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Home Careers Information > International Development & UK Charities > International Development > Working in International Development

Working in International Development

Acknowledgement

These notes draw heavily on the work of Development Organisations themselves, on presentations by Mark Robinson of the Institute of Development Studies for the Career Development & Employment Centre, and on the experience of staff and students in AFRAS. Please read them less as the totality of what there is to know and more as an overview and guide to sources of information. We hope they will enable you to begin to find your own pathway and make use of the information sources.

If you have suggestions for additions, we'd be very glad to hear them - whether a new website or a new course, or first hand development experience, in the North or the South.

Introduction

The idea of working in International Development is attractive to many Sussex students and graduates.

As a career area, it has not been well documented. There is not one standard career path. This isn't accountancy, after all. Specialisms, employers and occupations vary. Definitions of development, what development practitioners can do, and who they are, change rapidly.

Just as the Internet has had a big impact on the work of development practitioners, "the more rural, the more IT" says an anthropologist recently returned from work in Nepal, so too the web has had a big impact on the availability of information about organisations, policies and programmes, and about their staffs.

The OneWorld website is particularly recommended. OneWorld is an internet community of 180 organisations working in human rights and sustainable development worldwide. News briefings, analyses, think tanks, information on each member of the OneWorld Partnership with links to their sites and excellent jobs and volunteering pages.

The UK’s DfID, Department for International Development, formerly the ODA and part of Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office but now a separate department, with a seat in the Cabinet for its’ Secretary of State in its own right, has its own website where you can read policy briefings. The web opens up access to a lot of useful information on policy and practice and it has become, as that anthropologist signalled, a tool of the trade. CDEC’s website links to the Institute of Development Studies and many other good development related sites. Use them!

This article will try to:

  • identify the key points you need to be aware of
  • give an overview of the possibilities
  • give information on routes to working in development, internationally and in the UK.

What is International Development?

Development is about helping communities to help themselves, whether this be in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia. Work in development does not have to be overseas. For example, in the UK you could be working with refugees, development education groups ............

Many would argue that you can do more for development in the South by working in the North.

Career Paths and Patterns

There is no one set career pathway. You need to carve your own career, be prepared to review and change it as development priorities shift and to make a careful assessment of your own skills and the contribution you feel you can make.

Training by development organisations themselves is rare. Training that does exist tends to come from the large bi-lateral or multi-lateral organisations (eg World Bank Young Professionals Program (YPP) for people with postgraduate qualifications) and not from the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) where many of our students would like to work. So it may be a question of creating the building blocks of your own career through a mix of postgraduate training and experience. While formal training programmes in NGOs are very rare, internships targetted at recent graduates or postgraduates, are becoming more common, and help fill the gap. They can help you beat that Catch 22 of no training without experience, no experience without training.

At this point it might be useful to signal some key issues and emerging themes to be aware of: changes in development practice which affect the career paths ahead of you.

  • shift from generalists to specialists
  • shift to decentralisation on the part of agencies like Oxfam and Actionaid, strengthening their country offices, staffed by nationals
    • "Actionaid which works with 5 million people in 24 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, has long endorsed the recruitment of local staff wherever possible "We believe local people know best about how to improve their own development. They are passionate about their community," said Jenny Driscoll, an Actionaid spokeswoman. "There is now a strong movement to encourage local people. It's the right way. It was a bit patronising to think that people from the UK know better than someone from Malawi or Mozambique". Actionaid employs 2,000 staff of whom 35 are expats. "We will always look locally at first, but if the senior positions or specialist technical jobs cannot be filled then we will take people from Europe," said Ms Driscoll".

    Independent on Sunday

  • sharing skills
  • participatory rural appraisal
  • shift from project to central development
  • institutional capacity building

Routes into working in development depend a great deal on your own specialisation. If you do not yet feel like a specialist, because you are on a interdisciplinary degree programme, you may need to consider adding a more narrowly focused specialist postgraduate programme. Conversely those with single discipline focus might look at multidisciplinary postgraduate courses, setting that discipline in a development context.

You'll need also to gather a range of experience, voluntary or paid, in the UK and/or overseas. Do not overlook opportunities in the UK. Perhaps even familiarise yourself with the UK based campaigns and briefing of an organisation operating overseas by volunteering for them regularly in term time or for a spell after graduation. Research, Fundraising and Development Education are other UK based activities important to the work of many organisations. Perhaps you could contribute to the work and learn at the same time. It is salient too to point out that work with marginalised communities, the North may well have relevance for work in developing countries.

Specialist skills and qualifications are important. Examples might be nutrition expertise, knowledge of micro-credit. And don't underestimate the value of practical skills. First aid, (for yourself, for others, who will expect it). Knowing how to teach English. Being able to facilitate a group discussion. With the growth of participatory programmes, that is a key skill. It's a practical one which you may pick up in a number of settings. Not all roadbuilding; but practical still nonetheless. How to change a tyre, how to bind a deep wound. So don't despair if you haven't done that roadbuilding degree. These are practical skills you can learn.

Resilience and commitment, the capacity to deal with uncertainty and insecurity in your own career: these personal qualities will be important to help you deal with voluntary work and short term contracts. You may need determination too in the face of stiff competition.

Range of Organisations

  • official development organisations - bi-lateral (DfID) and multi-lateral (UN, World Bank)
  • academic organisations
  • non-governmental organisations (NGO)
  • private sector consultants
  • national governments of developing countries.

Range of Opportunities

  • Overseas the demand for skilled workers falls broadly into four categories of skills:
    • Advisory - economists/ business experts/academics
    • Teaching and health
    • Technical - agriculturalists/water engineers
    • Executive - administrators/planners

  • In the UK the range of experience you can gain is extensive eg:
    • fundraising
    • lobbying
    • desk research
    • media/publicity
    • financial administration

  • Work in Academic Organisations and Research Institutes
    • Lecturers in departments of Development Studies;
      In single discipline departments where development is a specialisation for instance anthropology, economics, political science;
      Applied research and teaching in institutes such as IDS, Panos, UNRISD in Geneva are examples.
      Some opportunities to teach in universities overseas. These have shrunk in the post-adjustment climate.

      IDS staff, for example, teach a range of development courses eg. Current Issues in Development, Theoretical and Conceptual Approaches to Gender and pursue their research outside the UK keeping up to date with first hand knowledge of development problems. They often act as consultants to NGO’s or overseas governments. If you work as a lecturer in development studies or in a disciplinary department, then you will have to buy yourself out, i.e. have the capacity to go and secure funds for contracts which enable you to pay someone else to do your core job while you do the development work. Ways in might involve short contracts on research projects, longer research assistant posts. You need to use your academic contacts and keep an eye out for vacancies.


  • Private Sector Consultants
    Growth of private sector consultants not just in technical and economic spheres. Cargill have recently been recruiting social development advisers. The recruitment pages in the Economist demonstrate the range of posts for which consultants recruit.

Postgraduate Training

There are two main options :

  • specialist further study
  • interdisciplinary development studies courses.

If your first degree is interdisciplinary you may want to look at topping it up with a more specialist, focused approach. Examples of specialist courses include Agricultural Economics, Logistics, Nutrition, Demography, Water Engineering, Environmental Technology.

If you are considering a Development Studies course then check out the content as they may be heavily theory based. Titles range from Rural Development to Gender Analysis in Development. Assess what new skills you will acquire.

"Development Studies in Britain" available in CDEC, and on the IDS website, describes Development Studies courses. Prospects Postgrad reference book, condensed takeaway and website: www.prospects.ac.uk will tell you about the others. You can access all in our Information Centre.

Graduate Schemes on Offer

Several schemes exist to help graduates acquire professional experience.

Work in Aid Agencies

Some jobs with the aid agencies need both field experience and qualifications. Other roles that don't require overseas experience include:

  • short research projects (eg at Institute of Development Studies)
  • charities - information work/education
  • campaign work
  • community development
  • environmental work
  • Civil Service both in the UK eg DfID, and in Europe eg. the European Commission

Multi laterals frequently look for substantial experience. Some have intern schemes and young professional programmes.

Some Examples of Sussex Graduates/Postgraduates

To illustrate the range of career routes, here are some examples of work experience/training from Sussex graduates/postgraduates.

  • Economics graduate - worked as a volunteer for War on Want, spent a year on an NGO project in India, now works as Programme Administrator - SE Asia, for Marie Stopes International
  • International Relations graduate - Press Officer for Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, Projects Officer for World University Service, Publications Officer for Kurdish Cultural Centre, Campaigns Assistant, Oxfam - now works as Programmes Director for One World Action.
  • French graduate - taught English during year abroad, after graduating travelled in the Far East, took a short TEFL course in UK, taught Japanese businessmen in London - VSO in Indonesia as English Teacher.
  • Development Economics postgraduate writing about his Overseas Development Institute Fellowship in Tanzania comments on the selection - ODI look for flexibility/academic ability/communication skills.

Tips - be sure you are committed to development and to living abroad. At the interview you are being quizzed to see if you are the sort of person who can get on in tricky or isolated conditions. "Being an economist in the Third World after wanting it for so long was still very shocking".

How do you put your ideas into action? Research is vital - both paper and people. Utilise your resourcefulness now to find out your preferred routes, what is possible, what other graduates have done.

Your Commitment to Development

Argue your commitment .... foremost in any application or interview question will be your reasons for choosing development work. You will need to prepare clear arguments and evidence about why you want to volunteer, why you've chosen a postgraduate course, why you are suitable for a job with a particular NGO.

  • For example,
    • encouraging self development
    • working on projects with local people
    • sharing appropriate skills
  • Personal Qualities
    Key qualities for your success in a development career are:
    • flexibility,
    • self-sufficiency,
    • maturity,
    • self-confidence,
    • ability to relate to people of all backgrounds.
    Whenever you are writing about yourself on application forms or introducing yourself at interview, you will need to offer evidence of such qualities. Remember that wanting to help is not enough. A Sussex academic states, .."It's not your ideas they're interested in, it's your skills".
  • Training and Experience
    This is where you might find yourself in a 'Catch 22' situation and need initiative in breaking through the no experience/no training barrier. For some, voluntary work will be a way in giving you 'hands on' experience to build on. For others, further training and gaining specialist skills will be a preferred route, eg postgraduate course in Water Engineering.
  • Voluntary Experience
    • In the UK make contact with local groups. The Brighton Peace and Environment Centre for instance houses an Ethical Trade Shop. OneWorld Library and OneWorld Education Unit (43 Gardner Street, Brighton BN1 1UN). Research smaller organisations like London based groups, One World Week, Minority Rights Groups as well as the household names like Oxfam. All rely on volunteers, for example in Oxfam paid staff represent only 2.5% of the workforce.
    • Overseas experience is vital for some long term opportunities. If you are considering going overseas you need to be aware of the financial implications. For short-term opportunities requiring no experience, volunteers are usually expected to pay. For example, Voluntary Workcamps Association of Ghana costs £100 to participate for a three-week project plus your air fares. Raleigh International ask you to fundraise £3,900 to participate and on top, use a rigorous selection process. Many organisations provide advice to help you raise funds for their programmes.
    • For longer term opportunities there are five main UK sending agencies funded by the DfID who recruit volunteers with skills and qualifications for, on average, two year contracts. These agencies are: ICD (International Cooperation for Development), Skillshare International, VSO , UNAIS (United Nations Association International Service) and BESO.
    • Bear in mind that some NGOs will select volunteers on religious commitment.
    • You can learn about less formalised, and perhaps less competitive, opportunities in CDEC's reference books and on our Careers Infomation page

Some Figures

3000 volunteers worldwide UK nationals

  • VSO is by far the largest independent volunteer-sending agency in the world with 2,000 qualified and experienced volunteers between 17 and 70 years of age working in about half of the world’s poorest countries.
  • Skillshare International currently have over 80 development workers and health trainers working in Africa and India.
  • The British Red Cross Society has around 100 British employees abroad
  • Save the Children employ 180 expatriate staff
  • Oxfam employs 2,800 people world wide including 1,500 locally recruited staff working overseas.

Sources of Information To Help You Find Out About Career Options, Further Study, Organisations You Can Work For

Career Options

Read CDEC reference files on Development, on Administration

  • Good websites:
  • Takeaway guides
    • Guide to Working for Development at Home and Overseas - World Service Enquiry
    • CDEC Talks - Working in International Development, Working in Charities feature regularly in our annual programme of talks and briefings, mailed to finalists and available on our events listing
    • Further study
    • Development Studies in Britain - in CDEC’s Development file and on the web at http://www.ids.ac.uk/
    • Prospects Postgrad - reference hard copy and condensed takeaway versions in CDEC http://www.prospects.ac.uk.
    • Prospectuses for UK universities: you can access through Prospects web.

Organisations You Can Work For

  • Welfare & Community Organisations
  • Overseas & Development Organisations
  • Human Rights Organisations
  • Environmental/Conservation Organisations
  • Charities & Pressure Groups
  • CDEC files
    • EU Institutions
    • UN organisations
    • other International Organisations
  • CDEC take away guides
    • Internships in International Development and Human Rights Organisations - CDEC
    • Guide to Working for Development ..... World Service Enquiry
  • CDEC Reference books
    • Directory of Work & Study in Developing Countries
    • International Directory of Voluntary Work
    • Worldwide Volunteering
    • Internships US

Useful Events

CDEC Talks by employers eg Overseas Development Institute, UNESCO, Medecins sans Frontieres Alternatives fairs at York & Bristol Universities, usually in the summer. Details in our Events Listing .

Fair Trade Fair - annual gathering of people who care about issues of world economic and social development, including NGOs, pressure groups and fair trade organisations.

Workshadowing - CDEC’s workshadowing programme for Sussex second year students includes a limited number of shadowing opportunities at the Department for International Development and in other developmental related work.

Vacancy Bulletins

  • Opportunities Abroad, monthly vacancy bulletin, 450+ vacancies in over 80 developing countries, across a variety of skills, from 40+ aid, mission and development agencies. Produced by Christians Abroad. About 50% of the vacancies advertised require no religious commitment and are secular organisations. Oxfam, Medecins sans Frontiers, Save the Children are often contributors. Available in CDEC
  • Development Action, produced by Returned Volunteer Action is smaller but has an interesting range of vacancies. Also available in CDEC.
  • Yellow Monday, produced each week by the Institute of Development Studies lists a wide range of posts of which they are notified and of which they hold further details .
  • Christians Abroad operate a data search service matching individuals seeking work overseas in development and agencies looking for skilled professionals. There is a charge for this service.
  • The Wednesday Guardian, The Voice and New Internationalist carries several recruitment advertisements for jobs/volunteer opportunities in UK based organisations, some for overseas postings and The Economist has ads for many bi-lateral and multi-lateral organisations. The scope is way beyond just economists. Generally senior posts but illuminating.
Jobs in Development - list of links to relevant Internet sites maintained by IDS.

http://www.interaction.org volunteer, internships & fellowship opportunities. 88 organisations, 120 countries and Monday Developments - subscription job listing by e-mail

http://jobs.un.org/elearn/production/home.html employment opportunities at the UN

http://www.feminist.org feminist career center with internships and job listings in progressive organisations

http://www.oneworld.net jobs and voluntary listings, link to other organisations

http://www.reliefweb.int/ - Directory of Humanitarian Organisations

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