16th January 2024
What does a humanitarian career look like? How can you kickstart your own journey in this inspiring sector – and how can this career path evolve over time?
In our humanitarian careers podcast series, we’re connecting with humanitarians from around the world to hear personal stories and experiences of working in the sector.
In this episode, listen to Ka Man Parkinson in conversation with two inspiring colleagues from the Humanitarian Leadership Academy: Salma Babban from Jordan and Tom Russell from the UK.
We hear about their transitions into the humanitarian world and how their roles have evolved over time, as well as the key skills they need to do their jobs well.
They also share what motivates them to keep going during challenging times, and their advice for anyone who wants to follow in their footsteps into the humanitarian world.
Whether you’re an aspiring humanitarian, a seasoned professional, or simply curious about the incredible work happening in the sector, tune into this insightful conversation with Salma and Tom which is now available to listen to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Buzzsprout.
Podcast episode themes/keywords: humanitarian careers, aid sector, INGOs, translation, languages, communication, training and facilitation, civil engineering, WASH, Ebola, Middle East, West and Central Africa, Ukraine, localisation, Humanitarian Xchange.
About the speakers
Salma Babban is Global Translation Manager at the HLA and is based in Amman, Jordan. Salma holds a background in technical projects and programmes management positions in both development and humanitarian contexts including working with donors, and with international and local universities and at the British Council. She also holds a background in capacity strengthening, and community and partner relationship building. She joined the HLA in 2021.
Tom Russell is a Technical Learning Specialist at the HLA and is based in Birmingham, UK. Tom holds a background in WASH programme development and delivery. He has 10 years of experience in designing and supporting the delivery of humanitarian response projects including the cholera outbreak response in Haiti of 2011, cyclone preparedness in Madagascar and the Ebola outbreak response in the DR Congo. His focus is now on supporting humanitarian professionals develop and strengthen their skills through learning and training.
Hosted and produced by Ka Man Parkinson, Communications and Marketing Advisor at the HLA. She holds extensive professional experience within the international education and non-profit sectors including at three UK universities and at the British Council. She joined the HLA in 2022.
Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Buzzsprout.
Humanitarian careers truly have the power to make a difference and impact communities and lives all around the world. And for those who are looking to pursue this field, there are plenty of opportunities available in nearly every area.
However, some essential skills required for every humanitarian are openness, understanding, tolerance, patience, acceptance and cultural sensitivity.
It’s also important to be well aware of your personality and be prepared to face unpleasant situations quite often since your endurance and persistence will be tested often.
Throughout my career whenever I’ve had an issue in my work….we could reach out to other people in the sector and everyone was always very willing to share their expertise, give us of their time…
And just realising how collaborative everyone is in the humanitarian sector – that desire, that we’re all working for the same goal, I think that’s always encouraged me.
So whenever something new comes up or a new challenge comes up, I know there’s a much bigger community that we can connect with.
I think it’s through that that we can be better equipped and also help us maintain more energy and momentum because what we do in all aspects of our work – it is challenging, there is that risk of being burnt out through it – so that connecting with others I think is really important.
Links
Humanitarian Xchange 2024 – sign up to join us for our global hybrid conference on 20 February.
Links to translated resources Salma highlights in this episode:
Response Learning Hub – Turkiye-Syria Earthquake Response
Microlearning animations on our YouTube channel
Learn more about some of the resources and training highlighted by Tom:
Humanitarian Operations Programme
Humanitarian Operations Programme (HOP) Core Asia [news article]
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Feedback/enquiries: please email info@humanitarian.academy or connect with us on social media.
The views and opinions expressed in our podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their organisations.