Paulo - Italy to Milton Keynes

What’s your current job?

I’m a Project Manager for activities related to humanitarian protection – both policy and implementation too.  It means I travel a lot – mostly in Somalia, Sudan (North and South), Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.  There I work closely with the World Vision HEA (Humanitarian Emergency Affairs) teams based in country.

What did you do prior to World Vision?

For the last two years I was in Iraq, working in prisons managed by the Iraqi authorities and focusing on prisoners’ human rights, especially legal aid and rehabilitation.  Before that, in Zimbabwe I worked mostly with HIV positive people in human rights and income generating activities.  Prior to that, I was a year in Kenya, 2 years in Angola, and have also worked in Yemen, Vietnam, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ukraine, Bosnia, Singapore and Hong Kong!  I’ve been in humanitarian work for 13 years now.

Why World Vision?

I was interested in the position as it gave the opportunity to combine policy with the implementation work I’d been doing previously.  It was an opportunity to deepen my knowledge on the policy side. 

Having worked in this sector for some time, I knew of World Vision and was interested in its work on Child Protection policy which is very well developed. I also wanted to experience a larger organisation like World Vision with all of its connections and its presence in so many different countries.

First Impressions at World Vision

Coming to the Humanitarian Emergency Affairs Team gave me a great first impression! We have very good interactions, communications and team spirit. We really get to know each other as well as working together. I’ve had the chance to work with a very open-minded and flexible manager – he has been really, really inspiring... Very clever with a clear vision – a brilliant mind – he has ideas and wants to do things with a different approach and wants to think outside the box.

My manager gave me trust and ‘white paper’ (as we say in Italy) – I was given the opportunity to frame things my own way at my own pace – it’s never happened to me before and has been really motivating.

Relocation Advice

My adjustment to the place and culture hasn’t been particularly difficult despite what people say about the UK! Standards of life are high and everything’s extremely easy – I didn’t have any difficulties.

Milton Keynes is not the most striking place – but it’s fairly close to London, comfortable, functional, socially speaking it’s interesting, there are things to do and see, and there’s a little bit of a social life. It’s a good balance between a good natural environment, possibilities of attending cultural events, and a happy social life. My advice would be to buy a car, although it’s true that it's also a very bicycle friendly place and the London connections are great.

Current Opportunities

View our current opportunities and download a full job description here.

Need help or want to talk to us in person call: 01908 841090

Besi - A family move from Zambia

My job at World Vision

As Senior Economic Justice Policy Adviser I’m engaged in advocacy for economic policies that are fair for the poor and marginalized. This is related to ensuring that aid is delivered to those who need it most, and that this is done in the right amounts, at the right time and in the right way. Practically, my work involves contributing to policy papers, submissions and discussions, and engaging with the UK government and multilateral institutions, as well as working with partners and in networks. The partners I work with are both in the North and in the South, providing various avenues through which I can influence decision makers.

I have participated in meetings with key influencers such as the UK Secretary of State for International Development, and have participated in events such as the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF where I was able to talk with senior policy makers, putting forward World Vision’s recommendations and sharing from my own experience of a developing country.

The angle of my work that I enjoy very much is a component of World Vision UK’s Programme Partnership Agreement (PPA) with DfID on civil society and aid effectiveness, which has provided an opportunity for me to work with 7 countries in the South around civil society empowerment and demand-led governance. This involves enhancing the capacity of citizens to engage with service providers and policy processes around the delivery of their entitlements.

Previous Career

I joined World Vision UK after working for many years within Zambian civil society. I trained as an Economist at the University of Cape Town in South Africa where I obtained my Masters degree in Health Economics. This was followed by a short stint lecturing in Economics and Health Economics at the University of Zambia, before joining a national civil society network called the ‘Civil Society for Poverty Reduction’ as Executive Director. During my seven years with the Network, we experienced large levels of growth in membership, donors and staff, and were nationally recognised as a major civil society voice on pro-poor development and advocacy in Zambia. I was also involved in pro-poor advocacy on national and local development planning, budgeting and the effectiveness of aid. Alongside this, I did a lot of media work and public speaking.

The Move to World Vision

My motivation in moving on to World Vision was that I was looking for opportunities where I could use my experience more broadly, in an organisation focused on development in many countries not just one. The opportunity with World Vision was perfect as the job description spoke to my experience, training and background. I was exploring another opportunity with ODI but was too research focused compared to the World Vision role that had the research element and also the opportunity to engage in policy discussions. The Christian ethos at World Vision was also an attraction.

I knew of World Vision from Zambia, having spoken at a World Vision Zambia workshop on poverty reduction strategies, and seeing newspaper coverage of World Vision Zambia relief efforts during periods of drought. Overall, I knew of the organisation and I knew it was big but didn’t realise how big. It’s huge!

Recruitment from a distance

The application process was straightforward, although I wondered how they would know my skills just from my application form – how would I sell myself? The job description was thorough, and the application form gave me a chance to relate each aspect of the job to who I am as a person.

I was excited to be asked for a telephone interview, but also a bit worried as we were having periods of telephone interruptions in Zambia. I was able to use the landline at my parents' house, and the interview panel were friendly and made me feel I could be myself – we had some laughs together!

For the second interview World Vision paid for me to fly to the UK and again the interview was a good experience. I was encouraged to think through the impact of relocating my family to Milton Keynes, and recognise what a major change it would be for us.

The Relocation Experience

Having some flexibility around my start date with World Vision UK helped me to ensure I left Zambia well. The work permit and visa process went smoothly, and it was helpful to have a Milton Keynes based relocation agent provided by World Vision. She started helping us even before we travelled, through loads of practical information on tax, housing, schooling, etc.

Adapting into the Community

We live in a nice location, close to local schools and work. My son adapted really well to the local school - he never really enjoyed school before, but within 3 months of school here he couldn’t get enough of it!

One of the things we've found different here are the churches. Back home we were used to a traditional church with a big congregation of people of all ages. We're really happy that recently we found a Christian centre, a multi denominational church, which has quite a lot of young couples and an atmosphere we enjoy.

Adapting to life in the UK would not have been as easy without the team I work in. I have a great team and they have been very supportive friends to me and my family. We really felt that they were coming with us on our settling in journey, with plenty suggestions, ideas and tips along the way.

Advice for others thinking of relocating

Relocating is not an easy task and you need to be psychologically prepared. It’s not just one step - it’s a process that can last several months. It took us about 6 months to feel settled.

If you relocate with family and children, school will be the easy part because it's government policy that your child has to be given a place in school. Your spouse may have to be a little bit more accommodating because it may take a little bit longer to get a job. The jobs are there, especially in Milton Keynes as it’s an upcoming place. If the job search is difficult, it may be worthwhile volunteering for a while to get UK experience.

You will get there and once you get there and feel comfortable it’ll be fine. As a Christian, I have believed that God’s grace is with us and He is in control.

Message to potential applicants

World Vision is big and doing great work so if you want to be part of big, great work then World Vision is the place to try it out. It is a civil society organisation and as such you need to be bold if you’re working in policy - you must dig deep and speak out on issues that keep poor people poor. It’s also an organisation focused on quality, so if you’d like to be doing high quality work then this is the place to do it.

Current Opportunities

View our current opportunities and download a full job description here.

Need help or want to talk to us in person call: 01908 841090

Chandara - A Cambodian Perspective

My job at World Vision

As a Grants Management Officer my main responsibilities are to manage existing grants and to acquire new ones. This involves working with the EC, ECHO, DEC, UN and WFP projects.

The management part of my portfolio, whilst time-consuming, is important in ensuring that all grants are compliant to donor requirements - reports are sent on time, claims are made as schedule, income is properly booked, etc.

The acquisition of new grants is quite exciting! There’s pressure as I need to know the guidelines well, but I get a sense of satisfaction when proposals are approved by the donors, providing more income for World Vision, and ultimately for the poor. I also learn a lot of things during the process of each application.

Previous Career

After my degree in Business and Administration, majoring in management, I began my career in World Vision Cambodia’s Finance department and spent eight years there progressing from Assistant Accountant to Chief Accountant. In Oct 2001 I got my first international assignment with World Vision East Timor as Grant Accountant and spent 18 months there. On returning to WV Cambodia my career path changed from Finance to Programming and I spent the next 3 years in Programming area with WV Cambodia.

In 2005 I had the opportunity to join the WV Lanka Tsunami Response Team as Program Officer and was later promoted to Senior Program Officer where I was part of the Senior Management Team.

It was the most rewarding experience I ever had to be part of this enormous response programme and be part of the reconstruction and rebuilding the lives of so many 2004 Tsunami victims.

My final World Vision job in Asia was in Indonesia (Aceh Development Program) where I was the Resource Development Manager. After spending 8 months there and having ensured that the Aceh Development Program had sufficient funds for its program, I decided to move on.

Move to World Vision

Having worked for World Vision National Offices for quite sometimes, it has been always my dream to work at the Support Office to see and learnt different things from the National Offices. The UK office is the first on my list because of role models in society were educated in the UK so I wanted to explore this place.

Recruitment & Relocation Experience

My recruitment experience was generally good - the communication of time for the interview and the interview went well.

The time for temporary stay when I first came was a bit short and I had to move from one hotel to another one. It was good that a colleague offered a temporary accommodation for another few weeks before I found my rented flat. The system in the UK are different to the one that I used to in the developing countries, so at the time I felt frustrated when things do not work the way I would like them to, especially when I don’t understand it. It takes time to get to know things around, like bus, market, shopping centre, how to pay council tax, register yourself in the local GP, etc. I’d advise others thinking of relocating to talk to someone who has been relocated recently, and to read the papers the Expatriate Advisor sends.

Current Opportunities

View our current opportunities and download a full job description here.

Need help or want to talk to us in person call: 01908 841090