. It will be an invaluable guide to all readers, irrespective of their country of origin, who are interested in the sector.

Maïa Gedde is an international development professional with over eight years experience of programme management and institutional capacity building in the health, education and employment sectors. She worked at DfID (the UK Governments Aid Agency) in the Africa Great Lakes and Horn Department before moving to the NGO sector.  She then spent five years at Tropical Health and Education Trust, as Programme Coordinator, where she was responsible for developing, coordinating and evaluating health partnerships between the NHS and hospitals and training institutions in Malawi, Ghana and Uganda. In this capacity she also wrote the first (2005) and second (2009) editions of The International Health Links Manual: a guide to starting up and maintaining long term health partnerships funded by DfID. In 2010 she took up a new post as Programme Manager for Survivors Fund (SURF), based in Rwanda, to establish their Education into Employment programme in collaboration with local organisations and government agencies.