Humanitarian mission administrator

Humanitarian mission administrator
Whether intervening in Somalia or Iraq, the humanitarian mission administrator has 3 main missions: the budget, personnel management and administrative formalities. He may be responsible for hundreds of employees and millions of euros. Without forgetting his role as trainer of local assistants. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are looking for experienced people who will know how to work in these difficult conditions.

Professional life
Volunteer or employee
Most NGOs recruit their expatriate staff under volunteer status: that is to say they cover transport, accommodation, living costs on site and social security and pay a monthly allowance of 800 at 900 euros. Some NGOs offer fixed-term contracts (CDD) for administrator, coordinator or head of mission positions. For example, at Médecins sans frontières, administrators make up 10% of expatriates. Since there are numerous applications, the selection is strict.
Varied developments
Missions last from 3 months to 2 years. With experience, administrators can become coordinator or head of mission. Eventually, some humanitarians obtain a position at headquarters, while retaining the possibility of returning to the field. Some are recruited by international organizations (Red Cross, UNICEF). At the end of their field mission, these international volunteers return to their jobs in France. However, those who have been away for a long time, beyond 4 to 5 years, have more difficulty reintegrating.
Beginner's salary
From 800 to 1700 euros gross per month. Certain costs such as accommodation, transport or food may be covered.
Working conditions
In the field or at HQ
The administrator works in disaster areas, countries at war or in crisis. He manages, in often very precarious conditions, an aid or development program set up by his NGO. During his mission, he can move around the field. By going, for example, to health care or food distribution centers, he sees concretely whether financial resources are being used well.
Surrounded by local assistants
The administrator can manage a small program alone. Most often, he supervises administrative and financial assistants. These are “locals” whom he trains in management practices. If the mission has been established in the same country for a long time, it is easier to delegate administrative monitoring, contacts with banks or local authorities, etc. Often, a general administrator is based in the capital of the country. It then serves as support for the administrative logisticians who work on the different sites.
SKILLS
Responsive and rigorous
All missions are different. In certain countries, it is necessary to replace banks or financiers of international emergency programs such as the UN. In other cases, an overabundance of financial funds must be managed. As information from the field constantly evolves the mission, the humanitarian administrator must know how to adapt, take initiatives and decisions, sometimes in haste. As with any accountant, honesty and rigor are expected of him in budget management.
A teacher who listens
Management techniques, project monitoring, logistics... The administrator often takes charge of the training of his assistants recruited on site - called "locals" until they in turn become autonomous. Listening, patience, mastery of the language and knowledge of cultural practices are all assets to fulfill this role.
Nature of the work
Emergency management
The administrator is the financial right arm of the head of humanitarian mission. It is up to him to prepare budgets and cash flow plans. When an organization decides to take action and the head of mission has defined the concrete objectives, he can finally intervene. He distributes funds across different sites and between teams. It determines how, and at what rate, the money will be spent. Is the situation unstable? Priorities are adjusted in agreement with the head of mission. As an emergency accountant, the administrator can manage large budgets and teams of 300 to 500 people.
Accounting and formalities
Every day, the administrator recruits and manages on-site staff, signs warehouse or truck rental contracts, monitors equipment purchases, and pays invoices and salaries. It is also up to him to sort out the administrative formalities concerning expatriate professionals. The administrator keeps the accounts, records expenses and revenues. He regularly writes financial reports for contributors or patrons and for the headquarters of his non-governmental organization (NGO).
Training to enter the profession
NGOs are recruiting as a priority