Sectors: International development
Where to start
Work out what you could bring to this very diverse and complex sector. What role would you be good at? Develop those skills. Advocacy? Logistics? Fundraising? Social work? Finance? HR? Water engineering? Disaster preparedness and mitigation?
Jobs fall into two categories:
Programme roles (direct involvement with the projects overseas) usually require languages and lots of overseas experience. Preference is rightly given to candidates from developing countries.
Support roles (fundraising, marketing, comms, campaigning, policy, volunteer management, HR, Finance, IT, data science) are easier to get into and can still give you plenty of contact with the projects.
If you have a PhD, you will find some technical roles which draw on your in-depth technical expertise (e.g. climate, education, health)
Spend some time in a developing country. This will be your most valuable piece of experience by far - whichever role you go on to have- but is particularly important if you would like to work in the field.
Online courses can give you a sense of what the work involves and help you reflect on whether this could be a good path for you, look at ‘how to find employers or training courses’ below. Getting hands-on is also important. Overseas experience is essential for fieldwork positions and can be very useful preparation for back office roles as well. You need to understand that solutions are not easy - the sector suits pragmatists better than idealists.
Any experience with a charity or student society will give you a taste. In international development you get plenty of responsibility early on - if you thrive on that it is a good sign.
You need to be prepared to manage your own career, as there is no structured career path.
Live, work or volunteer in a developing country, ideally one low on the UNHDI index.
Gain experience of a skill that would be useful. These might include student journalism (for comms roles); May Ball Publicity Officer (marketing); College telephone campaign (fundraising), or the student global health think tank Polygeia (policy work).
Get a foot in the door and work your way up - volunteer, intern, take a fundraising or administrative job in an organisation you want to work for and move across to a more suitable role when you can.
We recognise that for many people volunteering is not an option for financial reasons. There is growing awareness of this issue in the sector, and you can find development organisations who are committed to paying interns. Alternatively, you can start in the public or private sector to gain transferable skills. Development organisations often recruit people who have business or public sector experience. Charityjob.co.uk is a useful site to find UK-based jobs in the charity sector.
For roles in international organisations, a master's may be advantageous, but for other roles the sector tends to prefer experience above qualifications.
If you are an undergraduate, considering doing a master’s degree, one with practical elements such as work placements or field work is likely to be beneficial.
Internships are rare in this sector, so it's likely that the majority of vacancies available on the following sites are mid or later-career options. However, it is still useful to familiarise yourself with the sector and what organisations are looking for so you know what skills and experience you should be focusing on. You can also use vacancy sites to gather information about which organisations you should approach speculatively:
This 30 second video shows you how to find NGOs and charities in different countries, using GoinGlobal.
Kaya e-learning platform has free courses and resources, that will help you understand the sector, although you need to create an account to access them. Volunteer essentials and humanitarian essentials are good starting points.
There are short courses that will help you understand field conditions and keep yourself safe in the field, where necessary. This will help you understand some of the challenges that can arise in field work and consider how you might prepare for, mitigate and respond to risks in order to deliver on your mission. Some examples are:
IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies)
This is a very diverse sector, and no two jobs are the same. Make very sure that you fully tailor your experience to the employer’s requirements and demonstrate it with facts and figures. Give evidence that you are committed to the cause by showing what you have done, rather than talking theoretically about development.
Find recordings of our International Development and Charities Festival on our YouTube channel and previous panels on our catch up on past talks page.
Student institutions at Cambridge include Cambridge University International Development (CUID) to build your knowledge of the sector and student-led NGO Cambridge Development Initiative (CDI).
Traditionally internships and work experience opportunities have been unpaid in this sector. This is slowly changing so be alert for paid opportunities aimed at people early in their career.
There's also a greater focus on people in developing countries- rightly- being prioritised for paid roles to support their local community so if you are not part of that community, consider how to develop specialist skills that will genuinely be of value.
Now you have looked at this page, think about your next steps. Everyone's journey is different. There are many ways to move forward. Here are some actions you could take now:
- Look for roles using the resources above.
- Talk to alumni working in this field via Handshake or LinkedIn.
- Talk to a Careers Consultant - book a 1:1 appointment through Handshake.
- Attend events - watch for relevant events.
- Ready to apply? Use the CV and cover letter guide to draft a CV or an application. CareerSet is a tool you can use to review your CV and cover letter. Write a speculative application.
- Subscribe to the Charity & Development Newsletter