Recruiters' most wanted: French-speaking aid professionals

Now is the time for fluent French speakers to find a job in development, according to global development recruiters. More than half of respondents to the “Devex Career Trends in 2015” survey listed French as the most in demand language — over Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Chinese and Russian — when asked which language other than English they predict will be most in demand for their organization’s hiring in 2015. But recruiters might not find that talent in the United States. Enrollment in French language programs in universities across the U.S. is on the decline just as demand for skilled French speakers within global development is on the rise, particularly in West Africa. According to the Modern Language Association’s latest survey released last month, French enrollment fell nationally from 215,244 in 2009 to 197,757 in 2013 — a drop of 8.1 percent. And less than half of all French programs reported stability or gains. These latest numbers compare meekly with French’s golden age of the late 1960s and ‘70s, when French enrollment handily surpassed what is today’s most studied language in the United States by far — Spanish. In 1968, French enrollment in U.S. universities was recorded at 386,694 while that same year Spanish enrollment was 363,389. In 2013 however, 790,756 students were enrolled in Spanish programs — more than all other offered languages combined. But Spanish, for example, was identified as a low-ranking priority by global development recruiters, most likely to do with decreasing U.S. government funding in Latin America and a strong Spanish speaking capacity available in-country, Katherine Wood, senior international development recruiter at RTI International, told Devex. More demand in French speaking regions is compounded with the fact that — compared with other languages such as Spanish — it’s more difficult to find fluent French speakers in-country who can carry out on-the-ground leadership roles. In West Africa, there is a continued, consistent need for development investment, and a growing need for professional-level French speakers to support projects in the realms of governance, conflict stabilization, health, education and Ebola response, Wood said. "We end up hiring a lot more expats or third country nationals to work in French-speaking countries in leadership roles,” she said, adding that some of the hardest positions to fill are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea. Monitoring and evaluation is one particularly challenging sector to fill with professionally fluent French speakers, Wood added. Furthermore, for many positions identified through U.S. Agency for International Development proposals, fluency in French is required, while for jobs in the Middle East for example, Arabic is generally just “preferred,” according to Kathryn Erskine, director of recruitment at Chemonics International — one of USAID’s largest contractors. As a result, recruiters find themselves continually hunting for development professionals who are qualified both technically and linguistically. “It does seem to be harder to find people that speak French fluently,” Erskine said. Whether the downward trend of French studies in the United States will be a problem for the development community down the road remains to be seen, but “I would suspect that over time, it could be,” said Elizabeth Norris, senior director of talent management and acquisition at Save the Children. The current high demand for French is indeed worrisome for many recruiters, but the larger impact on development work might not be immediate, provided major crises such as Haiti’s 2010 earthquake or West Africa’s Ebola epidemic are few and far between. The demand for French speakers is dependent on the nature of their hiring, Norris explained of Save the Children. In the immediate aftermath of a crisis, there is a very critical need for “people who are very fluent and can hit the ground,” Norris said. In these circumstances, “there’s no learning curve,” said Norris. “You need to be very fluent in French.” But as a major crisis wanes, Save the Children’s focus shifts toward the training of local staff and partnering with local organizations. As strong local connections grow stronger, the demand for French-speaking hires decreases. Other industry leaders point to a broader concern. “I think maybe a more general problem for the U.S.-based international development community is that Americans in general do not have the multilingual skills that people in most other countries do have,” Sean Roberts, director of the International Development Studies Program at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University told Devex. Moreover, enrollments in all language programs in U.S. universities has declined by 6.7 percent between 2009 and 2013, according to MLA’s latest survey, suggesting that the U.S.- based global development community could have more of a language dilemma in the future. 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.