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International aid/development worker: Job description and activities

Job description

International aid and development workers focus on meeting the needs of people and communities in the developing world.

Many work for long-term development projects in fields such as education, sanitation, health, urban/rural/small business development, and agriculture, enabling poor communities to improve their economic conditions and create sustainable livelihoods of their own.

Humanitarian and disaster relief work may call for highly specific skills and experience (e.g. engineering, health or logistics) and are usually short-term assignments - relatively few specialise in disaster management as a career.

The work may be located either in the UK or in a developing country or region.

Typical work activities

Job content varies according to seniority, organisation and location of the role (UK or overseas), but may typically include:

• administering the day-to-day work of an office or team;
• managing, monitoring and evaluating projects;
• conducting needs assessments;
• organising fundraising;
• researching and writing project proposals and reports;
• strategic planning for long-term development and/or disaster management to reduce the need for crisis intervention;
• evaluating the response required in fast-moving emergency situations;
• managing budgets and allocating resources;
• drafting funding proposals, obtaining and securing funding to ensure the future of specific overseas programmes;
• managing and training staff and volunteers;
• developing relationships with partner organisations in the field, encouraging capacity building;
• negotiating and liaising with public bodies and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs);
• implementing security procedures to ensure the safety of staff working in unstable areas, maintaining an overview of the security situation and taking appropriate decisions;
• lobbying and advocacy to present the needs of poor communities to donors, governments and the public.

AGCAS

Written by Lucy Burrows, London School of Economics and Political Science

Last updated:

February 2008

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