ICT4D Jobs: Building a career in digital development

The use of information and communications technology for development, or ICT4D, is disrupting just about every facet of development. From mobile banking, access to healthcare, to remote learning, ICT4D is connecting people, providing better information, informing policy decisions and changing the way development professionals operate. While it’s clear that as a development practitioner you must incorporate technology into your work, the growth of ICT4D has opened up a whole new niche providing a wide range of exciting career opportunities. In this Devex webinar, Wayan Vota, senior mobile advisor at FHI 360's TechLab and co-creator of ICT4Djobs, talks to us about what kinds of positions are available, who you can work for, what skills you need to be successful and trends impacting career opportunities in ICT4D today. There are two kinds of roles you typically find in a digital development career: the business analyst and the technologist. A business analyst role does not require an IT background but focuses on how technology can best be introduced into a development project. This role requires someone with strong project management skills who can take an idea from concept to delivery, says Vota, as well as salesmanship to get buy-in from other stakeholders. A technologist role requires an IT background and can work in areas like software and app development or user experience. The reality is both of these roles are jobs where you will spend most of your time sitting in conference rooms in capital cities, co-creating and thinking through these issues, warns Vota to those looking to work more closely with beneficiaries. A catalyst for innovation in development, ICT4D jobs also spend a lot of time “experimenting and breaking things”, meaning there is rarely a dull moment. Watch the full webinar above to learn what software should you learn as a technologist in development, the number one way to land a job and how it differs from other career paths. See all ICT4D jobs available on the Devex job board here. Looking to make a career move? Visit our career center for expert advice on how to navigate your job search - all you need is a Devex Career Account to get started.