Aid Worker Job Description – What Are Their Duties
There are many places in the world where people face hardships due to natural disasters or human inflicted disasters such as wars, kidnappings e.t.c
These natural disasters sometimes happen when one least expects thereby causing the economy and welfare of the citizens to be at stake if there is no form of intervention. This is why there are organizations across the globe that have devoted their time to helping such countries overcome whatever hardship they might be facing through humanitarian work.
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Job Profile For Aid Workers
Humanitarian aid work involves assisting countries to save lives, alleviate suffering,protect and maintain human dignity during a time of crisis. Humanitarian aid has been a useful tool in assisting in manmade and natural disasters over the years for different countries across the globe.
Without Humanitarian assistance, some parts of the world might have not recovered from past traumatic events. According to Global Humanitarian Assistance, humanitarian aid has the following principles which guide it:
- Humanity: Saving human lives and alleviating suffering
- Neutrality: Acting without bias or without favouring any side during times of conflict or dispute
- Impartiality: Acting based on need without discrimination
- Independence: Autonomous of any military, political, or economic objectives
As an aid worker, you will be committed to giving support and assistance in maintaining or improving the quality of life within vulnerable populations during emergencies or crisis. Your job requires that you travel outside your home country with the possibility of being subjected to working longer hours during emergencies. Working in new environments would require that you have good people skills and can adapt to new environments quickly.
Job Description For Aid Workers
As an aid worker, your daily activities would involve;
- Assessing emergencies and working closely with other staff members to locate the region or area of emergency
- Coordinating and supporting the work of volunteers
- Managing program budgets
- Overseeing the implementation of emergency activities and monitoring their effectiveness
- Developing and monitoring objectives
- Producing reports, recommendations, and proposals for emergency intervention
- Organizing the training and support of volunteers and other aid workers
- Ensuring compliance with national and international procedures, policies, and regulatory codes
- Supporting interagency contingency planning efforts
- Addressing strategies for addressing humanitarian needs, including mobilizing and tracking resources
- Coordinating efforts with humanitarian partners, government officials, and media
- Overseeing annual planning, reviews, and the final evaluation of programs and plans
What Skill Should I Have To Work In As An Aid Worker?
Some of the relevant skills for a successful career as an aid worker includes;
- Organizational Skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Teamwork
- Great attention to details
- Communication and interpersonal skills
- Language skills -being bilingual can be a plus
- Decision-making skills
- Project management
- Ability to adapt to a new environment with different cultural backgrounds
Where Can I Work As An Aid Worker?
Some of the organisations where you would work as an Aid worker includes;
- United Nations
- World Health Organisation
- Red Cross
- International Medical Corps
- Charities
- Non-profit Organizations
- Private owned-foundations
What Steps Can I Take To Become An Aid Worker?
There are several disciplines which qualify you to work as an aid worker in the nearest future after your education, they include;
- Economics
- International Relations
- Medicine
- Nursing and other health-related courses
- Foreign or Local Language Degrees
- Political Science
- Sociology
While having a degree in these fields gives you an advantage, getting a job as an aid worker is very competitive especially when applying to international organisations. Somethings that sets you apart includes relevant experience which can be gotten from paid internships or volunteering via various organisations.
Getting a masters degree is always advised after you have spent some years working in a specific area or field as this gives you an insight on what area you are looking to specialize in during your post-graduate education.
