Frameworks and tools for navigating a career in international development and humanitarian work.
I built this from the sessions of the UN Inter-Agency Career Week 2026. Five days, 40 sessions, 33 organisations. I sat through, took notes, and pulled out the methods I found most usable. Each tool is attributed to the speaker who shared it. Recordings will be linked here as the organisers release them.
The toolkit is organised by a model I use to think about career navigation: two foundations that run underneath everything, and five stages that cycle as a career unfolds. Pick the dimension closest to where you are right now.
The seven dimensions
Foundations
Am I in the right state to navigate? Motivation, resilience, and how I respond to pressure.
What can I actually do, and what am I building? Skills, gaps, and active investment in growth.
Stages
Where am I aiming? Career narrative, target roles, the working hypothesis I keep revising.
How do I show up? CV, LinkedIn, references, written and spoken self-presentation.
What do I see? Awareness of the market, alerts, networks, sector intelligence.
What do I go after? Filtering and prioritising what is worth my effort.
How do I convert? The mechanics from “I have decided to go for this” to outcome.
About this toolkit · Agenda Coverage Audit
If you would like a 25-minute conversation about your own career navigation in this sector, the form is on the About page.