Name: Jacob Hughes
Title: development finance and management consultant, JHughesDevelopment Inc.
Home: Washington, D.C.
Currently in: at the moment I’m on board a Air Tran flight, returning from visiting family Minnesota
Working on: projects for the Center for Global Development, the Ministry of Health in Liberia and USAID
How does managing a construction project differ from managing a global health fund? You’ve done both.
Managing development funds is based on developing good systems and processes, but you have to find your sense of accomplishment in simply knowing the right things are working well or reading about them in a quarterly report. In construction, you can see progress every morning when you arrive at the job site and when the project is finished you can point it out with a sense of pride to a friend when you drive by — we built that house. But if you are from Minnesota, the construction industry usually involves some pretty cold winter days, so I think I will stick with development work!
What’s your fondest memory of Afghanistan, where you worked in 2003-’04?
In September 2004, I was doing a rural health assessment with an Afghan doctor and friend who now works with UNICEF Kenya. We traveled to some of the most remote parts of northeastern Afghanistan and were consistently welcomed with genuine hospitality wherever we went. On one occasion we were in the highlands meeting with shepherds in an open-air tent and lunch was unexpectedly laid out on the carpet floor — fresh sour crème and flat bread. I was struck by how dignified it is to welcome a visitor, no matter your circumstance, and how honored I felt to be their guest. Sour crème will always remind me of hospitality on the Afghan steppe.
What makes a successful independent global development consultant?
An independent consultant relies on their reputation and referral; both are based on satisfied clients. Whatever it takes, however long, however many times, however humbling, in the end, the client must be happy with your work. If you are a development consultant, it helps to have strong stomach and patience for travel delays!
Read Jacob’s exclusive op-ed for Devex:
>> Why a New Multidonor Trust Fund, Managed by Aid Recipients in Liberia, Works