Frameworks and tools for navigating a career in international development and humanitarian work
The UN Inter-Agency Career Week 2026 ran 40 sessions across five days, with 33 organisations contributing. This toolkit is a curation of the most practical and reusable frameworks from those sessions, organised by a model of seven dimensions: two foundations that run continuously, and five stages that cycle as a career unfolds.
Career Navigation Model
Click on a dimension to find frameworks related to it.
Foundations
Dimension Core Question What It Covers Mindset Are you mentally and emotionally ready to navigate career change and uncertainty? Your internal operating state: confidence, resilience, self-awareness, adaptability, motivation, and the assumptions shaping your decisions. Capability What can you do today, and what capabilities are you intentionally developing? Your current skills, expertise, strengths, and the capabilities you are building to stay relevant and move toward future opportunities.
Stages
Dimension Core Question What It Covers Direction Where are you trying to go, and why? Your working hypothesis about the roles, sectors, environments, or type of work you want to move toward, and the reasoning behind those choices. Presence How do you present yourself to others? How you appear across CVs, LinkedIn, portfolios, conversations, interviews, and professional interactions — both online and offline. visibility How effectively do you see and access relevant opportunities? Your exposure to the market: networks, recruiters, communities, platforms, information channels, and your ability to spot opportunities early. choice Which opportunities deserve your time and energy? The evaluation and prioritisation process that helps you filter many possible opportunities into a smaller set worth pursuing seriously. pursuit How effectively do you convert opportunities into offers? The execution phase: applications, networking outreach, interviews, negotiation, follow-up, and the overall process from interest to outcome.
Get Involved
If you are navigating a career in this sector, this form opens three doors. Pick one, two, or all three.
- A 25-minute conversation about your own career navigation. Light-touch interviews to map where the friction actually is. Synthesis is shared with everyone who participates.
- Early-tester access to a separate AI tool I am building, designed to help you look beyond the pool of organisations you already know and identify the roles your skills translate into.
- A note when the tool opens publicly, with no further commitment.
Learn more in the About page.