Exclusive insights on international aid & development careers from a former senior British Ambassador and former President of CARE International

PART 1 of The United Career Coalitions

Exclusive Interview

The United Career Coalition spoke to Sir Harold, a former senior British Ambassador and former President of CARE International, to gain his insights and advice on international aid and development careers.

Sir Harold spent 35 years in the Diplomatic Service; among other appointments he was Ambassador to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iraq. Sir Harold was also President of CARE International. He was educated at Winchester and Worcester College, Oxford.

Ambassador, how did you become involved with international aid and development and CARE International? Could you share some insights from your transition from your diplomatic career to a career in the NGO sector?

Well, one of my posts towards the end of my career in the diplomatic service was Ambassador to Ethiopia, where of course, I saw an enormous amount of non-governmental organisations. In fact, most of the work of the embassy was to do with international aid rather than politics. And I was very impressed by what I saw of CARE in the field. Being myself a bureaucrat, I was particularly impressed by their sheer efficiency. For example, turning around quickly the railway trucks coming up from Djibouti; they struck me as very efficient at doing a good job. So, when I retired, I decided to reach out and offer my help. I think at first, they were rather wondering what we can do with a retired Ambassador {laughing} I did a fundraising role and was then invited to become a member of the board. Over the years, I became chairman of CARE International, UK, and eventually President of CARE International. It was a very satisfying job in the way that it was high level administration. We were convinced we were doing a good job. It involved travel to parts of the world, I had not been to in my diplomatic career. It was personally very satisfying. As I say, I think that these non-governmental organisations do a tremendous job when they are well run.

So, Ambassador, you shared some of the benefits such as travelling and that working for an NGO provides job satisfaction. Other than that, what were the benefits for you working for an NGO like CARE? And from your experience, what does it take to work for an NGO? What skills are essential working in international aid and development agencies? 

I don't know whether it sounds a bit pompous. But I think one of the benefits working for a diplomatic service is that you're working for something outside yourself something very valuable. You're working in the NGO field, to improve people's lives, education, development, and all sorts of other things. I think that is a huge satisfaction, very worthy.

I think you do need administrators skills. In the field, you have got to be good at organising camps of refugees, water systems, very down to earth practical things, you've got to be good at organising. And then more and more as you move up the chain, you've got to be very clear about your accounts. Because it's very, very important for the reputation of an NGO that it should be answerable to its donors. So, you have to be very, very careful that the money you're getting is spent for the purpose for which it has been given. The higher you get, the more you've got to be like a businessman on a board you have to study the accounts carefully, to make sure the charity is geared to do exactly what it says on the tin, as they say. Administrative skills are one of the key skills and other varied skills are required, because after all, if you think of an NGO working in the field, this may well not be comfortable, you may be living in a tent, with no air conditioning. So, you've got to be prepared to live uncomfortably.

Having been the Ambassador of Ethiopia before joining an international development aid agency, what do you think is the main difference between working for an NGO and having a diplomatic career? and what skills do you need? I can imagine, some of the diplomacy skills that you would need in an NGO are quite like the ones you might need as an ambassador?

I absolutely agree. One possible difference is that people used to say that being a diplomat, you didn't need to be all that great intellectually. But you needed to be ready to be in the home civil service. The diplomatic service needed social skills, and you didn't need to be so brainy. But that was always a big mistake, because in the diplomatic service, you will come up against some very testing intellectual problems.

Imagine, for example, advising your minister, your foreign secretary, what is he/she going to say in a Cabinet meeting about climate change? You know, you may prepare papers on climate change - everything from climate change to what to do about one of your nationals who is being held apparently hostage in a foreign country, you will be faced with some very difficult, intellectually challenging questions, you've got to provide answers to on paper. You do need social skills, on top of these social skills you need to have some presence, and if you're representing your country, you cannot just be a shy person hiding in the corner, you've got to show some presence.

Thank you very much. Let me summarise what has been said so far, skills and competencies that you believe are essential for a successful international career are top planning and organising skills, and I guess, with what you just said, to communicate clearly, and to be able to represent your country. What about negotiation skills?

Yes, you certainly have got to be prepared to negotiate, which may involve huge patience, because some international negotiating goes on, not just over days or weeks, but over years. So, you need to be robust, and give yourself time, you've got to be prepared to go on negotiating with your patience.

Curious to learn more? Don’t miss next weeks interview on “what makes a good career”.

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