Presented by Frankfurt School of Finance & Management – Sustainable World Academy
Not everyone loves the term “soft skills,” as it implies that abilities outside of the technical realm are somehow less important. Personally, I like to label things like interpersonal communication, resilience, and other harder-to-measure attributes as “emotional intelligence.” But what you call them is far less important than knowing which ones are seen by recruiters as being an asset.
“There are a couple of things that we look at regardless of the position that we’re recruiting for, and these are soft skills that really translate across different categories of roles,” Yannah Preta, a global talent acquisition manager with Mercy Corps, tells us.
In this edition of Career Hub, find out which personal attributes Mercy Corps is looking for in top job candidates. Plus, featured job postings from the likes of USAID, Teaching at the Right Level, and more.
+ Join us on Feb. 22: Our next event for Devex Career Account members will focus on how to create an effective job search strategy, featuring insights from Stephanie Mansueto, a principal recruiter with Abt Associates. Not yet a member? You can try it out with a free 15-day trial to access all career advice events and articles, our complete job board, and much more.
Top jobs this week
1. Program Officer (Senior Nutrition Advisor)
USAID
United States
2. Human Rights Officer
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Switzerland
3. Director, Content & Training
Teaching at the Right Level
Kenya
4. Fundraising Officer, Global Partnership For Sustainable Development Data
United Nations Foundation
Worldwide (Remote)
Soft skills that stand out
“Candidates should think outside the box with some examples that they can share in an interview that show who they are as a person and demonstrate their ability to collaborate and to learn quickly.”
— Yannah Preta, global talent acquisition manager, Mercy CorpsWant to impress a recruiter? Yannah Preta, a global talent acquisition manager with Mercy Corps, wants candidates with the ability to:
Navigate uncertainty. “In the nonprofit space and … Mercy Corps specifically, we experience a lot of change — structural changes, process changes — so we look for people that can demonstrate that they have experience succeeding in those sorts of contexts.”
Learn fast and adapt. “We need people who can quickly build relationships and digest and understand new ways of working and different processes to begin delivering as quickly as possible — this is something we definitely screen for when we’re interviewing for a number of different kinds of positions.”
Collaborate in diverse contexts. “Most of our teams are incredibly diverse. People who have the emotional intelligence to read the room and learn people and personalities and different ways of communication quickly are going to do really well.”
Read: What Mercy Corps is looking for in top job candidates
Find a job: Explore current openings with Mercy Corps
Explore more: How to identify transferable skills when applying to globaldev roles
Next stop: Addis Ababa
Our world tour of the top cities for global development job opportunities continues with the Ethiopian capital. Home to headquarters and regional country offices of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union Commission, and a range of leading NGOs, there’s much to explore.
We dug into our job board data to identify the most active employers and what current opportunities are out there.
Read: The top global development employers hiring in Addis Ababa (Career)
Explore more cities: Bogotá | Bangkok | Nairobi (Career)
Members-only jobs this week
1. Investigations Officer (Fixed-term)
Humanitarian organization
Kenya
2. Digital Communications Coordinator
Intergovernmental organization
France
3. Senior Manager, Sustainable Finance, Americas
Nongovernmental organization
United States
4. Learning and Monitoring Research Associate
International financial institution
United Kingdom
Curated Candidate Lists: Recruiter pick
Take your career to the next level by updating your Devex profile with your latest professional experience today. Get featured in Career Hub and be considered for exclusive Curated Candidate Lists that can unlock exciting job opportunities!
Career level: Senior level with 19 years of experience.
Elevator pitch: “I’m a service-focused and committed individual with extensive experience and expertise in administration, supply chain, procurement, logistics, and vendor management. I’ve been credited with improving performance and profits through process improvements, cost savings, and high standards within a fast-paced environment. I also have progressive administrative experience in corporate procurement, financial management, and project handling for global multinational organizations with expertise in general supply chain turnaround process, procurement audit, compliance, logistics, and project management.”
Around the watercooler
News and views from around global development worth knowing about.
• Staff unrest at UNFPA. After learning of a plan to move a quarter of NY-based staff positions to Nairobi by 2025, some staff members are worried about the repercussions it will have on women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• U.N. aid for Gaza running out. The UNRWA chief met with EU foreign ministers over the payment due this month — but member states are split over a funding freeze sparked by Israeli allegations.
• Ethiopia’s famine, 40 years later. Hunger remains a serious problem in Africa and elsewhere despite massive awareness raised during Ethiopia’s 1984 famine. What has the world learned?
To keep up to date with all the must-read global development coverage, be sure to sign up to the daily Devex Newswire.
Sign up to Devex Career Hub for global development’s top jobs, expert career advice, and practical tips to help you do more good for more people.
About the author
Justin Sablich
Justin is a contributing writer and editor who previously led Devex’s careers content strategy. Before joining Devex, Justin served as the managing editor of Springwise, covering sustainable and climate-tech innovation across all business sectors. He also spent over 13 years as an editor and writer for the New York Times, specializing in digital content production and strategy while producing written and multimedia content on a range of topics, including travel, sports, and technology.
