Eyeing an international NGO job?

The stock brokers, doctors, architects or lawyers we have did not just bear those professional titles by just wishing it; they had to work over many years to acquire the skills and expertise needed. Getting to work for any other international development agency is no different.Also, working in the corporate sector does not mean your […]

The stock brokers, doctors, architects or lawyers we have did not just bear those professional titles by just wishing it; they had to work over many years to acquire the skills and expertise needed. Getting to work for any other international development agency is no different.
Also, working in the corporate sector does not mean your skills would translate into the humanitarian sector or that you will automatically be appropriate for a leadership role at an international NGO. You’ve run a software company? You’ve run a law office? You’ve worked in a corporate HR office? You’ve run a marketing firm? That’s nice, but none of that experience means you are automatically ready to work for an international aid agency.

This is why very often in the humanitarian sector there is a very high level of manpower recycling because the more experience one gets, the easier it is to move to a better paying non-governmental organisation (NGO). In Nigeria, international NGOs offer very competitive salaries because they offer close to what they pay their workers in their home countries.
International agencies prefer to hire local people whenever possible for work in a developing country. International people are brought in to fill gaps in local expertise. They see hiring people from developing countries as investment in those countries. A candidate that has an area of specialization is more valued than someone who is a generalist.
Skimming through vacancies on the pages of the newspaper or the internet, one key requirement that is very obvious most of the time for positions in the humanitarian sector is a master degree in a specific area. Also equally important is professional and volunteering experience in a particular area of expertise.
You also need to have not just skills but the exact skills needed for the job. You can be sure that if you embellish your CV, the interview would expose your inadequacies and you would not get the job. For instance, if the job posting says, “fluency in French”, then the hiring company wants applicants who can do the job interview entirely in French, not someone who has had a few years of French classes. If the job posting says candidates who have set up HIV/AIDS education programmes for teens are what are wanted, then you had better have your experience setting up such a program in your CV. If the program says you have to manage a staff, your CV needs to note when you have managed a staff. If they job posting says, “A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in human rights, political affairs, international relations, development, economics, program management or related area,” they really mean that!
As for experience, other demands may include experience leading, managing or being the primary facilitator of a project, training others in a specific area of specialization, such as an activity that could lead to job development for local people, an activity that directly improves local people’s quality of life, helping or directing large-scale, highly-specialized local community-transformation projects  and working with people who are traditionally socially-excluded, such as immigrants, people with disa-bilities, people with HIV/AIDS, prisoners, people with low literacy skills, etc.
Others include experience managing or facili-tating a capacity-building program, such as a literacy project, or an income-generating program, like a cooperative, or a training of trainers program and experience in high stress, crisis situations, such as a disaster or a conflict situation.
You also have to demonstrate an ability to work effectively under pressure and in a highly political environment, navigate and work with large bureaucracies, possess strong interpersonal skills and cross-cultural sensitivity and also make presentations and conduct workshops, particularly to diverse or non-traditional audiences.

A better part of this experience one can get through volunteering. You can volunteer or work for a few years at local nonprofit organizations that serve high poverty areas, people with disabilities, youth, the elderly, abused women, women re-entering the work force, etc.
Another edge would be to have proficiency in languages. In addition to English, the language skill most in demand in aid and development is French as well as the local language(s) of the states where the international development agency is working.
It’s never too late to pursue a second language or improve your language skills. Take intensive language courses and seek opportunities to use your language skills.
A key to finding a job in any profession is networking: meeting people who can influence hiring decisions where you want to work, and will better ensure your candidacy.

You want these people to know you and what your areas of specialization are.
Networking is a long-term strategy. It takes months, even years, not days or weeks. Networking also involves building your professional reputation, so that when connected people hear your name, they know who you are, or when connected people look you up on the Internet, they easily find information that affirms your expertise.
Some international human-itarian organizations and local NGOs will host unpaid interns to work in their offices for three-to-six months. Internships can be great ways to get work experience on your CV. They can be great ways to network with humanitarian professionals and to learn firsthand about how agencies coordinate humanitarian and development efforts.