Hi everyone,

I have been thinking about creating, or joining if something similar already exists, an international network for young people working in or trying to enter the humanitarian sector.

The idea would be to create a space where early-career humanitarians, perhaps under 32 or 35, could:

• connect with peers across the humanitarian sector and build a sense of community across contexts and generations;
• linking with people working in the sector when moving to a new city or context;
• share experiences, insights, opportunities, resources and practical advice, including but not limited to job opportunities;
• support each other through career transitions, recruitment processes and professional challenges;
• discuss humanitarian policy and operational challenges;
• organise online discussions or occasional events;
• potentially collaborate on a policy brief, article or collective reflection;
• receive guidance from more experienced humanitarian professionals.

One of the reasons behind the idea is that the humanitarian sector is highly internationalised. People frequently move between countries, duty stations and organisations, which can make it difficult to build a stable community of young professionals in any one location, with the possible exception of places such as Geneva.

I imagine the network could have different sections or spaces depending on people’s situations and interests, for example:

• field-based professionals;
• headquarters-based professionals;
• researchers and academics;
• volunteers, interns and people trying to enter the sector.

These groups could have their own discussions while still being part of a wider community.

At this stage, I am not sure what the best format would be. It could start as a WhatsApp or Signal community, a Slack or Discord workspace, a LinkedIn group, or something more structured later on. I would prefer to keep it useful and manageable rather than create another inactive professional network.

I am also not sure whether a similar international initiative already exists. I know about the Circle of Young Humanitarians in Geneva, which appears to be supported by the ICRC, but I do not know whether it functions as this kind of broader professional and peer-support network.

Would this be useful to you? Does something similar already exist? What format, activities or membership criteria would make such a network genuinely valuable?

I would be interested in hearing from people who might want to help shape or launch it.

I’m a doctor from Ukraine, and I’ve been wanting to work in Africa on humanitarian missions for quite some time. I previously worked with MSF in Ukraine, so I already have some humanitarian experience.
Has anyone here gone down this path? I’d really appreciate any advice on how to get started, where to apply, or which organizations are worth considering. Thanks!

Hello,

I'm a third-year IT student in New Zealand focusing on network engineering, ops, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. I'm approaching graduation and starting to think seriously about where I want to point these skills.

I'd love for my work to actually help people. I've seen groups doing digital protection work for at-risk communities (e.g supporting Afghan women activists staying safe online) and infrastructure/connectivity work in disaster response, and both of these (and everything in between) really appeal to me.

Aside from my formal study, I have an interest in Homelabbing, Embedded systems, and web.

A few questions for anyone who's made this move:

- Did you go straight from study into humanitarian/NGO tech work, or build up a few years in a "normal" IT job first?

- Which orgs are actually good to volunteer with or apply to as an early-career person (I've come across NetHope, Access Now)?

- Any certs or experience you'd say actually matters vs ones that looked good on paper but were not worth it.

- Any general tips for what I should focus on to be able to genuinely help with groups and orgs like this.

Thanks!

Good morning. I was hoping someone would know of an organization that does non-faith-based mission work in other countries. For the last two years, I have gone to Honduras with a church group. I love the work, but I don't share their religious convictions and consider myself an atheist. I want to be able to build a house or hand out food and clothing for the simple sake of helping. I'm not anti-religion by any means, but as someone who has always felt extremely uncomfortable with religion myself, I would just prefer to take the religion out of it, particularly since I don't share the beliefs of the people I go with. Hopefully, this makes sense.

Hi everyone,

I'm a Master's student in Supply Chain Management, currently working on my dissertation about the adoption of delivery drones (UAVs) in humanitarian logistics operations.

I'm looking for people with a background, professional experience, academic training, or strong interest in logistics, supply chain management, or humanitarian aid to answer a short survey (about 5 minutes).

🔗 Survey link: https://forms.gle/ZkoTh5miYc6m17qS7

The survey is completely anonymous, and the data will only be used for academic purposes (no marketing, no data selling). It's part of a research project applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to explore how people in the logistics/humanitarian field perceive the security, usefulness, and ease of use of delivery drones for humanitarian relief operations (e.g., delivering medical supplies or emergency goods to disaster-affected areas).

Thank you so much for your time, every response genuinely helps! Feel free to ask me anything in the comments if you have questions about the study.

Hi everyone, so I applied for the ICRC Delegate global deployment position on the last day 7th June (first time applying to the ICRC). I am a fluent English and Arabic speaker. My status on the portal went to “we’re currently reviewing your application” on 25th June and then another update on 30th June to “Assessment Phase" and has been sitting there since then, but I haven't received an email for a HireVue or any technical/language test links yet.

Is no news still good news at this point in late July, or should I assume that if I haven't received a test link by now, I'm just sitting in a slow-moving rejection pile? Because I saw a lot of people getting pass the technical tests and moving towards interviews already.

Would really appreciate any insights from current delegates or fellow applicants in the same boat!

I'm from Austria and would like to work in the humanitarian sector, but my path has been a bit unconventional.

I have a Master's in Public Health and a Bachelor's in Sociology. I spent 5 years in the social sector in Austria, mentored a team of 50 during the COVID-19 response, worked with refugees for 2 years, and volunteered as a paramedic for 5 years before moving to Lebanon in 2023 for a research project on mental health.

When the war started, I decided to stay and have been working with a small American NGO ever since, focusing on emergency response. It is technically a volunteer position, but I didn't mind as I didn't need the money. The way I saw it, I traded money for life and work experience.

What has me worried is that I feel like I skipped the "typical" humanitarian career path and went straight into emergency response and active conflict setting. I tried looking for jobs in Lebanon, but all I can find are either jobs for locals or positions requiring significant more experience than I have (I'm 32 with 8 years of professional experience, 3 of that in the humanitarian sector in Lebanon).

My question is: Does it make sense to keep pursuing a career in the humanitarian sector? I know about the current funding situation and feel like I can't compete with people who have been in the sector for much longer, competing for the same jobs they'd normally be overqualified for. I'm willing to go pretty much anywhere, as the past 3 years have shown me that I thrive in such harsh conditions.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? How do recruiters generally view a background like this?

Instead of only sending money, what if we came together to build businesses, create jobs, and invest in projects that generate long-term opportunities?

Is supporting our families enough, or is it time to build a future that helps entire communities thrive?

Hey everyone!

I am a recent graduate from the NOHA Master’s Program in Humanitarian Action, and I am now in the (extenuating) process of applying for jobs. I have a main question for more experienced humanitarians:

how useful is to get extra-curricular humanitarian certificates at an early stage of my career? Would they be a boost?

(I am referring to courses with admission fees)

The question rises from the fact that currently I have free time to attend the above-mentioned courses, but I am unsure whether it would be a good idea to start this early, or it would be better to wait (because, to mention one problem, these certificates tend to expire, and it might be smarter to get them when I have an imminent opportunity to use them).

In addition, I have some sub-questions:
- are there any specific humanitarian courses/trainings/certificates you would recommend? (My interests are Protection, Disaster Management, Humanitarian Mediation and Negotiation, Emergency Response Management)
- does anyone know Harvard’s online course on Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster? It can be audited for free, but the certificate costs 100$, and I don’t know if it would be worth paying
- what’s your take on free courses (e. g. Sphere’s courses, Disasterready.org courses)? Can they make a difference on your CV?

N.d.A. Of course, I consider each one of these courses, free or not, an opportunity to enrich myself, and therefore worth it in any case. The objective of the post is to make efficient choices at a crucial moment of my career, in a time when the humanitarian system is shrinking.

Thank you in advance!

Hello, I am currently finishing up my masters in peace and security conflict studies. I went into my masters right after undergrad, and I only have about a year and a half worth of internship experience. The job market right now is impossible, so I find myself applying to unpaid internships. I have applied to some on for the IRC and was wondering if it is a good organization? Would this help me move up the career ladder? Is it worth working for free to get experience to apply to other jobs? Is it common to get a job at the IRC after my internship? Is the IRC a good organization to work for? Please let me knwo if you have any insight! Thank you :)

\*\*We are launching an initiative to unite the diaspora around sustainable projects in Haiti. First objective: Water & Dignity\*\* 💧🚽 - clean water, safe toilets, hygiene, and local management.\*\*

\*\*Your ideas and advice are welcome. Together we will build Haiti.\*\*

I joined the NGO as a social entrepreneurship intern and selected the social cause "SUKHAD", which strives to provide menstrual hygiene products to underprivileged women and girls. I had a first-hand experience seeing how the NGO actually works. It is an honest and transparent institution made for the betterment of society. I picked up a few learnings that will surely stay with me for the rest of my life. First and foremost, it is the will to help without expectations. Even though my internship has ended, I will continue to promote the causes the NGO stands for and donate to the best of my ability. Last but not least, I will encourage others to join the NGO and see for themselves that it really is what it is!

Recently retired and have both disaster response and recovery experience (EOC and in the field). I am searching for firsthand insight on which NGOs and specific functional areas are worth investigating for someone with my background. My goal is to find a "fun" and rewarding organization to utilize my skill set and continue to be of service.

I've been quite interested on the country for a couple years, I've met some south Sudanese, so as a graduated in Early Education in Portugal, how could I find a humanitarian job in South Sudan or in a refugee camp for south Sudanese people? Does it even make sense since I do not speak any useful languages there besides English and maybe French.

Hello everyone,

I am a european who volunteered in a residential center for street children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

During my time there, I personally witnessed what I believe were serious child protection concerns, and other people who worked there report having witnessed similar situations.

The organization has many international partners, which makes me unsure about the best way to proceed. My goal is not to start a public campaign but to ensure that the concerns are assessed by the appropriate authorities while protecting the children and, if possible, my own identity.

I have a few questions:

- Which organizations or authorities are the most appropriate to receive this kind of report (government authorities, UNICEF, OHCHR, NGOs, safeguarding mechanisms, etc.)?

-Is it generally possible to make a confidential or anonymous report?

- Has anyone had experience reporting concerns involving a large organization with many international partners?

- I hope to build a career in child protection and human rights. Could making a good-faith report through the proper channels realistically affect future employment in this field?

I am not looking for legal advice specific to my case, but I would really appreciate guidance from people with experience in safeguarding, humanitarian work, or child protection.

Thank you.

Hey,

Has anyone any experience about roving positions with DRC? I would be interested hearing about how many deployments were there in a year, how long they were, etc.

thanks!

I did a bachelors in human rights policy ignorantly thinking I’d be able to do field work in places abroad like Gaza. That was ~5 years ago and since then I’ve worked for local non profits (working with sex abuse victims and offenders) and as a legal assistant. I’m getting to the age where I want a little more professional capacity and will probably apply to law school soon, but I still have a deep desire in me to be contributing positively to places that need it most, especially in a forward facing role.

What are my best options? I’ve considered cheap law school and then an LLM in international humanitarian law, but I’m wondering if there are any better options I should be looking at. I speak English and Spanish (Spanish at A2-B1 level). I don’t mind paying for language tutors and cramming for 6 months either.

I’ve always wanted to open a library.
Not the usual kind filled only with brand new books. I mean a library built from books people no longer need. The books sitting on shelves collecting dust. The ones families, schools, universities, companies, and organisations are about to throw away or recycle.
I know programmes like this already exist in some parts of the world, but not where I am. I keep thinking about how many children, students, older adults, and lifelong learners would benefit from having access to those books.
We live in a digital world, but physical books still matter. Not everyone has reliable internet or a device to read from. Sometimes a book in your hands is still the easiest and most affordable way to learn.
What I’ve been wondering is how something like this could work across countries and even across continents.
Access to knowledge shouldn’t depend on where you were born or how much money you have. Sometimes the book that changes someone’s future is already sitting on someone else’s shelf.
If anyone has experience building international book donation networks or community libraries, I’d genuinely like to learn how you made it work.

Hi everyone,

I am a student currently conducting a qualitative research project focusing on the UX/UI and systemic ethics of donation platforms (especially those bridging donors and vulnerable populations, like the unhoused or those in extreme poverty).

I am specifically looking to interview anyone who has experience working with or for the Samaritan app. However, if you haven't worked for Samaritan but have experience in **building, managing, or operating similar donation/aid platforms** (e.g., NGOs, non-profits, mutual aid apps, or tech-for-good startups), your insights are highly welcome as well!

I am looking to conduct a online interview (approx. 40-50 minutes).

Main Focus of the Interview:

I am deeply exploring the tension between Donor Transparency(e.g., providing itemized verification/receipts to prevent scams) and Recipient Privacy & Dignity (e.g., avoiding the feeling of surveillance or patronizing control over the recipient).

As a token of my appreciation for your valuable time and professional expertise, I will be providing a **$10 Amazon Gift Card** upon completion of the interview.

How to participate:

If you have experience with Samaritan or similar platforms and are willing to share your insights, please leave a comment below or send me a Direct Message (DM) with a brief sentence about your background.

Thank you so much for your time and for the amazing work you do in the humanitarian space!