From Lobbyist to Humanitarian Leader

“Every winter in Jordan is extremely difficult. You often have snowfall, you have temperatures at zero. One of our functions in the camps is to coordinate the distribution on behalf of all humanitarian agencies for what we call non-food items. So organizing distributions for 20,000 families and making sure that those are coordinated in a way where the most vulnerable are prioritized, where those people who can’t come and collect their items are supported by an alternative career, making sure that people don’t have to queue for too long, and just logistically managing that kind of operation is extremely challenging because people are tired and cold and often frustrated” - Carlo Gherardi, Head of Operations, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Amman, Jordan.  

Meet Carlo Gherardi who is currently working in Jordan where NRC has one of the largest programmes supporting 150,000 displaced people in refugee camps such as Zaatari and Azraq.

In this episode of UNjobfinder Career Podcast you will gain insights about:

• The realities and challenges of implementing and coordinating projects in complex settings caused by conflict and natural disasters, such as responding to the flooding in Southern Pakistan in 2010 and the current humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
• The rewards you get from working with displaced people in Jordan.
• The different dynamics of the organizations working as a lobbyist compared to the development sector and how Carlos made his career transition.
• The most important skills that are needed for an international career in the humanitarian or development sector
• What profiles NRC is recruiting for in Jordan
• Carlo’s recommendations to people who are interested in working for NRC

Listen to the episode here:

About Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is recognized as one the world’s most credible humanitarian, non-governmental organisation. NRC promotes and protects the rights of refugees and people who have been displaced within their own country. The organization has a very strong operation side, which means that the aid they are actually delivering is going through their different programmes: on education, shelter, ICLA (information, legal assistance and counseling), or WASH-programmes (water, hygiene and sanitation). NRC has a also a very strong local presence in over 25 countries worldwide and have over 9,000 staff members working to provide people in displacement with these different services. Find more information about NRC here.

Want to listen to more Podcast episodes?

To ensure that you will get all new episodes, we advise you to subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher. Showing what you think about this show by leaving an honest review on iTunes is something we really appreciate.

Transcript

Would you like to read the whole interview? Click here to get the complete transcript of episode 13 
Carlo, thank you again for being such a great guest!