Humanitarian profiles

David Sims
Logistician, ACF

Like most people who work in the humanitarian sector, my undergrad degree had little influence on my career. Graduating with Business Management, I had no clear path before me, so went travelling. I spent 14 months in Central and South America volunteering on a range of projects from building eco lodges in a Costa Rican national park, to teaching and providing nursing assistance in a Peruvian school for physically handicapped children. All this provided really eye-opening and satisfying experiences.

On returning to the UK, I set about trying to find a 'proper' job. But having briefly looked into the advertising industry, I realised that what I should do was pursue the sort of work I'd done in the previous year. So I started volunteering for Save the Children, with the hope of getting a more permanent position in their marketing and fundraising department. My gamble paid off, and I soon found a paid position in Save's fundraising department, where I worked for almost two years. During this time, I also completed Save's Emergency Operations Programme (EOP), which aims to introduce people to the realities of working in the humanitarian sector. The EOP made me realise that my future lay in the field.

However, although I had the desire, I lacked the skills, and couldn't get a paid job. So I applied for a logistics internship at Merlin. Whilst in London, I learnt a lot about how logistics supports emergency programmes, but I was soon sent to Liberia for my 6-month overseas placement. There was much to learn here, and the experience was invaluable. But my intended 6 month field placement was cut short as a field logistics officer post became available within the Merlin Liberia programme. So within 10 months of joining Merlin I had my dream position: setting up a completely new programme in a part of the country in which Merlin had no physical presence. It was a real challenge that often left me exhausted. I had a huge amount to learn, especially in managing a team, so it was exciting and very rewarding. 8 months later, with the programme base set up and the staff trained, I left Liberia. I have now got a job as a logistics coordinator for another organisation in Palestine; another steep learning curve awaits.

It's a real privilege to work within the humanitarian aid sector; the work is challenging, stimulating and thought provoking. Everyday the way you see the world is questioned. My time in Liberia was a period of real highs and real lows: the highs were very much work-related and the lows were very much personal. Before embarking on a career in humanitarian aid, especially in the field, it is worth considering both.