Impactpool Career Podcast

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 looking for.

- Working with the United Nations is an incredible privilege and it is a badge of honour to be part of the UN and it comes with a set of values. So, I think you join the UN in whatever capacity whether you are a peacekeeper, a development coordinator like me, or a humanitarian you join the UN with a passion for what it represents, says Robert Piper.

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 organization, and why she got into that field in the first place.

- As a journalist I went to the Balkans to report from the wars at the Balkans, and I was quite disillusioned. I was relatively young and I had this idea that the world would be a better place if people just knew and understood what the problems were and if they agreed on how to see the world and everybody would also agree on how to solve the problems such as wars, says Annika Sandlund.

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 transform lives in Africa through research, and then I realized that I also aligns my own personal kind of goal, which is that if I leave anyone behind I will be leaving myself behind. So I found this to be a great conduce through which both I and africans can grow and I can make an impact through my work.

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 been working in an organization that was responsible for process of conflict resolution, mediation, preventive diplomacy, and I was very struck as a very young professional and I was very excited by this field, which was an evolving field. But after about a year I just began ask myself certain questions because I did not see a lot of women involved in the work we were doing, says Comfort Lamptey.

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 in Afghanistan.

- Knowing that you have an immediate impact on the lives of many Afghans, thousands of Afghans is not only rewarding but definitely motivating. So, I really enjoy my work here, says Sandra Kukla.

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 the frontline.

- In the beginning of the year I was deployed to Bangladesh in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis. I participated in setting up the new country operation, because it is a new operation for the Danish Refugee Council, and I was specifically in charge of designing the emergency prepare and response plan for the upcoming cyclone season. So basically, I had a team of engineers who were working in the largest refugee camp in the world. Trying to set up bridges, trying to set up retention walls, setting up pathways, identify safe evacuation areas in case of a strong cyclone and therefore landslides and flooding, says Jaime Castaneda.

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 global impact sector.

- I think that Lebanon might be one of the few places in the world in the humanitarian sector where you can actually work so close to a crisis and really work in a country office where you actively deliver services to vulnerable people and at the same time get to live in a place that is not as stressful and remote as many other of the locations humanitarian workers find themselves in, says Sofie Liesker.

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 the organizations then it will be a higher chance that you will be lucky in your new role. So this podcast will help you to better understand the whole sector, says Henrik Rydén.

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.