What is it like to work in a humanitarian organization?
- Page updated onJuly 31, 2026
Many people interested in pursuing a career in international cooperation or humanitarian action are unaware of the inner workings of the organizations with which they might work.
It is important to understand how they are similar and how they differ. These particularities are not only reflected in their identity and mission, but also determine how professional functions are distributed and performed within each one. This can greatly condition the experience of each of the people who work in them.
Table of contents:
What functions exist within a humanitarian organization?
Despite the major differences that exist between humanitarian organisations, all of them have staff covering essential functions. The difference sometimes lies in the number of people dedicated to these functions and their level of specialisation, as well as the way these functions are distributed across departments, the weight given to each of them, and how they relate to and collaborate with one another.
Technical and programmatic functions
Arguably, the core of any humanitarian organization is everything related to interventions in the field. This includes the context analysis and the design, implementation and monitoring of projects.
These functions are usually performed jointly by multidisciplinary teams. In organizations with a mission or mandate related to health, these teams include technical profiles more or less specialized in public health, sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, mental health, epidemiology, water and sanitation, or health and hygiene promotion, among other areas. Likewise, in these multidisciplinary teams, the technical staff works hand in hand with specialists in different fields related to project management, advocacy, and monitoring, evaluation and learning, for example.
The relevance of humanitarian interventions, their basis in the best available scientific evidence and lessons learned, their adaptation to the context and their alignment with the priorities and technical standards set by the humanitarian system as a whole depend on these teams.
Support functions
Project execution, however, is not possible without other indispensable functions, which support and guarantee the availability of resources, among other things. These include, for example, the following:
- Administration and finance, from where they handle everything related to accounting, budgeting, expense and income control and auditing.
- Marketing and fundraising, from where the branding and marketing strategy is directed, alliances are established with companies and private donors, and the collaboration of individuals who wish to donate or become members is sought.
- Communication, to let the general public know what we do and why we do it, either for awareness-raising or fundraising purposes.
- Personnel, to find, develop and keep the talent the organization needs.
- General Services, including information, courier, security, maintenance, cleaning, etc.
- Systems, for everything related to computer equipment, telecommunications, data security and digital tools.
- Logistics, including responsibilities related to purchasing and procurement, vehicle management, storage, stock, product distribution, and even security management, for example.
Strategic and governance functions
Finally, there is a third group of very varied functions that define the overall direction of the organization and lead the making of many key decisions.
The people who perform these functions are often the ones who make the difficult final decision on where to intervene and how to maintain the direction of the organization, its mission, values and principles in the face of threats and adversities. In addition, from these positions, at different levels, institutional relations with authorities, donors and other actors are often led. In many cases, the umbrella of these functions also includes the definition of important internal policies, such as those related to gender equality, transversalization of protection, localization, transparency and accountability, or environmental protection.
No two humanitarian organizations are alike
It is logical to understand that, although many of these functions are necessary in any type of humanitarian organization, there are enormous disparities in how they are distributed and coordinated. On other occasions, the differences in day-to-day work are determined, in large part, by the organization's identity.
In large organizations there is often greater specialization and functional difference between geographic levels
A small organization working in a small geographic area is not the same as a large NGO or agency working in multiple countries or forming part of an international network with common coordination mechanisms. The more staff there are, the more specialized the functions tend to be, whereas small organizations require a high degree of versatility.
Likewise, the work of the pediatrician who attends patients in mobile clinics is not the same as that of the pediatrician who provides support to teams in five provinces from the country's capital to guarantee technical standards, or the pediatrician who leads the development and implementation of technical guidelines or provides technical advice to her colleagues when they need it, for example. Although they share the same professional base, each of these people performs completely different functions (all complementary and necessary) that depend on how they are distributed according to an organizational model.
The degree of decentralization and the form of collaboration with other entities is also a determining factor
In organizations with centralized structures, many key decisions are made only at the highest hierarchical levels. However, when organizational models are more decentralized, autonomy and responsibility in decision making tends to increase, which may require professional profiles with greater experience and capacity.
In addition, the experience of each professional may also vary depending on the working dynamics with other partner organizations. For example, when the direct implementation of activities is delegated to other actors working in consortium or alliance, the technical functions may become more of a supervisory, coordination or institutional strengthening role.
There are a great many differences between organizations, which are worth knowing
The diversity of humanitarian actors and organizations is vast. For this reason, the diversity of professional experiences within them is also vast. To a large extent, some differences may be shaped by:
- The type of organization it is: a United Nations agency is not the same as an NGO.
- Its mission, vision, principles, and values.
- The historical moment and circumstances that gave rise to its origin.
- The confessional or non-confessional character of the organization.
- Its funding model and level of dependence on governmental donors. In many organizations, much of the work is tied to preparing project proposals, seeking funding to be able to implement them, and reporting back to donors.
- Its technical area or areas of specialization. There are multisectoral organizations and others that specialize in a single sector or even a specific topic within a sector.
- Its more relief-focused, humanitarian, or development-cooperation approach.
- Its level of professionalization.
In addition to these issues and many others, it must also be understood that humanitarian organizations are not static. There are major differences between the experience of working in an organization at a time when it is expanding and growing, and during a stage of financial contraction and closure of operations.
How to cite this page
Abarca, B. (July 31, 2026). What is it like to work in a humanitarian organization?. Salud Everywhere. https://saludeverywhere.com/en/humanitarian-careers/working-humanitarian-organization/