Conditions to go on mission

Profile sought

Our teams : specialists engaged in the fight against hunger

Action contre la Faim is 120 employees and 21 volunteers, who work at the association’s HQ in Paris, as well as an average of 295 expatriates in the field. In collaboration with local staff, they carry out many programmes in the fields of nutrition, provision of water, sanitation, health and food security, in 18 countries (figures from the 2006 activities report).

Their mission : save and pass on their knowledge

Action contre la Faim intervenes in emergency situations. It considers it has accomplished its mission when people have recovered food autonomy, and are ready to take over activities already implemented. This is why volunteers attach the greatest importance to training and forming local teams.

Read the press file "A humanitarian worker can’t be improvised" (in French)

Criteria and conditions

Commit yourself to our missions

Action contre la Faim is a team of men and women working towards a single aim: to act effectively and concretely against an unacceptable scourge, the persistance of hunger in a world of abundance.
288 expatriates, together with 4031 local collaborators carry out the programmes of Action contre la Faim in 18 countries.

What are the selection criteria ?

Diplomas and experience :

Expatriates must master (training + a minimum of 2 years of professional experience /courses/volunteering) the implementation techniques proper to their speciality and be capable of training local teams.

Foreign languages :

Written and oral command of English is indispensable and use of another language (French, Spanish, Portuguese or other...) is most desirable.

Mind set :

Be capable of rapidly adapting to new living conditions, working as part of a team respecting the cultures of the host country, finally being highly motivated to carry out our humanitarian programmes.

Commitment :

Minimum availability of one year for all expatriates.

How to apply ?

Send a Curriculum Vitae accompanied by a covering letter to :

Action Contre la Faim
Recruitment Section
4, rue de Niepce
75014 PARIS
ou envoyer un mail

Integration and departure preparation for new recruits

Action contre la Faim lays particular stress on the preparation for departure of the new expatriates whom it recruits.

Thus, after your recruitment, and before you leave on your first mission with us, you will be asked to take part in a few weeks of general and technical training at the organization’s HQ.
This training will be followed by individual briefings at HQ, and at your arrival on mission.

The departure training offered to new recruits is carried out at HQ and divided into two distinct modules :

One general module lasting one week, covering all disciplines.

The main themes discussed during this week are :

humanitarian actors
ethics
the ACF Charter
analysis of contexts
identification of needs
team forming
security
stress management.

A module specific to each discipline, from one to two weeks.

Training for departure takes place practically every month and is carried out in English.

Moreover, during your missions with Action contre la Faim, it may be suggested that you take one or more of the regular training courses run by the organization :

« Middle level Management » training, one week, at HQ. This training course is mainly oriented around problems of team formation and programme monitoring.

« Top level Management » training, 7 days, at HQ. This is aimed at heads of mission and coordinators, and covers the following themes : team formation–mission strategy – coordination of projects and budgets – crisis management…

Self-training modules e-learning mono-thematic, on mission or at HQ.

Specific training in nutrition surveys.

Regional workshops covering themes linked to the intervention zone.

Humanitarianism in France

One young person out of three wants to commit to International Solidarity.

L’Institut Bioforce Développement (Bioforce Development Institute) and the main French NGOs encounter young people all over France to tell them about the realities of humanitarian action.