Job Searches in International Public Health

Compiled by Ray Martin, Executive Director, Christian Connections for International Health, Nov. 2006

The purpose of this listing is help job seekers in international health. Feel free to pass it on to others. Please send corrections, additions, or suggestions to enhance this compilation for the benefit of future job seekers to MartinRS@aol.com.

Getting jobs in international health, even with good academic credentials but limited experience, requires a lot of work. It pays to research and contact a lot of potential employers. Spend a lot of time on the Internet. Networking is key. Personal follow up and sending email messages, letters, and resumes, is important. Use your personal contacts. With limited experience, NGOs are the easiest place to start. Overseas posts come easier than jobs in the US. Agencies that deal with refugees and disaster relief are often promising for newcomers. (Useful book: Finding Work in Global Health by Osborn and Ohmans, available on amazon.com)

1. A rich trove of information about 565 Private and Voluntary Organizations registered with USAID, many of which recruit professionals or provide internships in international health, can be found online at http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/private_voluntary_cooperation/pub.html. Check specifically the 182-page 2006 VolAg report listing agencies engaged in overseas relief and development.

2. CORE, a coalition of NGO recipients of USAID child survival grants, provides information for both consultant job seekers and recruiters at http://www.childsurvival.com/tools/consultants_db.cfm.

3. The Global Health Council Career Network at http://www.globalhealth.org/jobs/ describes scores of positions. GHC members can post their resumes online. Their Career Connection job fair at their annual May conference in the Washington, DC area brings over 50 employing organizations. Two good investments are buying their Global Health Directory and Global AIDS Directory. Each costs $25 for GHC members and $50 for non-members. Email awelch@globalhealth.org and ask for a weekly email of job offerings. Tel (202) 833-5900.

4. The Public Health Employment Connection of the American Schools of Public Health Employment Council, maintained by Emory SPH, is exceptionally rich, containing hundreds of current job openings in domestic and international health. Go to: http://cfusion.sph.emory.edu/PHEC/phec.cfm.

5. Two useful publications, Mission Handbook 2004-2006, a directory of 1000 mission agencies, and Essential Guide to Short Term Mission Trips can be obtained from World Vision Resources, 800 E. Chestnut Ave., Monrovia, CA 91016. Tel. 1-800-777-7752. Online purchase at http://www.worldvisionresources.com costs $39.96 and $11.96 respectively.

6. The Publications Department, InterAction, 1717 Massachusetts, NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036 has several valuable resources. E-mail: publications@interaction.org. Phone: (202) 667-8227. Or go to http://www.interaction.org/jobs/index.html to obtain a) InterAction Member Profiles 2004-2005 with information on 160 US-based non-profits working internationally, b) Monday Developments, lists jobs, c) Global Work, lists volunteer, internship or fellowship opportunities, and d) InterAction Weekly Email Job Announcements. http://www.interaction.org/volunteer.html has linkages listing international volunteer opportunities.

7. The American Public Health Association CareerMart lists scores of jobs, mostly domestic, at http://www.apha.org/career/. You can post your resume and search for listed jobs online. Phone CareerMart coordinator at (202) 777-2742. Their November annual meeting is great to seek jobs.

8. Public Health Jobs Worldwide, P.O. Box 6729, Charlottesville, VA 22906, publishes a bi-weekly newspaper listing over 500 jobs in the U.S. and overseas. Their website at http://www.jobspublichealth.com provides free access to many of these public health openings. Tel 800-291-4618.

9. The American Medical Students Association, 1902 Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091. Tel. (703) 620-6600 lists many opportunities at http://www.amsa.org (click on both “Global Health” and “Projects and Resources”). Also check Global Health Education Consortium, http://www.globalhealth-ec.org, click on “Resources.”

10. International Opportunities: A Career Guide for Students lists internships and job opportunities with NGOs, the US Government, UN, private sector, and educational institutions. Cost $15.00. In the U.S. call 1-800-962-8061. Order online by searching for the title at http://creativeworks.byu.edu/catalog/index.php.

11. A few of the thousands of volunteer, short-term Christian medical assignments can be found at http://www.cmds.org, http://www.internationalaid.org, http://www.mercyandtruth.com, http://www.amginternational.org, http://www.blessing.org, or International Messengers: (800)-243-6763.

12. USAID has a few career positions in the New Entry Professional program. Go to http://www.usaid.gov, click on “careers.” Many jobs are available at scores of USAID-funded agencies. There is no central clearinghouse for such positions.

13. Many non-profits are listed in Voluntary Foreign Aid Programs (No. 1 above)

14. The World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org, and the projects it finances, employ many mid-level health consultants. There is no central point to get information. Networking with the relevant offices is required.

15. The Association of Schools of Public Health, http://www.asph.org, job information service for students in public health has dozens of listings. Click on “Employment & Training.” See listings, many academic jobs, and subscribe to an email job notification service at http://www.publichealthjobs.net.

16. For hundreds of current job openings in international relief and humanitarian assistance, including health, go to Relief Web, Humanitarian Vacancies, at http://www.reliefweb.int/vacancies, a site maintained by the UN. You can also subscribe to a weekly email giving over a hundred new openings.

17. For openings listed by The Communication Initiative on The Drum Beat, go to http://www.comminit.com/vacancies.html and do a search on “health.”

18. Check http://www.idealist.org for a listing of thousands of jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities in health and other sectors in 153 countries.

19. The Catholic Network of Volunteer Service http://www.cnvs.org lists thousands of volunteer opportunities. Click on “Search all volunteer opportunities.”

20. Bruce Carr, has compiled a directory of information resources about planning short-term medical and health missions, including an annotated listing of sponsoring organizations, sources of supplies, books, websites, and other information regarding overseas short-term mission trips. Go to: http://www.helpingoverseasdirectory.org.

21. http://mfinder.org/ is a rich website of hundreds of opportunities for short-term health and medical missions, mostly Christian, plus links with many other websites on short-term missions.

22. For names and websites of 88 organizations which employ international health professionals, click here.