Humanitarian relief jobs: What you need to know

The continuous onslaught of civil unrest and natural disasters leaves the humanitarian relief sector in constant need of professionals. As such, opportunities for making a difference should spring up. While there is no prototype for who works in the sector, relief professionals tend to be passionate about helping people and exhibit compassion and patience. Employers also look out for job candidates who are flexible and pay attention to detail. A premium is placed on experience and knowledge because of the “special services” required by disaster victims in hotspots or volatile regions like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Iraq and Indonesia. Emergency relief professionals typically have academic backgrounds in vital areas like public health, infrastructure, logistics, international affairs and finance. However, anyone with a genuine interest in helping disaster victims can enter the sector. Interested in working on long-term projects and contracts? You might want to consider some early recovery and development training. Professionals who concentrate solely on emergency relief tend to work on short-term contracts. Looking to get your foot through the door? Field experience is essential for launching a career in humanitarian relief. Consider pursuing the numerous internship, fellowship and volunteer opportunities that many relief organizations offer. Career opportunities such as those offered by Medair and Catholic Relief Services help prospective relief workers determine whether the sector is a feasible career option. Interns, volunteers and fellows also gain versatile skills in areas such as program management, operations, logistics, communications, research, proposal writing and political mitigation. The humanitarian relief sector is made up of an interesting mix of stakeholders from the United Nations, philanthropists and other donors to public, private and nonprofit organizations. Despite the hustle and bustle, it is relatively easy to determine where jobs might pop up since major events and money drive the humanitarian relief job market. What’s the major event of the day? Where’s it happening? Who’s providing the financial support? Once you have the answers to these questions, you should be able to determine how best to position yourself to take advantage of job opportunities. Generally speaking, conflict-related jobs tend to be long-term, while natural disaster jobs are short-term. Interested in humanitarian relief for the money? Sorry to burst your bubble. In comparison to other sectors, humanitarian relief jobs offer modest pay. But those who stick around long enough usually find that the life-enriching experiences more than make up for other shortcomings.