In brief: Jersey Overseas Aid is inviting applications for its Programme Associate Placement, an 18-month paid scheme giving Islanders a route into humanitarian and international development work. The placement spans time in Jersey, at CAFOD in London, and at an overseas programme location. Applications close at 5pm on Sunday 1 November, with a January start date.
What the Scheme Involves
For Islanders who have ever wondered how to break into the notoriously difficult world of international development, Jersey Overseas Aid may have the answer. The Jersey Evening Post reports that JOA is now seeking applicants for its Programme Associate Placement, a paid 18-month position that takes participants through three distinct phases: time working in Jersey, a stint at the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) in London, and a deployment on one of JOA’s overseas programmes.
Previous overseas destinations have included Tanzania, Uganda and Bangladesh, giving participants genuine field experience rather than the kind of desk-bound introduction that characterises many graduate schemes. The programme is open to recent graduates and career changers who are Jersey residents, with a start date in January.
What Alumni Say
The proof of any scheme is in what happens afterwards, and the JOA placement has a track record worth noting. Alumni have gone on to work at the United Nations, government aid agencies, and the David Nott Foundation.
Richard Crane, who completed the 2024 to 2025 placement, is now senior programme officer at the David Nott Foundation. “Experience that might have taken a decade to build, I’ve been able to gain in a fraction of the time,” he said. “It’s a role I couldn’t have imagined when I first applied to JOA, and without JOA’s belief and investment in me, I simply wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Faye Coggins, who joined the scheme in 2019 to 2020 as the third participant, described it as having “provided a strong foundation” for her career. She went on to work for UNHCR in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, the location of the world’s largest refugee camp.
What Partner Organisations Say
The organisations that host participants are equally enthusiastic. Tony Hopkins, head of programme development and funding at HelpAge International UK, said the charity had hosted five Islanders who “have consistently brought strong skills, enthusiasm, and fresh perspectives, while making a valuable contribution to our work.” He added: “We only wish more donor organisations would follow JOA’s lead.”
John Birchenough, head of Integrated Funding and Business Innovation at CAFOD, called the programme “a wonderful opportunity to enable young people, or anyone looking for a career change, to develop key skills to launch a career in international development which is often challenging to access.”
That last point is worth dwelling on. International development is a sector where unpaid internships and the need for prior field experience create a frustrating catch-22 for newcomers. A paid placement that delivers both London office experience and overseas fieldwork in a single package is genuinely unusual, and the endorsement from established organisations such as HelpAge and CAFOD suggests the programme carries real weight in the sector.
Applications are open until 5pm on Sunday 1 November. Interested Jersey residents can apply through Jersey Overseas Aid directly.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
