Development careers with Oxfam: A conversation with GB HR chief David Benson

They’ve worked with the British group Arctic Monkeys to release a single exclusively through their U.K. shops. They’ve been unafraid to campaign in controversial areas, pressuring the mighty Starbucks Coffee Co., for instance, to recognize Ethiopia’s ownership of its specialty coffee names. These are the kind of qualities that have earned Oxfam the reputation as one of the premier development and advocacy groups in the world.

Founded in Oxford, England in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, the organization was originally set up to persuade the British government to allow food to be sent to people starving in occupied Greece. Oxfam GB was born directly out of that effort; today, there are 14 affiliates around the world led by the Oxford-based Oxfam International Secretariat, which leads and facilitates collaboration between these country affiliates.

Oxfam GB is one of the largest, working in 58 countries. Like many of other Oxfam affiliates, it specializes in three areas: Emergency response, development work, and advocacy. Its emergency relief focuses on water and sanitation, health promotion, food security and nutrition, and disaster risk reduction, while its longer-term development cooperation is meant to help rebuild communities, train health workers, and ensure farmers get a good deal for their produce. Current campaign issues include climate change and what is sometimes referred to as the “Robin Hood” tax, a fee on financial transactions such as stocks, bonds and commodity trading by speculators and financial institutions.