Impactpool Career Podcast

In this episode, we had the opportunity to talk to Maudo Jallow, currently working at the Tony Blair Institute alongside the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Accra, Ghana. Maudo is a young professional that has worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)...

Michelle Walker is the People Business Partner for International at Leonard Cheshire in London. Michelle has a long-standing experience working in human resources. In this episode, Michelle explains the impact their organization has while working with people experiencing some form of disability, how they ensure that their workplace is inclusive, and how it all once began. - We are a pan-disability...

Alexander Hauerslev Jensen is the Chief, Commercial Officer at Be my Eyes in Denmark. Be my Eyes is a mobile app that is bringing sight to blind and low-vision people. In this episode, Alexander explains how Be my Eyes works and the background to why it was initiated. - And people really want to help out and I think it’s beautiful to see that in a world where news and all politics can be slightly...

Niels Lohmann is the Team Lead Capacity Development at UNV in Bonn. Niels has worked with human resources and in particular with aspects facing persons with disabilities for a long time. In this episode, he explains what the role of UNV is, and how they ensure that persons with disabilities are included in recruitment processes. - Around the theme of inclusion and disability, so that is specifical...

Marko Vuoriheimo is the founder and CEO of Chabla in Finland. Chabla is a mobile app that allows deaf to make and receive phone calls through an interpreter. In this episode, Marko explains how Chabla works and the background to why he started it. Marko is using sign language and the voice we hear in the podcast is the translator’s. - Just spontaneously want to go to a bank and discuss with somebo...

Rohit Kakar is the Head of Human Resources at Kiron in Berlin. Rohit has longstanding experience in working with human resources. In this episode, he explains how Kiron helps refugees to have access to higher education, and how his own background has inspired him to join this field of work. - What we actually believe in is that education can change lives, transform communities and build bridges an...

Lizzie Merrill is the Chief, Operating Officer at Ignitia in Ghana. Lizzie has extensive experience in working with both aid organizations as well as social enterprises. In this episode, she explains how her work helps small scale farmers improve their farming capacities, what it’s like to work with a social enterprise, and how to develop a successful innovation project. - So when I learned about...

Lisa Akero is the Gender and Diversity Coordinator at IFRC in Geneva. Lisa has extensive experience in working with gender and diversity issues. In this episode, she explains how her work ensures a gender and diversity perspective in all emergencies, what it’s like to work with gender and diversity, and why she ended up in that field in the first place. - I find it extremely important and very ver...

Marta Aretakis Terne is the Head of Marketing and Communication at Better Shelter in Sweden. Marta has a longstanding experience in Marketing and Communication. In this episode, she explains how her work has helped displaced persons receive a good shelter, what it’s like to work with a social enterprise, and how to develop a successful innovation project. - So we are the innovators and our role is...

Robert Piper is the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Development Coordination Office in New York. Robert has a longstanding experience in international development, humanitarian response and peacebuilding at the United Nations. In this episode, he explains the role of the UN Development Coordination Office, the background to the Talent roster and what kind of profiles he is lookin...

Annika Sandlund is the Chief, Interagency and Coordination Unit at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees headquarter in Geneva. Annika has extensive experience and has been working with refugees in many different countries and in different geographical regions. In this episode, she explains how her work has helped the lives of refugees, what’s it like to work with a humanitarian organi...

Marylene Wamukoya is the Senior Data Analyst at the Africa Population Health Research Center in Kenya. Marylene has extensive experience working in demographics, health and poverty dynamics research in Africa. In this episode, she explains how research are used, how it has had a positive impact o the African continent, and why she chose to become a researcher in the field of development. - To tran...

Comfort Lamptey is UN Women’s Country Representative in Nigeria. Comfort has spent most of her professional life working on gender issues. In this episode, she explains how her interest in promoting gender equality started out of curiosity of where all the women were, how she sees the necessity to transform societies, and what helped her to move all the way to a top position within the UN. - I had...

Sandra Kukla is the Reporting Specialist at the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan in Kabul. Sandra moved from working in the private sector to the field of international development and a job in Afghanistan. In this episode, she explains why and how she made that shift in her career, what she find as most rewarding about working in the global impact sector, and what it’s like to be a woman working...

Jaime Castaneda is the Global Emergency Specialist at the Danish Refugee Council. The position is part of DRC:s emergency team and is roving. Jamie has extensive experience working in emergencies. In this episode, he describes the tasks that lies ahead when arriving at the frontline, his background that has prepared him for that kind of job, and which skills that are needed if one wants to work at...

Episode 2: Making an impact – what is Program staff doing? Sofie Liesker is the Head of Program Support Unit at the Norwegian Refugee Council in Lebanon. Sofie has extensive experience working in the humanitarian sector. In this episode, she describes the role of programming staff, what its like to work in a humanitarian operation, and also gives some advice on how to get the first job in the glob...

Episode 1: Making an impact – why a podcast? Impactpool’s podcast is now being re-launched with the title “Making an impact”. In this first episode, Impactpool’s founders Magnus Bucht and Henrik Rydén provides an explanatory introduction to the podcast. The podcast’s background, purpose, and its importance will be explained. - If you know what you are applying for and you understand the context of...

Vivian Van de Perre is Chief Of Staff at the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic - MINUSCA. She talks about what is appealing in serving in the UN field missions and about her role as CHIEF of STAFF. She shares career tips and advice for people with private sector profile that would like to start a career with the UN.

Carsten Olsen is Finance and Budget Officer at MINUSCA - Bangui. In this interview Carsten shares his 26 years of experience working at the UN, skills and competences that have attributed to his success and explains what does it mean to work with Finance and Budget section in the United Nations in the field.

Listen to the career story of an Italian who grew up in the UK, and has gone from being a EU lobbyist via jobs in different NGOs all over the world, to where he is today as the Head of Operations for NRC in Amman, Jordan. Carlo Gherardi will share how he has grown both professionally and personally during his assignments and you will get excellent insider tips about the skills he is looking for wh...

In this episode you will meet Becky Bakr Abdulla, Media Coordinator in Iraq at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Listening to this episode will really give you an understanding of the importance of communications and what it means to be working in a conflict situation for an international organization such as the NRC. Becky Bakr Abdulla, a 27-year old from Oslo, Norway, is in the beginning of h...

In this episode we interview an interesting person with enormous experience from different UN organizations. Currently, she is the Human Resources Director for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Don’t miss out on a great learning opportunity! In this podcast Cornelia Moussa, HR Director from WIPO, talks about the very specific work environment in the development sector, like how...

She has moved up the career ladder from intern to senior policy officer. Now Sonia Peña at IUCN is crafting the important messages to influence governments all over the world to take action to conserve our precious planet. ”We are realizing that we are losing much more species than we anticipated in the past. The rate of biodiversity loss is accelerating really enormously. We need to do something...

Meet Jens Behrendt, the Deputy HR Director at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE. In this episode he shares excellent career advice and personal stories from working in various organizations and places around the world, such as being taken hostage in Ghana. “Sometimes you’re walking a thin line. But it did not change my commitment or determination to work for internatio...

She moved from commercial banking into the international development world. In this episode we talk to Ann Rennie, responsible for human resources and one of the Deputy Director Generals for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). “I kind of fell into banking, but then I always was missing something. There was something that wasn’t there”, says Ann Rennie. She has had executive roles at the World Bank,...