The Impact Consulting Podcast

On this episode of the Impact Consulting Podcast, Molly is joined by Faith D. Toran, a Communication Specialist, Environmentalist, Academic, Author and poet. We discuss how Faith's career trajectory and how even though Faith is new to consulting, she is exploring the option because she sees it as a route to:

Who will benefit most from this episode?

About Faith

Among Faith's honours and awards are fellowships from the Margaret Gada Sloesberg Foundation and The Walton/UNCF Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship. A graduate of the American University of Paris, class of 2018, she received a Master's of Arts in Global Communications (Development track). In 2013, she received her Bachelors in Political Science from Spelman College, and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, having served in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Over the past seven years, her professional experiences have covered working in Communication for Development (C4D) and Project management in the US, Burkina Faso, France, India and Guinea with specialised technical knowledge of Communications for Development (C4D) project design, implementation and management. Communication for Development (C4D) – is, at its very essence, about understanding the needs of communities and individuals to develop context-specific people-centred solutions aiming to overcome challenges.

Faith completed a sustainable development field mission in Burkina Faso with The United States Peace Corps, conducted research on, designed and implemented communication plans with the World Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) Association in France, conducted an impact study on the effectiveness of participatory frameworks within waste management programs in rural India, managed communications for the Relaunch of the International Association for National Youth Service in France and served as C4D Specialist on a UN Climate Adaptation and Resilience project in Upper Guinea.

Consultant, freelancer, facilitator, small business owner, contractor - all these terms carry different meanings. How do your fellow ICHubbers define themselves?

In the previous episode of the Impact Consulting Podcast, we took a theoretical approach to define the term 'consultant'. Did you miss it? Check it out here.

It's one thing to know the definition and entirely another to know which term to use in the real world. Why? Well, all of these terms carry different connotations, both positive and negative. For example, telling someone you are a 'freelancer' brings different images to mind than saying you're a 'consultant'. Additionally, the context can greatly influence your choice of label. The international development sector is more familiar with consultants, while social enterprises might be more accustomed to working with freelancers.

With so many different considerations, many ICHubbers have trouble choosing the perfect term to define themselves. In this episode, we explain why we've chosen the terms that we use (spoiler alert, the perfect term doesn't exist and often, the choice of term is context-specific).

We also put the question to ICHubbers! Nancy Beryl Okiri, Barbara Joannon, Jennifer Ruthe, Gabriella Mikiewicz, Luciana Capuano Mascarenhas, and Magdalena Mactas share their insights.

If you've ever struggled to give yourself a label, this is the episode for you!

Hello and welcome to the Impact Consulting Podcast!

Today, we're talking all about what we and other IC-Hubbers mean when we say we're "consultants".

... Which is not terribly different from the way we define ourselves.

But we also know that the definition has been stretched and expanded in the international development and social impact spaces. It can now refer to anyone who is contracted as a self-employed worker by an organisation. It can also refer to "contractors" and workers who are nominally freelancing but in reality work for one client, nine-to-five, with a fixed place of work (we're looking at you, UN agencies!).

We talk through these different meanings and what we mean by the term.

We're also delighted to share with you what some of our IC-Hubbers think and what they call themselves.

Thank you for tuning in and look out for the next episode about how you should describe your position and services as an independent social impact professional!

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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Impact Consulting Podcast, a show that shares insights into the world of consulting in the international development and social impact spaces.

Today I’m joined by Hannah Plumb, who shares her journey as an independent consultant who specialises in labour migration, responsible recruitment and human rights.

About Hannah

Hannah began her career with the Australian Government where she worked on a variety of human rights policy issues and Australia’s regional aid programme. In 2015, Hannah moved to Vietnam to work for the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Hannah later moved to IOM’s headquarters in Geneva where she worked on a global project dedicated to promoting the responsible recruitment of migrant workers. Hannah led IOM’s capacity-building efforts and developed a variety of tools, resources and training programmes on responsible recruitment for labour recruiters, employers, brands and IOM staff.

Hannah's freelancing journey

Hannah’s freelance journey began about 16 months ago when she moved back to her hometown, Adelaide. While she mostly works independently, Hannah is also a member of the Research and Communications Group, which is a small, specialised consultancy company committed to improving social development outcomes. When she’s not working, Hannah lives up to the stereotypical image of Australians, and can be found at her local beach (something that I was very jealous about whilst recording this from rainy Britain).

Hannah’s done a fantastic job of transitioning from an in-house role to the world of consulting back in her home country. We talk about:

If you’re interested in learning from consultants like Hannah, you’re more than welcome to join us at the IC-Hub.

Without further ado, thank you so much for listening and we hope you enjoy the show.

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In this episode, Molly interviews Katrina Sanyal, who describes her freelancing journey and her decision to operate under the brand name, Uncharted Territory Consulting. We cover a wide range of issues that freelancers face, including:

This episode is especially useful for you creative people out there who are looking to build a consultancy that aligns with your values and that allows you to spend more time doing what you love.

— Sheryl Sandberg

About Katrina:

Katrina is a storyteller, facilitator, and artist based in India and the US, and the founder of Uncharted Territory Consulting. She has performed globally in India, South Africa, Thailand, Japan, and the United States. As a facilitator, Katrina has worked with diverse communities around the world including entrepreneurs, social sector leaders, students, teachers, immigrants, and domestic violence survivors.

Over the past 10 years, she has held leadership positions in international and study abroad education at Princeton University’s Bridge Year Program, and Kodaikanal International School. She has also served on the leadership team of the American India Foundation (AIF) and directed the AIF Clinton Fellowship for three years.

Through her storytelling work, she helps individuals, communities, and companies navigate the possibility and potential of the unknown through story. The philosophy of her work is that stories are what connect us, and storytelling empowers us to lead more meaningful lives.

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Hello and welcome back to the Impact Consulting Podcast, with me your host Loksan Harley. Today we have my friend and IC-Hub member, Paddy Siyanga Knudsen, with us to talk us through her many years dipping in and out of freelancing  throughout her career as a development economist and migration specialist.

About Paddy

Paddy Siyanga Knudsen, originally from Zambia, has over 16 years of professional experience as a Development Economist and Migration expert. Her work covers migration governance, regional integration and public finance management. Her experience spans supporting NGOs, governments, Regional Economic Communities, and UN agencies in programme formulation, implementation as well as monitoring and evaluation.

She has lived and worked (often as a freelancer) in Zambia, Tanzania, China, Malaysia and with countless missions to many other countries. She is currently based in Kosovo and exploring new areas of work in the Balkans and Europe. She is also the co-founder of PFM Enthusiasts and serves on the advisory boards of Public Finance by Women and the Global Research Forum for Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT). Finally, Paddy is mother of two children - two adorable children as I can testify.

Paddy has been freelancing on and off for a while now in various parts of Africa, Asia, and now from Kosovo. And I’m always blown away by the number of projects - both consulting projects and voluntary or self-started initiatives - that Paddy has on-the-go at any one time, as well as her commitment to continuously developing her skills.

What we talk about

In our wide-ranging conversation, we cover many topics that are so important to freelancers like us, such as:

If you’ve enjoyed hearing Paddy’s journey and want to connect with her and likeminded freelance consultants, you’re more than welcome to join us here at the IC-Hub.

Without further ado, thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoy the show.

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Hello and welcome to another episode of the Impact Consulting Podcast, with me your host Loksan Harley. Today I’m joined by Caroline Paoli who shares her impact consulting journey.

Caroline Paoli is a humanitarian professional with over ten years of experience in NGO headquarters as well as in the field, in human resources management and operational coordination. She is an investigator, trainer and consultant in safeguarding and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence. She works with local and international NGOs.

After completing her studies in human resources management at a French business school, Caroline worked mostly in HR for the first part of her career. From 2014 to 2018 she then managed operational teams in the field as a project manager and field coordinator for a humanitarian organisation in Jordan, Iraq and Yemen. As a manager, she had to deal with complex and sensitive situations, including cases of power abuse and sexual violence.

Transitioning from humanitarian staffer to freelancing

Two years ago, she decided to switch to supporting organizations as a consultant as she felt that it would better enable her to participate in improving practices in the humanitarian sector. She first collaborated with an HR consulting firm specialised in delivering services to NGOs, and more recently decided to venture out on her own and specialise in safeguarding and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence. She created CaPa Solutions for tjhis purpose in 2019, which supports humanitarian organizations in the development and improvement of their safeguarding tools and practices (PSEAH policy, investigation guidelines, staff awareness module…), and in the management of internal investigations. She is also a trainer at IFAID and Bioforce institutes in France.

Consulting opportunities & challenges and dealing with the "imposter syndrome"

I really enjoyed interviewing Caroline and I think Caroline also found it useful to reflect on her consulting journey, the challenges that she’s overcome so brilliantly, and the opportunities that she’s seized. We talk about how she transitioned from a large humanitarian organisation to the freelancing world, some of her likes and dislikes about freelancing, how she is addressing challenges like independent working, how she prices her work, and how she’s addressed issues like the “imposter syndrome” that so many of us freelancers go experience.

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In this episode, Molly is joined by Anjali Balakrishna to share her consulting journey. Specifically, we discuss:

About Anjali:

Anjali is a strategist and designer that loves to explore big ideas, find solutions, and build teams and systems to execute on them. As a person and a professional, Anjali is on a mission to build a more sustainable and equitable world where humanity and nature can thrive together.

Anjali is currently splitting her time working as the Program Director of COVID Collaborative, a national assembly of the nation’s leading experts in public health, education and the economy working to support state and local leaders and vulnerable communities in tackling the COVID-19 crisis, and as the Project Manager for Black Fox Philanthropy, a fundraising consulting firm serving diverse NGO clients across the country and around the world. She is also proudly supporting her parents by managing their education business when it went virtual during COVID.

Prior to taking on these roles, Anjali spent 10 months in India serving as the Chief of Staff for Frontier Markets, a social enterprise focused on empowering rural communities and rural women through a facilitated e-commerce model. Her time in India was sponsored through the American India Foundation William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service in India, which places social sector professionals with organizations to support capacity building initiatives. Before India, Anjali served as the Vice President of Innovation at The Future Project, a New York-based education non-profit, where she oversaw the organization’s program design and development efforts. She is thrilled to be part of the Black Fox Philanthropy team, where she brings together her for-profit and non-profit experiences building a strong, impact-oriented business that can fortify NGOs around the world.

Anjali holds a BA in American Studies with Distinction from Yale University, where she studied the role civic institutions—such as schools—played in shaping the American cultural experience. She currently lives in Nashville, TN with her partner and boisterous husky shepherd mix, Sidney.

Links

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Hello, and you’re listening to another episode of the Impact Consulting Podcast with me your host, Loksan Harley. Today I’m joined by Sophie Zinser to share her freelance consulting journey.

Sophie Zinser is a policy analyst and consultant focusing on forced labour and China's role in the Middle East, South and Central Asia. She has worked with refugees and migrants on developing community-focused policy solutions for five years across the Middle East and Asia. A 2018 Fulbright Research Fellow, 2020 Schwarzman Scholar in Beijing, and incoming Chatham House Fellow in London, Sophie is currently consulting in Hong Kong.

I had a great chat with Sophie whose experience gives us some particularly useful lessons learned for how young professionals can get started in consulting.

We talk about:

If you’ve enjoyed listening to Sophie and feel inspired to learn more about freelancing, feel free to join us here at the IC-Hub, where we offer free advice and a community of mutual support and networking to future, new and existing freelance consultants in the social impact and international development spaces.

Without further ado, thank you so much for listening and we hope you enjoy the show.

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Hi, this is Molly. Last year, I attended a Bond conference in London and sat down at a random table. You never know who you're going to meet at these conferences, but this time, I won the jackpot. I found myself chatting with Jennifer Ruthe, who has an impressive track record helping social impact organisations present their stories to gain support, inspire action, and get funding.

Since that fateful conference, we've kept in touch, sharing experiences about freelancing and the social impact sector. We even launched a series of articles to help social impact organisations raise funds, Step change: a roadmap for new fundraisers. Jen has a remarkable way with words, and I'm continually impressed with her flair for communicating in a fun, digestible way.

For my first-ever episode as an interviewer on the Impact Consulting Podcast, I'm speaking with Jen, a senior professional turned charity copywriter and fundraising specialist. Jen began her career as a trust fundraiser. As the years progressed, she broadened her experience and worked on community, individual and corporate giving. She went freelance just over a year ago when she moved to Brussels with her husband (and cat). She loves her job and is always happy to share her skills and experience with others.

In this podcast, we cover Jen's journey, her reasons for making the switch to freelancing, and the pros and cons. She openly and honestly addresses the self-doubt that nags at many of us and shares some tips about reframing your mindset to tackle insecurities to make the most of your freelancing career.

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