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Start Making a Difference — How to Launch a Meaningful and Rewarding Career in

International Development

Published by INTALMA - International Talent Management AB


Stockholm, Sweden

www.intalma.com

© 2016 INTALMA

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without
explicit written permission from INTALMA. For permissions contact:

info@intalma.com

Cover by DmitryK on 99designs


Additional illustrations by RROOK and Dominik Minet on The Noun Project

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 Table of contents

Foreword 4

Introduction 5

Chapter 1 — What’s your career level? 6

Focus your job search 6
Step 1: Assess your current education, experience, and skills 7

Chapter 2 — Organization types 11

Step 2: List organizations and career tracks related to your expertise 15

Chapter 3 — What is quota and how does it affect you? 16

Step 3: Understand quota to narrow your job search 16

Chapter 4 — What you need to know about contracts 20

Step 4: Determine which contract types make sense for you 20

Chapter 5 — What is the remuneration package? 25

Chapter 6 — Identify your career focus and desired duty stations 29

Step 5: Determine your thematic career focus and which locations you can work in 29

Chapter 7 — Strategies to land the right job and position yourself for career growth 35
6 do’s and don’ts you need to know before applying for your next job 38

Concluding words 41

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 Foreword

Thank you for downloading this eBook. I'm excited that you are interested
in working in International Development. It is such a rewarding career
where you really can make a difference. The UNjobfinder Team behind this
book knows this from personal experience, from working and recruiting in
this sector for many years. Writing this has been a team effort and we have
also received a lot of valuable input from other experts in the field. We
especially want to mention the input from Sajid Ali at IUCN, Jens Behrendt
at the European University Institute and Anna Cope, HR consultant. I hope
you will find our guide useful and that it will help you land your dream job.
Keep following UNjobfinder.org for the latest news, initiatives and
resources, because your career is our mission.

Magnus Bucht

! CEO and Co-founder

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 Introduction

This is the first book in a series designed to help you launch a career in the
development sector and lead you to your dream job. What could be better than
learning from professionals who have taken the same journey in the past and
succeeded? In these books, we share our stories, our thought processes, the concerns
and challenges we faced, the decisions we made, and actions we took to secure career
positions in some of the most prestigious international organizations in the world.

Start Making a Difference is an introduction to the fundamental aspects of a career in

international development. We cover the basics of how to start your career in the
sector, including what you need to know about educational requirements, relevant
skills and experience, organization types, career tracks, and remuneration. We share
concrete, honest advice on how to approach your career strategically—from choosing
the right jobs to apply for, to positioning yourself in the best possible way for growth
and advancement. The material covered in this book is relevant to any career level.

It’s important to note that when talking about the development sector, you will often
hear reference to two divisions: International Development on the one hand, and
Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief on the other hand. International Development
has a longer time perspective, while Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief deals more
with short-term efforts in extreme crisis events. In this book and at UNjobfinder.org,
we refer to both divisions broadly as ‘the development sector.’ Hereafter, we will not
distinguish between the two divisions.

Many other books on careers in international development focus on the experience of

working in this sector. This book takes a different approach. We will not describe
different occupational groups in detail (Environment, Capacity Building, Sustainability,
Protection, Migration, etc.). Neither will we describe how projects are established or
funded, nor will we provide tips on how a working day might look. If these topics are
of interest, we invite you to listen to the UNjobfinder Podcast where colleagues in
development organizations around the world are interviewed and share their stories.
In the second book of this series The Practical Guide to Building a Career in
International Development, we will link occupational groups to real organizations to
help you identify which organizations may fit your skills set.

As a final remark, these books are solely written to help you find your way to deeply
rewarding and interesting work in the international development sector. Enjoy and
please share your reading experience on Twitter @UNjobfinder #Devcareer
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 Chapter 1 — What’s your career level?

As a recruiter, it is obvious that many applicants don’t do their homework before

applying. It’s true that career and job-hunting in the development sector can be an
overwhelming process. It’s difficult to know where to begin researching, how to
understand the various contract types, grades, career levels, acronyms, and so on.

From time to time at UNjobfinder we hear from job seekers who have applied for
hundreds of vacancies without succeeding to land a single job. To succeed with an
application to any development organization you must understand a lot more about
the recruitment process than you may believe. Knowing more will save you huge
amounts of time and energy, and dramatically increase your chances of success. It will
help you to apply to jobs for which you are qualified, and therefore have realistic
chances of being hired.

To begin with, you need to define your career level at this point in time. In this
chapter, we’ll lead you through that process.

From there, you can begin to narrow your focus and target your job search. In each
subsequent chapter, we will help you think more strategically so that you can make
the best knowledge-based decisions to launch and evolve a successful career in the
development sector.

Focus your job search

Statistics from the UN show that 45 percent of applicants do not meet the minimum
requirements, consequently they are unlikely to be considered. Hence, to increase
your chances of a successful application, it is important that you define your career
level as a first step.

Knowing your career level helps you apply for the correct level. Many multilateral
organizations use “grades”, which is a way to classify the seniority of positions within
an organization. Before going into details about grades, it’s important to understand
that most international organizations focus on three basic areas to define the
requirements for a specific job. These are used to determine your eligibility to apply
for jobs at a certain career level.

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 Nearly half of the applicants don’t meet the minimum requirements!

3 Basic Requirement Areas

1. Years of relevant professional experience

2. Highest degree
3. Languages applicable to the assignment you are applying for

In some organizations, like the UN, these requirements are quite rigidly applied. If an
applicant doesn't have the required years of experience, he or she is not eligible. In
extremely rare cases an applicant who does not meet the requirements may be
considered, but only in situations where there is no other eligible applicant. In fact,
we have only seen this happen once throughout our career (including several hundred
recruitment processes). In that particular case, the applicant had six months left to
meet the minimum requirements, there was no other applicant, and the position was
located in a crisis location were quick deployment was necessary.

Step 1: Assess your current education, experience, and

skills

Ask yourself: How many years of relevant professional experience do

I have?

When we talk about relevant professional

experience, we are referring to
experiences from your career that are
transferable and relevant to the job that
you are applying for. Not all professional
experience is relevant. If you have worked
as a professional accountant for your
whole career and apply for a Human Rights
Officer position, for example, chances are
that you have less relevant experience than
what the job requires.

This is not true to every organization though. Some development organizations

actually count all work experience (e.g. the World Food Programme), these are mainly
field based organizations which operates in crisis contexts. So in case you don't have
required number of years in the expertise area indicated in the job description (e.g. 6

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years experience in auditing), but all in all you have 6 years work experience and your
expertise is auditing. In that case it is recommended to contact to the organization
asking how they count experience.

In the development sector, your professional experience is typically counted after

completion of your first university degree (with occasional exceptions). Internship or
unpaid work assignments are normally not included. Some organizations may count a
PhD as work experience, while other organizations will not.

Often the best way to understand how an organization determines basic eligibility is
to ask the organization or check at their website. This said, it’s important to know that
as an entry strategy many applicants apply for jobs far under their level of experience.
This means that if you are just passing the bar of fulfilling the basic requirements, you
may face a tough competition.

Ask yourself: What is my highest degree?

For a professional career, the most common minimum requirement is an advanced

degree (master’s degree). In some cases, as in crisis locations where the number of
applicants are lower or for certain areas of specialization that are proven hard to find
with an advanced degree, a BA (bachelor’s degree) may be sufficient. Financial
institutions often require a PhD for a professional position. In most UN recruitments,
a master’s degree is required.

In multilateral organizations it is very rare that anyone works up through the

hierarchy without a formal degree. So if you aim for a professional career, it’s
important to make sure that you have the academic credentials.

Ask yourself: What languages do I manage at a professional working

level?

Language requirements differ from job to job. However, the language requirement is
always critical. If Spanish is required, you must be able to manage Spanish at a
working level. Many recruitment systems auto-filter applicants based on what the job
requires and what data the applicant is providing.

Note: if you wish to pursue a UN career you may need to prepare to have two official
UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish) as many organization's have
two languages as a prerequisite. Read the job descriptions carefully to learn about the
requirements of the organization that interests you.

Career levels

Career levels are used throughout the development sector to mark seniority. For you
as an applicant knowing your career level is imperative to increase your chances of

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Step 1

✔ Assess your current education, experience, and skills

‣ How many years of relevant professional experience do you have?

‣ What is your highest degree?

‣ What languages do you manage at a professional working level?

securing a job. Not meeting the minimum requirements is the absolute most common
reason for organizations to refuse an application.

Seniority is marked differently within the sector. Multilaterals use structured grade
hierarchies, the World Bank uses for example the G scale, where GE is a junior grade,
GF/GG are mid-career grades and GJ is the most senior grade. UN uses the P/D
structure where P1 is a junior grade, P3/P4 are mid-career and P5/D1/D2 are senior
grades.

When structured grades are not used, the title of the job can give an indication of the
level, examples: Analyst/Associate marks junior grades, Specialist/Officer marks mid-
career and Advisor/Director/Manager marks senior career level.

The table below defines what different organizations in general requires when it
comes to experience, degree and languages throughout the sector. This is a general
table and hence differences may occur, but still it is a great tool for you as an
applicant to determine your career level. The following table is an extract of the full
International organisations grades table, available for purchase on UNjobfinder.org.

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 Career level Years of experience Degree

Consultancy Varying - available at all Most often Master’s

career levels degree

Internship 0 Enrolled in a Master’s

degree program

Volunteer Often 2 years Often a BA is minimum

Check with the organization you are interested in

Junior career 0 - 4 years Master's degree

Mid-level career 5 - 9 years Master's degree

Senior career 10+ Master's degree

Senior Executive career 15+ Master's degree

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 Chapter 2 — Organization types

The development sector is vast, and has many different tracks and career
opportunities. With the CSR (Corporate Sustainable Responsibility) movement, several
private-sector companies have departments solely focused on non-profit and
sustainability. We have just mentioned this sector briefly, but it is indeed a growing
market.

In this chapter we’ll give you an introduction to the various Organization types in the
development sector, and potentially introduce some organization types you were not
aware of. Our hope is that you will find the organization type(s) which are most
interesting and fulfilling for your career endeavors.

It is fair to say that the development sector is filled with different entities (career
opportunities) and all are not included in this chapter. Each has its own unique
mission, expertise and approach. In addition to our list below, it is also relevant to
mention other entities such as national governments, religious or faith-based
organizations, relief agencies, labor unions, trade unions, academia, university offices,
professional societies, international networks, indigenous people's movements and
contract specialist organizations. The list certainly goes on, so please excuse us for
any entity type missed.

Multilateral organizations are the most searched organization group at

UNjobfinder.org, so we will begin there.

Multilateral organizations

Multilateralism is the concept of multiple countries working in concert on a given

issue. These organizations are often referred to as international organizations or
simply as multilateral organizations. Most of these agencies are very large and have a
global presence. Given their size, working for a multilateral means that you will be
working in an international, multicultural setting, which is also often quite political
and hierarchical. The best example of a multilateral organization is probably the
United Nations (UN). Sometimes the UN is grouped with development banks,
commonly referred to as the UN common system and the Bretton Woods. Other large
multilaterals are regional organizations such as the European Union and the African
Union.

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If you want to work for a multilateral, first make sure that your country is a member
state. This is often a prerequisite for employment. The easiest way to find out is to
visit the organization's website. In the second book of this series, we will provide the
nationality eligibility information for about 50 organizations.

Sometimes organizations offer employment opportunities for non-members for

certain contract types, often locally recruited staff. This is also often clearly stated at
the organization’s website.

Bilateral organizations or Governmental development organizations

Bilateral organizations, or ‘bilaterals’, are governmental agencies or nonprofit

organizations based in a single country, while the agency provides development aid,
including medical aid or disaster relief, for people in other countries.

While multilaterals are criticized for being political and hierarchical, bilaterals are
often considered more efficient.

If you want to work for a bilateral or government organization, there are many
different career opportunities. Some positions require that you are a national of the
country the agency represents. Other positions are locally hired in the country where
the agency has development cooperation projects.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is probably the most
well- known bilateral organization. Other active bilaterals are, for example: Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (Sida), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and
UK's Department for International Development (DFID).

International non-governmental organizations – INGOs and NGOs

An international non-governmental organization (INGO) has the same mission as a

non-governmental organization (NGO), but it is international in scope. INGOs have
outposts around the world to deal with specific issues in many countries. In this
sector we find organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross,
(ICRC), CARE International, Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Save the Children,
Amnesty International and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Many of these organizations have their headquarters in developed countries like the
United Kingdom, United States or Switzerland.

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group

which is organized on a local, national or international level. Together, INGOs and
NGOs play a pivotal role in the execution of development aid. They are often utilized
as partners by bilateral and multilateral donors to deliver aid and implement programs
they fund. UNODC has an interesting list on their website (unodc.org/ngo/list.jsp)
covering several different NGOs.

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Charities

A charity is an organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need.
In many cases, charities and NGOs appear similar. Often charities are NGOs as well
and use the term NGO to describe themselves.

The main difference is the funding source. While an NGO has a broad donor base to
fund its program, a charity often relies on one source of donation – such as a religious
community, a company or a prosperous individual. The Salvation Army in one famous
example of a charity with programs in many countries.

Another difference, in our observation, is that charities seem to have a higher

percentage of volunteers working to carry out their mandate.

Local civil society organizations (CSO)

A civil society is a combination of non-governmental organizations and institutions

designed to manifest the interests and will of citizens. Civil Society Organizations
(CSOs) work directly in the local community. The funding to deliver social services or
other development assistance is often received from bilateral organizations or NGOs.

CSOs almost exclusively hire local employees. For individuals who want to work
internationally, working for a local organization is a great first step. Starting in a CSO
can give you the network, exposure, skills and experience required to move on to an
international organization later in your career.

Consulting and professional services firms

Consulting to governments, bilateral, and multilateral organizations offers many

opportunities. You might decide to work for one of the large consultancy firms such
as Accenture, PwC, McKinsey or Booz-Allen-Hamilton. Each of these firms has
divisions that focus on emerging and developing markets where you can work on
development assistance projects. When looking at consulting firms also search for
national or international specialized development consulting firms; with their
relatively high turnover these provide several opportunities, especially for young
professionals. These jobs are mainly research related and often the junior consultant
will prepare proposals for tenders.

Many of the other global management consultancies also offer opportunities to focus
on development work. There are also large consultancy firms focusing only on
development works, such as Dalberg Global Development Advisors. If you want to be a
consultant, but not join a large company, you can also be self-employed and work as
an individual consultant in the development sector, offering your services to
multilateral and bilateral organizations. In the multilateral development sector, such
consultants are often referred to as contingent workers or Independent Consultants/

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 It is important to know that quota does only apply to staff positions.

For consultancies, temporary or local positions, quota is not applied.

International Consultants. In The Practical Guide we will discuss at length the types of
contracts consultants may be offered.

Private sector – Corporate Social Responsibility

Over the last ten years, there has been consistent and continuing growth in the
private corporate social responsibility sector (CSR). This is an area in which private
business corporations work to make their business sustainable. This is a step towards
taking ownership and responsibility for any harm the company causes at a local,
regional or global level.

Most global companies today have a division working with CSR. There are many
different areas of focus for CSR work in private companies (environment, governance
and ethics, social investments, etc.). By spending some time searching the web, you
can find many lists ranking what companies are best in each area.

Foundations

There are two types of foundations: private foundations and grant-making public
charities. A foundation is a non-governmental organization that is established as a
nonprofit or a charitable trust, with a specific purpose of making grants to
organizations, institutions, or individuals for scientific, educational, cultural, religious,
or other charitable purposes. One well known foundation in the area of development
is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation headquarters is
located in Seattle and recruits quite frequently.

Volunteer organizations

Volunteerism is based on the idea of people voluntarily offering their time for a
service undertaking. There are several volunteer organizations out there, and cyber
volunteerism—the opportunity to do volunteer work online—has grown in recent years
as well.

One volunteer organization is UN Volunteers. But there are several other

organizations out there supporting different thematic focuses and operating in
different locations. The EU gathers a database with accredited volunteer

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Step 2

✔ List organizations and career tracks related to your expertise


organizations. Please take look there before you apply for your first assignment:
europa.eu/youth/evs_database.

Social enterprise

A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize

improvements in human and environmental well-being, rather than maximizing
profits for external shareholders. Many of these organizations focus on fair trade or
sustainable production. One famous example is Fair Trade USA. Tom’s Shoes, based in
the US, is another successful example. Tom’s Shoes is a fashion company that gives
away one pair of shoes for every pair sold.

Step 2: List organizations and career tracks related to

your expertise

Once you have familiarized yourself with the career paths and organization types, the
next task is to start building your own list of organizations that are related to your
field(s) of expertise. This will help you focus your job search even more. In The
Practical Guide we provide 50 organizations as your starting point, but you will need
to create your own personalized list.

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 Chapter 3 — What is quota and how does it affect
you?

In Chapters 1 and 2, you have identified your career level and learned about what
career tracks you may choose between. In this chapter we will look at how quota and
your nationality may impact your application. Our aim here is to make you a more
strategic and focused applicant. Understanding quota will help you determine which
jobs you are eligible for, so that you can focus your time on jobs you have a realistic
chance of getting.

It is fair to say that more or less every multilateral organization and most international
organizations comply with the philosophy of a balanced workforce between member
states of the organization. However, strategies for fulfilling quotas and maintaining a
balanced workforce vary among organizations.

Step 3: Understand quota to narrow your job search

How does diversity and quota impact your career path?

One may think that quotas are limited to the UN system, but this is not the case.
Quota is applicable to all multilateral organization (EU, Development Banks, NATO
etc.). That said, the practical use of quota differs. Multilateral organizations apply
quota with the objective of establishing a diverse workforce. Many organizations may
not have a regulatory diversity framework, but the goal is always to fairly share the
ownership and responsibilities between nationals of the member states. It is not rare
to see disclaimers like the one below when quota questions are responded to in FAQ:

There is not a quota system on the nationalities of staff. Nonetheless, the Organization
staff selection process requires to consider not only personal ability and qualifications,
but also the attainment of an equitable representation of the nationals of the Member
States. This may mean that in cases where competence levels of candidates are
comparable, preference may be given to candidates of under- or non-represented
nationalities.

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The strictest quotas are probably applied in the UN secretariat and its agencies, as
well as the Specialized agencies.

Do NGO's apply diversity and quota rules?

NGO's apply quota differently. Some do not apply quota at all, hence one nationality
could theoretically build up the whole workforce. Since many international
organizations are founded in a certain country, a majority of the staff is likely to
originate from one country. One example is ICRC. Because it is a Swiss organization, a
majority of the staff originates from Switzerland. However, ICRC is now more and
more diversifying its workforce by hiring talents outside of Switzerland.

The political pressure on NGO's to apply quota is also lower. Another aspect that often
comes into play when diversity conversations are taking place is the funding source. If
a certain state is a significant donor they may expect that nationals of their country
are represented in the organization. If the organization is funded by voluntary
contribution, private contributions or similar, the diversity pressure on the
organization tends to be lower or non-existent.

You may have heard stories about geographic quota and how it can affect you as an
applicant. When preparing and applying for a career opportunity at the United
Nations (UN) it is imperative that you understand the quota system. In The Practical
Guide we will give you an overview on how to find out whether your country is over-
or under- represented. We will also elaborate whether it is wise to involve your
government. Knowledge about quota can make your applications more strategic and
help you target your application to organizations where you have a real chance.

How is the quota determined in the UN system?

Quota determination/calculation is a part of all staff recruiting (core positions) within

the UN system. Although quota is used by all UN organizations, not all organizations
use it strictly. The Funds and Programmes (e.g. UNDP, Unicef, UNHCR, etc.) are for
example more flexible when it comes to Nationality quota. However for their
professional categories, gender equality quota is always applied strictly. The
Specialized Agencies (e.g. ILO, WHO, etc.) are stricter compared to the Funds and
Programmes and they also include Nationality. A fair criticism against most quota
calculations utilized by the UN is that they are looking at numbers of staff, but not
influence. This means that a Bureau Director counts the same as a junior Research
Analyst when it comes to quota calculation.

However, in the past UNESCO had a unique way of calculating weight representation
(we write that they had, because UNESCO has not confirmed that they still apply this
method). The idea of the UNESCO quota calculation was not only to focus on number
of staff, but to include their grade as well. So a country with 10 senior staff members
was seen as having a better representation than another country with the same
number but only junior staff.

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Step 3

✔ Understand quota to narrow your job search


Most strict when it comes to quota are undoubtedly the UN secretariat and the
Specialized agencies. When we talk about the UN secretariat, we talk about the
following organizations and their professional positions (FTA/CA) at HQ. A good way
to know whether a job is included in the quota calculation of the UN Secretariat is to
look for a (G) in the job title. If a (G) is included, this means it is a geographic position
and the quota will apply.

So why is quota used? Most organizations use quota with the aim of securing diversity
within its workforce, and strive to fairly recruit qualified applicants, irrespective of
gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnical
backgrounds. Each year the Secretariat assesses which member states have an over-
or under-representation of staff members within the Secretariat. These calculations
are based on mathematical formulas including several different dimensions such as a
country’s size, country population, core-contribution, economical growth, etc. The
outcome of the calculations adds up to a number (a span).

This means, basically, that one particular country could have a span between 25-35. If
this particular country had below 25 staff members it would be considered under-
represented. Vice versa, if it had above 35 staff members it would be considered over-
represented. Nationals of a country within the span are normally not invited for an
interview if there are enough eligible nationals from under-represented countries in
the applicant list. The span is closely monitored by the Office of Human Resources
Management (OHRM) in UN. If they forecast a decrease in number of staff or can see
patterns indicating that the pool of professionals from a certain country is beginning
to ebb, they may include nationals from countries that are both sufficiently and over-
represented for specific positions.

Other specialized agencies also apply the term ‘non-represented’. This refers to
countries having no representation at all. Another common way to calculate quota is
the population/contribution ratio calculation. Some organizations base their quota
calculation on two parameters: population and core contribution. To determine the
span, the organization sums up all core positions, the total core contribution, and the
total population of all member countries. When determining the span, the decided
ratio between population and core contribution is 30/70. This means that a small
country with a large core contribution may get a higher span than a large country
with a small core contribution. This may explain why Norway often appears in lists of
under- representation.

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Weakness with quota calculations?

One known weakness with quota calculations used by the UN is that they are based
on absolute numbers and no consideration is taken to the weight of importance of
different roles. Absolute numbers make no difference between senior managers and
junior staffer, however in the real world, the ability for senior staffer to influence both
decision making and the development agenda is more significant. Ignoring weight
could lead to situations where a specific country is under-represented, although
nationals of that particular country hold the most influential positions in the
organization. Hence, from an influence perspective, even if it is more complicated to
calculate, it is more correct to consider the importance of roles when determining
under- or over- representation of nationality.

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 Chapter 4 — What you need to know about
contracts

When applying for a job in the development sector it is extremely important to

understand the different contract types. Applying for the right contract is a significant
career driver. In this chapter, we will cover common contract types and give you
strategies for choosing the right type of contract at the right time in your career.

To create a successful strategy, you will want to consider each of the following
factors:

1. What contract(s) do you prefer?

2. Where do you have the best chance to succeed?
3. Where do you best fit today, given your experience?

Studies show that many staff in the development sector started their career as
interns, volunteers or local staff. Some studies shows that junior staff members in the
UN (holding staff contracts) are more or less only seconded personnel often referred
to as Junior Experts, Associated Experts or Junior Professional Experts. This is staff
funded by a donor.

Step 4: Determine which contract types make sense for

you

Ask yourself: What contract type is the best fit for me?

The response probably differs depending on your life and family situation. Another
aspect that will guide your decision is your flexibility. Do you need a fixed-term
contract or can you go for a temporary one to build more relevant experience?

Consider the following questions:

1. Are you looking for a career position or a short-term assignment?

2. Are you looking for a staff position or a consultancy position?

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Step 4

✔ Determine which contract types make sense for you


3. Are you looking for a support function or a professional position?

4. Do you need a fixed-term contract or can you take a temporary contract to
gain more professional experience?

The answer to the above questions will of course impact various things. As an
applicant, you should be aware that the type of contract affects the level of
competition you will face. Fixed-term contracts are generally more competitive than
temporary contracts.

But before going into details about contracts it is important to acknowledge that for
many applicants, especially if you are junior, you may not be in a position to be
selective. You may need to take any contract you are offered or remain outside the
sector. If you start on a contract that is not what you hoped for, see it as an entry
point to the sector. There might be ad-hoc opportunities to stay within the
organization and gradually get a better contract, either short-term or through a
competition. When talking to experienced recruiters, they often consider the first
step into the development sector as the most difficult step. Once you’re in you can
show your value, adaptability and commitment which will increase your chances of
remaining in the organization or to find new opportunities.

The following sections provide an overview and comparison of contract types. For
each type, we have included relevant details and the level of competitiveness usually
associated with each one. As you read through the following, keep in mind the four
questions on the previous page.

The numbers we provide here should be seen as sector averages where countries and
levels have been grouped together. It is fair to say that the numbers may not be
correct if you just study single organizations independently. However, we believe this
overview will help you narrow your focus and target your job search.

Also note that some organization's apply roster recruitments for all their
recruitments, and in these cases an applicant applies to a role rather than a duty
station, the calculations below are reflecting organization's that apply independent
recruitments for specific positions (which is the far most common way of recruiting in
the sector).

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Career (staff) positions

• Career positions refer to staff contracts with contract duration longer than
one year. A staff contract is often referred as to Fixed Term Appointment,
Continuing Appointment, Permanent Appointment, or Open-ended
appointment. These are the so-called staff career contracts.
• Staff contracts are most competitive in Headquarters locations and much less
competitive in Hardship locations.
• Women have an advantage when applying for any career contract in Hardship
locations and when applying for managerial roles in country offices and/or
Headquarters locations.
• The average number of applicants ranges from 100 – 1500. 1500 is a high
application number, 100 is low, and the median number is about 150 applicants
per job when gathering all locations and career levels.
• Processes are often long (an average recruitment process from job posting to
job offer is 100 days)
• Processes are often political and especially if you apply to a development
organization that has member states.
• Selection decision may not eventually be driven by skills. Other criterion such
as gender, diversity or quota may guide the selection decision.
• Junior career positions are extremely competitive.
• Mid-level career positions are competitive.
• Senior level career positions are competitive.
• Senior Executive career positions are extremely competitive.
• Note that senior and senior executive recruitments in multilaterals also often
include political aspects that makes the number of applicants less reliable as a
measurement of competition.

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Flexible contracts: Short term assignments

• Flexible positions refer to contracts with a duration shorter than one year.
These contracts are called Temporary Appointment (TA) and Short-term.
These contracts are considered staff in some organizations (e.g. UN), however
the status differs. In a UN context these contracts are considered staff, but
when applying, a short-term contract holder is considered external (not
internal). This is a contradiction, so within the UN a TA is considered staff
when s/he serves the role, but not when s/he applies for a Fixed Term
Appointment (FTA).
• Temporary contracts are most competitive in Headquarters locations and
much less competitive in Hardship locations.
• In country offices (CO) the average number of applicants range between
50-500 applications. 500 is a high number, 50 is a low number and the median
number is about 100 applicants per job.
• For international jobs, there is a clear pattern of more male applicants than
female applicants. In many international organizations, short-term
recruitment processes fly under the radar. There are fewer checks and
balances. For that reason, the gender consideration may be less strictly
applied. This means that the advantage a woman has when applying for a
career position may not apply for a short-term position.
• International Junior positions are always competitive.
• International Mid-level career jobs are competitive.
• International Senior jobs are competitive.
• International Senior Executive jobs are normally not available for short-term
assignments.

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Flexible contracts: Consultancies

• Consultancy contracts belong to the ‘non-staff’ category. Consultants are

hired to execute tasks that are non-core and that have a shorter duration or
time limit.
• The development sector uses independent/individual consultants frequently.
If you are flexible, this is a great opportunity to gain relevant professional
experience.
• The average number of applicants for a consultancy ranges from 25 – 150. 150
is a high number, 25 is low and the median number is about 50-75 applicants
per consultancy.
• As consultancies are outside the quota, they can fly under the radar. This
means there is no number on gender diversity available and gender has a low
weight in the final selection decision.
• International Junior consultancies at HQ are extremely few and extremely
competitive.
• International Junior consultancies in a CO are few and competitive.
• International Mid-level career jobs at HQ are competitive.
• International Mid-level career jobs in a CO are competitive, but less
competitive than in HQ. Home-based consultancies are generally more
competitive than on -location consultancy opportunities.
• International Senior consultancies at HQ and CO are rare and competitive.
• International Senior Executive consultancies at HQ and CO are very rare and
extremely competitive.
• For senior and senior executive roles it is more common to use a short term
contract than a consultancy. Many senior consultants are procured from a
consultancy firm.

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 Chapter 5 — What is the remuneration package?

The remuneration package or benefit package looks different in different

organizations. Some multilaterals have benefit calculators on their career sites. Here,
we will touch upon two major “remuneration schools” utilized in the development
sector.

The first school mainly used by bilateral aid organizations and NGOs is based on the
idea that the organization administers the international benefits for the staff member.
Such benefits could be allowances for relocating, housing, school for dependents, etc.
The monthly salary in these organizations is often lower than in multilateral
organizations, but all the basic needs for your family are included.

The second school often used by multilateral organizations is based on the idea that
the organization administers as little as possible for the staff member. The staff
member must arrange her/his own move, find a house, enroll children in school and
pay the tuition. The monthly salary in these organizations is often much higher.
However, the higher salary comes with a heavier burden of stress and energy, as you
are responsible for getting you—and possibly your family—settled in the duty station.

In recent years, it has become more and more common to transition international
staff into local staff after a few years of services. This means that some of the
international benefits are removed. The World Bank and IMF have moved in this
direction. Likewise, the ICRC used to pay international school costs for their
internationally recruited staff to the Headquarters in Geneva, but now only do so for
the first three years. The logic is that after three years the children should be well
integrated enough to be ready for a public Swiss school. The United Nations General
Assembly decided on a revised remuneration package in December 2015. This new
package is also a move in the direction of removing some of the international benefits
after a number of years in the same duty station (e.g. non-removal allowance).

Does the sector pay well?

Working for the development sector means working for the greater good. It should
come as no surprise, then, that people attracted to this work are those with aims
other than being financially rich. Most organizations will offer a good compensation

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package that allows you to provide safety and security for you and your family, with a
high standard of living.

Within the development sector remuneration and compensation packages for staff
are different. Some are more lucrative and some are less so. Financial institutions (e.g.
Development banks) generally have better compensation packages (higher salaries)
than NGOs, CSOs, Charities and Foundations. Typically, working internationally
(outside your country of nationality) pays more than working locally in your country.
In most organizations, you are additionally compensated if you have children, to
ensure they can enroll into international schooling.

Compensation for consultants, volunteers, internships

To get the complete picture when reading this chapter it is beneficial to understand
different types of contracts. In this chapter we focus on staff contracts. If you serve
on other contracts—such as consultancies, volunteer contracts or internships—the
package looks completely different.

As a consultant, you may need to come up with a figure yourself. Keep in mind that
your figure may be in competition with other consultancies that are applying for the
same opportunity. As recommended reading, on our career site (UNjobfinder.org) we
have written in detail about how to estimate a daily rate as a consultant. In addition to
that article it may be useful to know that some UN organizations apply a formula to
calculate consultancy compensation, it reads: [equivalent grade] x [1,20 - 20% extra to
cover social securities]. When calculating your daily fee, it is important to include
costs for each of the following:

• Health insurance - As a consultant or independent contractor, you must

include costs for your own health care. Sometimes you can get access to
national health care, but if not, this must be taken into account.
• Pension - It is not included in this calculation, and here you need to add a
reasonable figure to save aside.
• Tax - The salary estimate is the net salary. Investigate whether you are taxed
in your country when taking on an assignment with the UN. In that case, you
need to add money for those taxes. Even as an International UN consultant
you may need to pay tax in your own country. Sweden and Denmark have
recently followed the example of Canada and US and applies taxes to
international UN consultants based in the home-country working for a UN
organization not having a MoU (memorandum of agreement) with the
government.
• Security and evacuation - If your consultancy is in a crisis environment, you
must make sure to include costs for your own security and evacuation. Most
organizations cover these costs.
• Annual leave - A temporary staff member receives 18 days leave per year (1.5
day per month).

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 • Installation/repatriation - You may need to include cost for installation/
repatriation, read you contract carefully. In most cases travel as part of duty is
compensated in addition to the daily fee. However, how consultants are
compensated differs from organization to organization, but it is always
included in the ToR (terms of reference), some organization's have a fixed
compensation scale other allow the lowest bid (proposal) to win.
• Rental subsidy - If you must move to a high cost location, a UN staff member
receives subsidized apartment rental. When you in the role of a consultant is
requested to travel outside of the location you are serving, you will receive a
per diem to cover additional costs.
• Local salary conditions - If local salary data is available, it can be good to
make a comparison when you have your own ‘estimate’.

In most cases, there is no compensation associated with internships. Some

organizations offer paid internships (usually these are financial institutions). Volunteer
assignments are different from internships. Normally, these are associated with a low
daily allowance and free housing.

Compensation at different duty stations

The compensation for different locations (duty stations) differs. You may be
compensated differently based on the context in which you’re working.

If you serve in a crisis and/or conflict situation, you are normally compensated with
extra hazard payment. In most organizations you are entitled to some kind of Rest and
Recuperation (R&R), which adds up to your base salary. Although you get some extra
leave days (R&R) it may not always be possible to fly home. Furthermore, multilaterals
usually have 2 or 2.5 day of leave per month. Few international organization
(internationally recruited staff) offers less than 30 days per year plus the official
holidays (9-10 days). Some organizations have additional leave days for home leave or
for higher age/seniority.

Many variables impact the benefit package, such as family situation, location, working
conditions (Hazardous conditions), contract type, grade and length of services
(seniority), etc. The cost of living at the duty station is another aspect that affects the
size of the compensation package.

The philosophy in most organizations is that staff should have the same living
standard regardless of location. Thus, compensation is adjusted down in locations
where the cost of living is low, and adjusted up for locations with a higher cost of
living. In the UN the adjustment related to cost of living is referred to as ‘post
adjustment’.

Organizations often have certain kinds of “carrots”, so to speak. From a financial

perspective, it is more lucrative to move between duty stations and not remain at the
same for a long period of time. The sector refers to this as mobility. Generally
speaking for the whole sector, staff who are mobile and serve in hazardous locations

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are the best compensated. Organizations may also give extra compensation to staff
serving in locations where housing is expensive. In the UN, this compensation is
referred to as ‘rental subsidy’.

One aspect that can't be ignored when deciding on an international career is your
family situation. Depending on the location of the job, dual careers may not be a
possibility. In most cases, taking on a role with a development organization means
that your family will have only one earner. This can be a big change if you are
accustomed to being a dual-income family. To really make the calculation fair and
comparable, you will need to weigh the non-financial benefits as well. For example,
the rewards of a shared adventure and unique experience for the whole family.

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Chapter 6 — Identify your career focus and desired
duty stations

In this chapter, we continue the along the path of defining what type of jobs suits you
best. We will use available data to help you understand what different locations mean
to you from a competition perspective.

Our purpose is to give you unique data to better equip you when applying for
different locations and different career levels. A truth for the whole development
sector is that it is more difficult to attract talent to more challenging locations. The
number of applicants per job received in hardship locations also supports this thesis.
If you are prepared to start off in a more challenging duty station, this could well be a
faster way into the sector.

Step 5: Determine your thematic career focus and which

locations you can work in

Ask yourself: What career focus is the best match for my interests
and skills?

What is it that drives your dream of working for the greater good?

Asking yourself this question will help you get closer to what you really want. Do you
want to do humanitarian aid and disaster relief, which is primarily short-term, hands-
on work in highly challenging environments?

Or are you more of a policy or advisor type of person who likes to design and work at
a more political level? Maybe you are more interested in the management track: are
you a person who loves to increase efficiency or improve procurement? Do human
resources, planning, finance, or treasury processes sound more appealing to you?

There are many possible thematic career focuses to choose from in a development
career. However, it is not easy to suddenly switch your focus in the middle of your

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career. For this reason, we advise you to carefully consider your genuine interests and
skill sets before applying for your first job.

Ask yourself: Why do I want to serve the greater good?

Do you simply have a general aim of working for the greater good? Or is there
something specific you feel called to do? A particular goal or a particular organization
that you deeply care about working for?

This might sound like a strange question,

but in fact it is not. Considering this
question can help you to determine your
actual chances. If it’s just important to you
that you work in the development sector—
but not with a specific aim right now—you
should choose a broad focus that is
available in each organization (e.g.,
administrative, personal, finance, human
resources, procurement). Since these
profiles are present in every agency, a
career focus in one of these areas means there are many jobs in many locations. This,
in turn, sets you up for more opportunities to move around to different locations and
among different organizations as your career evolves.

In fact positions in administration are often overlooked by candidates and most often
applicants are interested in the more “jazzy jobs”, i.e. the hands on programme/policy
jobs, which might be perceived to be closer do the mandate of the organization.
However, areas such as evaluation, audit, internal oversight, budget and finance,
human resources, fund raising, external relations, monitoring and evaluation,
compliance and reporting have recorded quite some growth in the last two decades,
in line with a diversification of funding sources, corporate management standards and
competition among international organizations.

On the other hand, if you want to work in the development sector focusing on a
specific thematic area (e.g., HIV/Aids, Climate Change, Human Rights, etc), or in a
specific organization such as the World Bank, EU or UN, you will have a more limited
number of jobs and agencies to consider. There is nothing wrong with this—we just
want you to be aware of the difference between a more broad thematic focus and a
narrower one. If your focus is very specific now, it may prove challenging to move
around later. Your career opportunities outside the development sector might be
fewer after a completed assignment. The important thing is to ask yourself this
question at an early stage, while you formulate your personal objective. This way, you
will be moving in the right direction at an early stage.

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Ask yourself: What risks can I take?

Are you in a position in your life where you can take risks? Can you apply to crisis
countries (often a duty station where you can’t bring family). Or can you take on a
volunteer assignment? In fact, crisis countries always offer the best chances for
external applicants. As funding is often focused on crisis countries, there are fewer
applicants to compete with and more opportunities on the whole.

Also, consider the number of applications an organization receives. The majority are
targeting local jobs and junior international jobs. Mid-level and senior career jobs
often receive a lower number of applicants.

When building your own resume, it is important to understand that taking risk is
appreciated within the development sector. For entry level positions, flexibility and
mobility are even more imperative. But for all levels, field work matters more than
ever today when recruiters are evaluating applications.

When assessing the risks, you may also need to understand different organizations.
Field based organization's having a clear mandate with predictable talent need or
crisis oriented organizations may apply roster recruitment only, where you as an
applicant apply to a role rather than a duty station. If you aren't able to move
anywhere in the world, this may not be an organization type for your application. So
learning about how the organization operates is also imperative.

Ask yourself: Do I want to work in my own country or abroad?

From a development career perspective, this is a critical question. If you have a family,
of course, the answer is probably not entirely up to you. If you have a spouse you may
want to ensure that he or she can work on the duty station. If you consider a hardship
duty station, are you prepared to be spending most of your time away from your
family? You may want to consider the benefits/remuneration package related to
taking on a role in a hardship duty station in comparison to a headquarters location
(see chapter 5).

A starting point when defining your preference may be to define what kind of work
you would like to do: Are you interested in project implementation or field work? Or
do you prefer work more related to advocacy, policy, or program design at a
Headquarters location? Either way, it is clear that field experience is necessary at
some stage in a successful development career.

A second step may be to define a region. From working in the development sector
ourselves, we know that staff who have served far away from family for a long time, in
a completely different time zone, are more likely to leave the sector than those who
are a short flight away. This is especially true when staff members have children who
they want to keep close to grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and other family. So,
begin by defining where you want (and are able) to work. Once you’ve done this, you
can create a job alert linked specifically to those countries and your expertise.

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Step 5

✔ Determine your thematic career focus and which locations you

can work in

‣ What career focus is the best match for your interests and skills?

‣ Why do you want to serve the greater good?

‣ What risks can you take?

‣ Do you want to work in your own country or abroad?

Following is a list of different location types and grades. For each, we have also listed
how competitive these jobs are. The numbers provided are averages. To simplify we
have grouped country offices and levels (although we know that there are differences
between both countries and career levels). Although it is an average we hope these
figures can help you build an understanding of different career paths:

Working in your own country of nationality

Country office location

• The average number of applicants ranges from 50 - 500 applications. 500 is a

high number, 50 is low and the median number is about 100 applicants per job.
• For local jobs there tend to be more male applicants, but in most countries the
difference is not great.
• Local Junior positions are very competitive.
• Local Mid-level career jobs are competitive.

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 • Local Senior jobs are few but competitive.
• Local Senior Executive jobs are extremely rare, hence no reliable data is
available.

Working internationally – outside your country

Country office location

• The average number of applicants ranges from 50 - 500. 500 is a high number,
50 is a low number and the median number is about 100 applicants per job.
• For international jobs, there is a clear pattern of more male applicants than
female applicants. This means that when applying for this type of job, it is an
advantage to be a woman.
• International Junior positions are extremely competitive.
• International Mid-level career jobs are competitive.
• International Senior jobs are competitive.
• International Senior Executive jobs are competitive.

Headquarters location

• The average number of applicants ranges from 100 - 1000. 1000 is a high
number, 100 is low and the median number is about 150 applicants per job.
• For International jobs at HQ, there is a clear pattern of more male applicants
than female applicants. When applying for HQ, it is an advantage to be a
woman.
• International Junior positions at HQ are extremely competitive.
• International Mid-level career jobs at HQ are competitive.

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 • International Senior jobs at HQ are competitive.
• International Senior Executive at HQ jobs are extremely competitive.

Hardship and/or Crisis location

• The average number of applicants ranges from 50 - 250. 250 is a high number,
50 is low and the median number is about 75 applicants per job.
• For international jobs at hardship locations, the number of female applicants
tends to be low. This means that when applying for a hardship duty station,
being a woman is a clear advantage.
• International Junior positions at Hardship locations are less competitive.
• International Mid-level career jobs at Hardship locations are less competitive.
• International Senior jobs at Hardship locations are less competitive.
• International Senior Executive at Hardship locations are competitive.

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 Chapter 7 — Strategies to land the right job and
position yourself for career growth

In this chapter we answer a few questions about recruiting to international

organizations that may help you to position yourself more strategically. We look at
this from four perspectives:

1. What are the most common profiles that the development sector recruits?
2. What is a transferable skill and how can it help you in your application?
3. What skills and experiences do recruiters look at when reviewing an
application?
4. How will my choice of first assignment affect my ability to move forward in my
career within the organization?

What are the most common profiles that the development sector
recruits?

When looking at the development sector as a whole, we can see that some profiles are
very common in any organization. Some profiles are in constant demand, while the
demand for others may go up and down very quickly.

One quite common profile that seems to be in constant demand is that of

Communications Officer. All organizations want to break through the information
overload and tell their own story. Whether it is a message to a donor or a message to
civil society or local decision makers, communications skills are highly valued.
Communications is a profile that we see having a bright future, particularly with the
growth of cheaper and more effective communications through social media
channels.

What is unique and interesting in the development sector is how quickly the demand
for a certain profile can change. In many cases, one profile goes from being a difficult
entry-point to being the best entry-point overnight. We see this pattern all the time.

Some would say that personnel needs are the greatest where the money is flowing. A
recent example is the Ebola crisis. Overnight, there was a large increase in global
demand and need of nurses, midwives, and doctors who could take on duties and
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serve. Given the very nature of work in the development sector, it is impossible to
predict what all of tomorrow’s needs will be. So even if your profile is not the most
recruited today, your day may come before you know it. And when it comes, you
better be prepared.

Outside of crisis roles, most of the profiles that are constantly recruited throughout
the sector are of generic job types. These are the profiles that are needed in every
organization, and most of them are transferable. These profiles are mainly related to
organizational infrastructure, including professional profiles like finance, budget,
external relations, communications, and human resources.

What is a transferable skill and how does it help your application?

When human resource experts talk about career change, they often talk about
transferable and non-transferable competencies. A transferable competency is useful
irrespective of the work you are doing. Teamwork is one common example of a
transferable competency. Being a good team player is a strong skill that can be applied
in most work situations in any sector.

We must also differentiate between competencies that are transferable either within
or outside of the development sector. To make an effective transition from the private
sector to the development sector, you need to possess a competency that is externally
transferable. Commercial banking is a concrete example. The world-class experts in
this area sit in private sector companies located in New York, London and other major
financial hubs around the world. The development sector is in constant need of
attracting professionals from these locations to secure effective execution and
delivery.

Competencies that are internally transferable within the development sector are
challenging for most private sector applicants. However, if you currently work in the
sector this may be your way forward. An example of an internally transferable
competency is child protection. It would not be unlikely for a child protection
specialist at Save the Children to successfully secure a similar job at Unicef. Within
the development sector, this competency is transferable. However, in the private
sector transferable opportunities for child protection jobs may be few.

When you have discovered that your profile is transferable, you might be interested to
know what job families are transferable. Where do we see frequent transition from the
private sector into the UN and other major international organizations, for example?

What skills and experiences do recruiters look at when reviewing an

application?

After many years in the development sector and in various organization types, we
have identified nine skills that contribute to a strong application across the sector.
What is interesting about our list is that it is specifically tailored for the development

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sector. What makes it even more unique is that the same nine skills are equally helpful
for a junior applicant as for a senior executive applicant. By the same token, these
skills are equally relevant for a communications specialist or a gender advisor.

Our list was created based on skills that the sector values highly, such as field office
experience, sector experience, and languages.

Strategically consider your first assignment because it will impact

how you move forward in your career.

Entering the development sector in the wrong contract type or at the wrong grade
may impact your ability to move forward in the organization. Unfortunately it is not
uncommon that young professionals start their career as a local associate, assistant or
clerk. In the UN system, these contracts are referred as to General Service contracts
and the areas of responsibility are non-professional in character (university degree
not required). These jobs may be an easier entry-point; however, it often proves
difficult to transfer from a service function into a professional career function.

As a junior professional it would be more

strategic to look into volunteer
assignments, internships, trainee
opportunities, young professional career
programs, or the JPO program if you are
fortunate to have a sponsoring
government. The JPO programs is a young
professional programme sponsored by
donors. You can read more about the JPO
Programme at the Career resource section
of UNjobfinder.org.

Furthermore, it is important to understand how the office you are applying to is

structured. This is especially important if you are recruited as international staff. If
you end up in an office where you haven’t researched the structure, you could
severely limit yourself. For example, this might happen if you take on a role in a small
office where you are alone with your expertise. It may be encouraging to be the
expert, but you also know from day one that you must move out of this office to move
further in your career.

Another possible scenario—most common for junior and mid-level career—is that you
have been internationally recruited and have a direct reporting line to a National
Officer. Since your manager is a local professional and has been locally recruited,
there is little chance that you will move up while serving in the same office.

Whether you’re just starting out, or you have already served in an organization and
are about to be reassigned—both of these scenarios are important to consider.

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In our experience, probably the most strategic choice for a first assignment would be
in a larger office in a development country. Some would say that regional centers
often fall into this category as well, and that may be true.

6 do’s and don’ts you need to know before applying for

your next job

1. Don’t use the development sector as your shortcut for an individual

thematic career change!

Remember that large development organizations are looking for the most suitable
talent. Almost none would hire a person just to fulfill that person’s dream of a career
change. This mistake is surprisingly common among applicants in their mid-career or
senior career.

What we mean by thematic career change is, for example, someone who works as an
accountant today wants to change and work as a ‘child protection officer’ for UNICEF
in a development country. Maybe this applicant has recently realized that they want to
do something more meaningful such as work for peace, defend human rights, aid
refugees, or serve the poor. The applicant may see the international development
sector as a ‘shortcut’ to fulfilling this dream.

However, the applicant in this case has no relevant skills, nor a relevant background,
nor the right education. Like most private sector companies, most international
organizations are strictly specialized. So if you want to enter the development sector,
you must consider yourself a beginner and approach it that way. It might sound
brutal, but using the development sector as your shortcut to a ‘thematic’ career
change is a completely impossible strategy.

2. Don’t apply to headquarters (HQ) vacancies only!

It is rare that an external applicant serves their first assignment in a HQ location. Mid-
level career jobs in New York receive about five to ten times more applications than
similar jobs in other locations. In many organizations, HQ jobs are awarded with
preference to staff members who have served in a challenging environment or to
colleagues with a family situation that requires some more security. For a complete
external applicant, these jobs are very competitive.

3. Don’t disregard any requirements in the advertisement!

Many applicants apply to jobs to which they don’t meet the minimum requirements
(years of experience, language and education). Make sure that you read what is

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needed and that you meet all the requirements; otherwise you might as well look for
another job.

To get a job as a complete external to the development sector is extremely

competitive and might be a long journey, including more applications than you ever
could imagine. On the other hand, most of the staff members in the development
sector have of course at some point in their career been complete externals, so
nothing is impossible! Just be sure to honestly self-assess your skills and strategically
focus your job search so that you are only applying to jobs for which you are qualified.

4. Do: Assess yourself against jobs that you are interested in!

We recommend that you read several vacancy postings for jobs and for organizations
that you are interested in. Read what they are looking for and assess what you have.
Ask yourself: how close are you? What is missing in your profile? What can you do to
fill the gaps? When trying to secure a job with an attractive employer it always helps if
you have a clear career objective and a strong background (and have obtained both a
relevant university degree and relevant skills and experience). Given the number of
applicants competing for the same job, of course you can’t make it without a portion
of luck too. Just remember: the more you have built up your profile, the less luck you
will need.

5. Do: Study the organization’s structure, size and objective!

When applying for a job with an international organization it is always an advantage to

know how the organization is structured and what their objectives are. If you study
some of the Specialized Agencies of the UN (i.e. WHO) you might find that the number
of junior and mid-career opportunities are much fewer than in the Funds and
Programs (i.e. UNDP, Unicef, UNHCR, WFP). WHO has more senior opportunities (P-5
and above), which makes sense, given the global health advocate role of WHO. It is a
fact that mid-career opportunities are more common in field-based organizations,
and this comes back to why you should not limit yourself to applying to headquarters
jobs.

6. Do: Study whether your profile stands out!

At the expense of sounding a bit brutal, we want to be perfectly honest. The truth is,
being a white male from a high-income country is not a profile that stands out in an
international development career context. In some organizations (e.g. Unicef), a hiring
manager must seek a management waiver to recruit a person with that profile.

This does not mean that a white male can’t get a job. What it rather means is that this
profile is quite common and is less likely to be selected for a job than a person with a
more unique geographic profile. An example of a more interesting profile for the
development sector would be a highly skilled and well educated mid-career or senior

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woman with management experience from a crisis country. For the last several years,
many organizations have been looking for multilingual, highly educated women from
Afghanistan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Sudan. So if that’s you,
your chances of being recruited are much higher.

Evaluate your profile, and then explore whether there are any junior or mid-career
programs that you could apply for. For some nationalities, the governments sponsor
positions for their nationalities at mid-career level on a regular basis. Read more at
our website about the UNDP Special Assistant to the Resident Coordinator Program
(SARC) to find out if you are eligible. Another donor-funded mid-career program is
the (DFSP) at the World Bank. UN organizations also sponsor mid-career programs
such as the Capacity Building Initiative (CBI) offered by UNHCR.

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 Concluding words

Our aim in this book has been to introduce you to the fundamentals of launching a
career in international development. As recruiters, we know that there is a lot of
information out there and it can be hard to navigate. We also know that many
applicants spend vast resources of time and energy applying for jobs they are unlikely
to get. We want to help you narrow your focus and target your job search so that you
don’t lose time applying to the wrong jobs—but, instead, choose the right ones.

We hope that we have helped you make more informed and strategic choices as you
begin your career in this exciting and rewarding field. All the information provided in
this book is intended to increase your chances of finding the right job for you, at the
right time, and building a career that will continue to grow.

In our next book, The Practical Guide to Building a Career in International

Development, you will receive more hands-on advice specifically designed for each
career level.

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