Current Articles, Studies and Literature about the field of international development

International Development Companies among the Best Places to Work in Seattle

Recently, companies doing international development work have been distinguished as some of the best places to work by the Seattle Met (hyperlink). In last month’s issue, “The Best Places to Work… and Play” (hyperlink) identified the best companies to work for. Companies were selected by editors, who asked HR representatives of these companies what they did to make their work environment “irresistible.” They also asked the employees for their opinions. Perks ranged from company outdoor excursions to bonuses and paid days off. Of the businesses Seattle Met assessed to be the top 20 best places to work in Seattle, multiple companies were from the international development sector, such as Remote Medical International, Greenfield Advisors, Institute for Systems Biology, and Projectline Services. These businesses are all growing fast and in the processes of hiring more people constantly. Below are descriptions of some of these fantastic for-profit organizations that are expanding into international development work.

Remote Medical International

Remote Medical International (RMI) (hyperlink) is a medical and rescue services company supporting those who travel or work in remote areas around the world where hospitals are not accessible, from Africa to Antarctica. They provide their customers with equipment, training, telemedicine, evacuations, and onsite medical and rescue aid. RMI is currently supporting a family traveling around the world, a small research station located in remote South Pacific, and multiple expedition trips. RMI’s employees are committed to educating students and clients about how to respond to an emergency situation, ideally reducing the number of emergencies all together. RMI’s headquarters is located in Seattle where 24 employees work full-time, yet RMI also has “rock-climbers, mountaineers, flight paramedics, Iraq war veterans, firefighters, and backcountry skiers on call” outside of Washington.

RMI is a group of people committed to the team and the goals of the company before one’s own interests, creating a selfless, highly dedicated and effective team. Yet RMI’s employees still find time to have fun, going on hikes together or organizing Ping-Pong tournaments. RMI “is a hybrid of a high-performance team and family.” Those working for RMI help to enable individuals and organizations to fulfill their corporate goals or lifelong dreams by providing medical aid around the world.

Greenfield Advisors

Greenfield Advisors (hyperlink) is a real estate and business consulting firm working on issues such as litigation, development, and preservation. Greenfield Advisors has worked on an array of projects both nationally and internationally, including “the preservation of the Hearst Ranch at San Simeon, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill litigation, and multiple post-Hurricane Katrina matters.” They also advised the Japan Real Estate Institution and have lectured in Europe, Asia, and America on these topics. Greenfield Advisors has become internationally recognized for its work in contaminated property class actions.

The employees of Greenfield Advisors enjoy the ability to set their own hours “as long as you get your work done and are here generally at the same time as everyone else.” Greenfield Advisors is a relaxed environment. Lisa MC Sherry, Director of Administration, says “when it gets stressful we laugh and joke even more.” Greenfield Advisors employees are also involved in fascinating work that has a real impact in the world. Throughout all of Greenfield Advisors’ work is a “commitment to excellence, intellectual rigor and constant improvement.”

Institute for Systems Biology

This research nonprofit was founded in 2000 with the goal of using new technology and systems biology approach to “predict and prevent diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and AIDS.” The hope is that, as scientific knowledge has led to the eradication of many diseases, a deeper understanding of how the body functions will aid in the fight against these modern diseases. The founders of Institution for Systems Biology (hyperlink) emphasize “collaboration across disciplines and organizations.” In just ten years this nonprofit has grown to more than 300 staff members from all disciplines and collaborates with academic institutions, companies, and governments around the world. Institute for Systems Biology’s innovative way of understanding biological complexity is influencing the way in which life sciences and medicine are practiced internationally. Institute for Systems Biology is focused on transmitting the knowledge they gather to the public through commercialization so that society can receive its benefits and science education can be advanced.  Working at Institution for Systems Biology, one has the opportunity to conduct “groundbreaking science with world-class resources and equipment” and to be a part of publishing some of the most scientifically influential research in the world.

Projectline Services

Projectline Services (hyperlink), a sponsor of Global Washington’s 2010 Annual Conference, is a “marketing and consulting firm dedicated to advancing innovation through integrated Customer Engagement (hyperlink) and Business Intelligence (hyperlink).” With a diverse and talented team, Projectline Services has the ability to see customers’ programs from start to finish. Projectline has the resources to help customers with a broad range of projects, such as managing a marketing program, gaining better insight into one’s business, or developing new content for print or the web. Recent projects include aiding the US Subsidiary of Microsoft’s marketing group with their work creating an array of collateral for the Small Business PC Campaign by communicating with various vendors, incorporating feedback from stakeholders, and ensuring quality deliverables in time for their deadline. Projectline Services was also hired by Avanade’s Global Technology & Solutions division to help them “produce excellent costumer evidence with minimal oversight.”

At Projectline Services, the employees are experienced and passionate about their work, throwing themselves into each new project. As Projectline Services writes on their website, it is a company where “exceeding expectations is the norm.” Projectline employees are not only highly committed to helping their customers, but also to giving back to the community. Employees participate in monthly volunteer activities with local organizations and Projectline gives monthly donations to Kiva’s (hyperlink) global micro-lending initiative, helping entrepreneurs in developing countries build up their businesses and rise out of poverty. Projectline Services has also been recognized Seattle Business Monthly, Puget Sound Business Journal, and NWjobs as one of the best places to work in Seattle.

Seattle has become a center for international development work as an increasing number of organizations working in this sector are based out of Seattle. Therefore, the number of jobs in Seattle in the international development sector is growing and getting involved in this fascinating work is becoming easier. As Seattle Met highlights, companies working in the international development sector are not only among the most rewarding places to work in Seattle, but also the most fun.

Many people dream of helping people in developing countries to lift themselves from poverty and improve their lives. Motivations for a career in international development range from starry-eyed idealism or a desire for cross-cultural experience and travel, to a specific desire to use one’s skills in a particular region.

Because so many people find international work to be exciting, and because opportunities in the field are limited and require specific skills, the job search can be extremely competitive. To be successful, it’s important to gain an understanding of the field, the types of organizations involved, the types of jobs available, and most importantly, the skills and experience needed. There’s a lot to learn; resources are listed at the end of this article.

Types of Organizations

The types of organizations that work in international development can be split into several categories.

Mission

There are two main branches of international “aid” work. Relief work focuses on more the short-term alleviation of poverty and direct implementation of life-saving interventions, such as providing shelter, water, sanitation, health care, and food aid to people displaced from their homes due to conflict or natural disasters.

Development work focuses on longer-term, sustainable solutions to problems, such as helping communities develop long-term livelihoods strategies through improved agricultural practices, microfinance or other forms of economic development; working with communities and governments to improve basic services including education, health care, and water and sanitation; and building capacity of civil society.

While each of the mission areas requires specific technical expertise, they may also overlap in communities that are in the stages of early recovery, such as post-conflict zones. It’s important to gain an understanding of each of these program areas.

Donors vs. Implementers

Funders or donors are organizations that provide the financing for development work. These include:

Federal government (in the US, USAID is the most prominent, but other agencies such as the State Department, Department of Defense, and sub-agencies such as the Dept. of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service also play a role; other countries have their own aid agencies like CIDA, DIFID etc.); state and local government may also promote international trade.
Foundations and philanthropies (including family foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; community foundations; operating foundations etc.)
Individual donors (typically donating to NGOs)
Multilateral organizations (including the United Nations and its affiliates, as well as international banks like the Asian Development Bank, etc.)

Do-ers or implementers actually implement the work, run projects and programs, organize policies, advocate on behalf of their constituencies etc. These include:

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or Nonprofits
For-profit contractors (like Chemonics, DAI, MSI, etc.)
Government agencies (some work is actually conducted by DOD, State etc.)
Multilateral organizations.

Hiring Methods

The hiring methods of these organizations differ tremendously. For example, nonprofit organizations and for-profit contractors may be open to networking and referrals and may appreciate volunteer experience the most. Certain websites (listed at the end of the article) are used frequently to post jobs. Government agencies like USAID often hire only through extremely competitive special fellowships like the Presidential Management Fellowship or through contracts via GlobalCorps, and are quite difficult to enter. The multilateral organizations have an even more difficult and complex hiring process—and often have quotas limiting the number of people they can hire from different countries. Applications for both federal government and multilateral government require much more in-depth resumes and application forms than for nonprofit and government.

Types of Jobs and Specializations; and Skills Required: NGOs and “Do-ers”

Looking specifically at NGO jobs and other “implementation” jobs in international development, there are two main types of jobs, the support jobs and the program delivery jobs. These can be sub-grouped into “headquarters” (US) jobs and “in-country” jobs in a developing country. In a tiny nonprofit, one or two paid US staff might do just about all of these jobs; while in a huge NGO, these jobs might be quite specialized.

Support Roles

There are certain jobs that will exist at any nonprofit organization, which don’t always require as much mission-specific expertise. These include:

Fundraising and contract development. The essential reason there is a headquarters office of a US-based NGO is to raise money. Positions exist in grant writing or institutional giving as well as the many layers of individual giving, including annual campaigns, bequests, direct mail, sponsorships, etc.
Accounting, finance and operations
Human resources—though you might have to have some amount of international recruitment experience to qualify, which is different from regular domestic experience.
Information technology
Communications
Advocacy and policy analysis

Program-Related Roles

Program management (titles include, in order of most entry-level to highest-level: program assistant, program coordinator, assistant program officer, program officer, program director, chief of mission): These jobs require serving as a liaison and technical support provider to program staff who are “in-country” and well as direct in-country roles. In order to be effective in such a position, a candidate must have enough understanding of how international development works as well as cross-cultural differences to be helpful to people in-country. Therefore, to obtain a position in program management in any large NGO, typically a candidate must have:
2 years of recent international development work or volunteer experience, in which you have built real program management skills. Travel, tourism, or study abroad alone does not really qualify you. I strongly encourage people who are serious about international development to consider joining the Peace Corps or other international volunteer experiences—but to know that many other candidates also work in the Peace Corps and so this type of experience is necessary but not sufficient on its own to qualify you.
Fluency in an in-demand foreign language relevant to the geographic area where the programs are housed: French and Swahili for much of Africa; Arabic for North Africa and the Middle East; Spanish or Portuguese are the most important to consider. The more difficult or unusual the language, the more it will distinguish you from the competition (i.e. Arabic is highly in demand because it is so difficult to learn and because of increasing development and international relations work in the Middle East and North Africa).
A Master’s degree in a relevant field, such as public administration, global public health, or another technical field is worth considering.
Program evaluation/ Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E): these positions relate to researching the impact of development work to ensure that it is positively affecting those it is meant to help. An understanding of program evaluation and statistical analysis is important—but in addition, having the skills described for positions in program management are also important.

In-Country Jobs

Positions working at an NGO in a developing country are an excellent way to launch a career in development, either with the goal of staying abroad or returning to work in the headquarters (US) office. The biggest challenge of finding such positions is that an NGO will have to pay for your travel, arrange a visa, etc. and this costs them significant money; in addition, many less experienced job-seekers think they want these jobs and can’t handle the cultural and lifestyle differences they encounter once abroad—and have to be sent back to the US, at tremendous expense to the NGO. So, again, you face a Catch-22 because you need work or volunteer experience in a developing country first before you are qualified for a position—which is why I recommend Peace Corps or similar volunteering as a necessary (but not always sufficient) first step.

Like HQ positions, field positions mostly fall into two categories. Operations consists of Finance, Human Resources, IT, Administration, Procurement, Logistics, and Security. In a development context, most of these positions will likely be filled by national staff. Program positions most likely to be filled by those with experience the equivalent of a Peace Corps Volunteer include Grants Manager/Funding Coordinator/Program Support Officer, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Capacity Building/Partnership Coordinator. Other positions such as Technical Coordinators and Program Managers are ideal for those with significant technical expertise in fields such as health, agriculture, water and sanitation, etc.

Most organizations also have Area Coordinators/Field Managers, who manage operations and programs in a specific part of the country. These managers may have worked their way up through the ranks on either the program or operations side. They are expected to know a bit about everything. This is often the launching ground for those looking to move up the management ladder and become a Country Director.

Jobs at Funders

Some of the jobs at funders are quite similar to those described above, but there are certain differences. One of the main differences is that the program roles are focused more on monitoring & evaluation or technical support; whereas at a funder you are more focused on choosing which programs to fund and evaluating their impact.

Where the Jobs Are

The majority of jobs in international development exist in developing countries; there are in-country positions in just about every developing country on earth, though some countries are too dangerous to have a large international development presence and others are “developed” enough to have fewer opportunities.

The majority of jobs in international development in the United States exist in Washington DC and New York. A quick search of http://indeed.com, a job board aggregator, for the term “international development” will show that hundreds of jobs in the field are in the DC area; a search of Idealist.org for international organizations in DC finds 315, and New York has 306 (by comparison, Washington State has 68 in Idealist). Virtually all of the jobs in corporate contractors to USAID (such as Chemonics, Abt, etc.) are in DC, as well as jobs at USAID itself and many NGOs. Many jobs exist in New York City, especially in programs related to human rights or affiliated with the United Nations.

Using the National Center for Charitable Statistics to find the largest 100 NGOs in international development and relief, I found that 32% are located in the DC area (DC, VA, and MD); 13% in NY, 6% in Florida, and 5% in California. There are a handful of large NGOs in other cities; for instance, CARE International and Heifer International are based in Atlanta, GA; Mercy Corps is headquartered in Portland, OR; and Partners in Health and Oxfam in Boston.

In Washington State, there are several large international organizations, including the largest foundation in the world, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and two of the 100 largest international NGOs: PATH, headquartered in Seattle, and World Vision in Federal Way, WA. A search of the National Center for Charitable Statistics finds over 100 international nonprofits in Washington State with budgets of over $130,000; including World Vision, PATH, Health Alliance International, Childcare Worldwide, Pilgrim, World Concern, Landesa, International Children’s Care, Global Partnerships, Music for Life, Clear Path, Agros, Forward Edge, Initiative for Global Development, and Teachers without Borders. (In comparison, a search of international organizations in California finds 100 with budgets of over $1.8 million, and a search in DC finds 100 with budgets of over $3.8 million). Aside from NGOs, are also a good number of international organizations in Washington State that are part of universities, such as the UW Department of Global Health, Evans School, etc., and government agencies such as the WA Dept. of Commerce, U.S. State Department Passport Agency, and World Trade Center Tacoma.

Pathways to a Career in Development

There are many ways to launch a career in international development:

Start with Peace Corps or other extensive in-country volunteering, followed by several internships and research experiences either in the field in a developing country—typically unpaid experiences, but occasionally paid—combined with fluency in a foreign language, and the MPA or another relevant graduate degree. Then, do extensive networking and informational interviewing, and/or get a referral from your graduate school’s career services via an alum of the program, to get an entry-level in-country position in an NGO paying quite little, plus living expenses; or a headquarters position as a program assistant, program analyst, etc.
Similar to above, but becoming a finalist in a competitive fellowship program such as the Presidential Management Fellowship, leading to a position with USAID or State Dept.; or landing a competitive fellowship like the Catholic Relief Services International Development Fellowship or the American India Foundation Fellows etc.. After the fellowship, leverage the experience to land a permanent position.
Start without the international experience or Peace Corps, but get significant experience in fundraising and development and land a position in fundraising.
Start without as much international experience, but have some other unusual technical expertise such as an engineering background, accounting or nursing that helps qualify you for specific jobs. Short courses in technical topics like security management, project cycle management, or gender and development can also be helpful.
Start your own international nonprofit.
Land a more administrative, entry-level position at USAID or similar using GlobalCorps.
Do the Peace Corps, then use your noncompetitive eligibility to land a position in the federal government here or abroad.

Resources

Books:

Careers in International Affairs

Working World

International Jobs

Jobs That Matter

Websites:

DevEx

Society for International Development

Idealist.org

Interaction.org

Foreign Policy Association

ReliefWeb

About the Author: Heather Krasna is the Director of Career Services at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington, where she assists Master of Public Administration students with launching careers in international development and all other fields in public service. She is also the author of Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable, Fulfilling Career in Public Service. Vicki Aken, Country Director of GOAL Sudan, also contributed to this article.

“I believe in synergy, the power of collaboration.” These are the words of Bill Clapp, active Seattle philanthropist fighting global poverty, who encourages collaboration between isolated social entrepreneurs so that they may improve the effectiveness and sustainability of their efforts.

On July 27, 2011, Tom Paulson published the first in a series of three articles addressing the opportunities and dangers in Seattle’s burgeoning humanitarian sector on Humanosphere, an online news source focused on the intertwining issues of global health and poverty.

In one article Tom Paulson looks at the influential role Bill Clapp has played in forming and supporting Seattle’s community of people focused on social change. Bill and Paula Clapp have launched or helped to launch several initiatives to promote and support this collaborative humanitarian community – the Seattle International Foundation, Global Washington, and the Initiative for Global Development. Tom Paulson points out that, while these organizations vary in their specific focuses, they all share the central goal of “bringing people together to figure out how to make the world a better place.”

Bill Clapp states that, while much of congress does not realize the practical importance of international development “to our country, to our business community and to improving all aspects of our society,” the Seattle community seems to have strongly grasped this. Over the past decade, this internationally orientated community has dramatically expanded, leading to the creation of hundreds of small organizations focused on global development. While this growing humanitarian sector means greater job opportunities and chances to “do well by doing good,” it also poses the issues of “a plethora of good (or maybe not-so-good) causes competing for funding,… redundancy, lack of clarity as to what really constitutes a “social enterprise,” lack of criteria for measuring success (or failure) and, overall,… not making the most of this opportunity due to lack of collaboration, of community.”

In another of Tom Paulson’s articles, he focuses on the recent collaborative efforts of the Seattle International Foundation, an organization that supports global poverty alleviation through grant-making, and Jolkona, a recent start-up that connects funders with small organizations engaging in meaningful causes. Using the online “deal of the day” website, Groupon, Jolkona fundraised $5,000, which the Seattle International Foundation matched, for iLeap, an organization working on women’s empowerment. With this money, iLeap was able to fund a fellowship for a woman working on social change. According to Maurico Vivero, executive director at Seattle International Foundation, “supporting women leaders working on issues of poverty and social empowerment is proven to be one of the most effective means for affecting change in power, or any, communities.” Through effective collaboration, the Seattle International Foundation, Jolkona, and iLeap were able to quickly raise enough money to fund a fellowship for a woman leader creating positive social change.

The Seattle International Foundation awards grants to many other organizations like iLeap, yet they are also forced to decline many other requests for support. While, in this region, there exist numerous good intentions to better the world, an effective, sustainable approach is not always taken. In keeping with Bill Clapp’s aim, Vivero says, “we want to bring all these people, and their causes, together and see what happens.”

In Tom Paulson’s last article, he looks at how a sense of community and collaboration between isolated individuals can be enhanced through the creation of a space where these individuals can convene. This is where The Hub comes in. The Hub says on its website:

“We believe that there is no absence of good ideas in the world. The problem is a crisis of access, scale, resources and impact. So it felt vital to create places around the world for accessing space, resources, connections, knowledge, experience and investment.”

Beginning in British Columbia and Europe, there are now currently three branches of The Hub in the U.S., two in San Francisco and one in Atlanta, and large support for the launch of The Hub here in Seattle. In addition to the efforts of Global Washington, the Seattle International Foundation, and the Initiative for Global Development to bring people together, The Hub may be able to further the creation of a community and its ability to collaborate.

As Seattle continues to grow as a center for international development work, organizations such as Global Washington, the Seattle International Foundation, and the Initiative for Global Development are “increasing accountability and improving effectiveness by building community,” establishing Seattle as a center for sustainable and meaningful international development work.