Jobs and Volunteering

Job Vacancies

Disasters Emergency Committee - Chief Executive  

Salary: £70,000-£90,000
 
This is a unique leadership role for an experienced humanitarian who can galvanise the UK’s major aid agencies, broadcasters and public when a major overseas disaster strikes.
 
Through your leadership of a small Secretariat team, and by enhancing and expanding an extraordinary range of partnerships, you will match and improve on our performance in the last two years which saw the DEC raise £250m for Haiti, Pakistan and East Africa.  Supporting a board comprised of the Chief Executives of the major UK aid agencies and independent experts you will help shape and agree our strategic objectives.    You must ensure the money we raise is spent efficiently and effectively and also transparently and accountably.  And the DEC must continue to use its unique position to enhance learning within the membership as well as sharing this across the wider humanitarian sector.  You must be able to represent the DEC and its membership at the highest levels across the sector, to governments and through the media.
 
This is a unique vacancy, and you would need to be able to react quickly to emergencies in order to galvanise the DEC team and its supporters. 
 
You will have:
 
  • Experience of leading complex organisations and managing senior staff
  • Knowledge/experience the international aid sector 
  • Understanding of issues relating to transparency and accountability in NGOs/INGOs and understanding of government particularly DfID
  • Knowledge and understanding of British broadcasting and media
  • Experience of building strong relationships within a complex multi-stakeholder environment
You must be a highly energetic and charismatic leader.
 
Interviews will be held on 4th April.
 
To apply for this position, to receive further particulars or for a further conversation, please visit:
 
Email: dec@heidrick.com
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7075 4079
 
The closing date for applications is noon 5th March 2012.
 
 

Volunteering

The DEC is an umbrella organisation raising money for its member charities and does not itself directly deliver aid overseas.  We cannot offer international volunteering opportunities.

In the UK

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) seeks volunteer administrators to work in our London office for one or more days a week to support members of staff in our donations, finance and appeals departments.

Volunteers should be able to commit themselves for a period of at least three months.

This is an excellent opportunity to gain valuable experience within the charity sector and learn about the administrative side of our work.

Computer skills are essential, as are good organisational skills. Any previous administrative or charity sector experience would also be useful.

Travel expenses within London will be reimbursed and a contribution given towards lunch costs.

To apply please download and complete the Volunteer Application Form and return it to:

DEC Volunteer Placements
Disasters Emergency Committee
1st Floor, 43 Chalton Street
London, NW1 1DU

Please note it may take us some time to review your application due to the high volume of applications we receive, however, all applications will be acknowledged within a two-week period.

There are also many opportunities to volunteer for work in our member agencies in the UK.

Overseas

Several UK-based organisations specialising in training or sending skilled volunteers to work on long-term assignments in developing countries.

REDR

RedR runs quality training courses, such as So You Think You Want to be a Relief Worker and Essentials of Humanitarian Practice, which can help anyone interested in volunteering overseas improve their skills and knowledge of the humanitarian sector. RedR also provides advice to potential new releif workers.

VSO

VSO is an international development charity that works using volunteers. Experienced professionals share their skills with local colleagues in some of the world's poorest communities, working together to find realistic solutions to the problems they face.

Alertnet

AlertNet provides global news, communications and logistics services to the international disaster relief community and the public. Reuters' 150 years' experience reporting from disaster zones around the world allows AlertNet to give disaster relief organisations fast, reliable information.

Reliefweb

ReliefWeb is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Information and advice about working or volunteering overseas in the developing world.