The ideal ActionAid Hellas job candidate: A character sketch

ActionAid Hellas is regularly seeking to add to its team of dynamic and experienced professionals. It recruits for short- or long-term staff as well as various non-staff positions depending on its needs. Contract-based arrangements may be short- or long-term. Nonstaff positions include those for consultants, interns, retainers, fellows and volunteers. International, expatriate or national professionals may be sought depending on the vacancy; desired qualifications vary similarly. But, according to Glykeria Arapi, ActionAid Hellas’s organizational learning and human resources coordinator, all must agree with the organization’s core values, such as solidarity, humility, accountability and transparency, equity and mutual respect. “We want people who express humility in the way they work and understand how essential it is to give space and power to our affiliates in the south.” Basic job requirements include several years of work experience, high English proficiency (sometimes also a working knowledge of an additional language) and a university degree, preferably advanced. Equally important, Arapi said, is for applicants to fully understand the nature and complexities of performing development rather than humanitarian work. “Very often candidates do not distinguish between philanthropy-charity and developmental work,” Arapi said. The goal is to identify candidates with the right balance of academic skills, work experience, sensitivity toward ActionAid’s mission and awareness of the latest trends in international development. Job interviews usually entail writing tests and short questions to assess the candidate’s suitability for a particular position. For instance, “for the communications department, the questions are centered on the candidate’s experience to devise and carry out campaigns, mobilize the wider public etcetera,” Arapi said. Similarly, academic requirements vary. ActionAid Hellas’s current employees have backgrounds in economic, social, pedagogic and political science disciplines. ActionAid Hellas tries to recruit expats only if national candidates are not meeting the requirements for a particular position. Like other national chapters, however, it complies with the parent organization’s guideline to elevate at least one expatriate to senior-management level to induce workforce diversity and exposure. However, international exposure is always a plus - as is a candidate’s experience working with civil society. “When we post a job vacancy, we usually receive 90 to 100 resumes on average. Yet, most of them have no solid experience within the NGO sector,” Arapi said. It is not always a prerequisite to have experience with civil society. If a candidate comes with the desired academic and professional resume and attitude, they may well be selected. “We are ready to develop those applicants,” Arapi said. Read more career advice articles.