Renewal: A New Era for International Development Professionals
2016 Annual Conference, May 9 - 10, 2016
Hellenic Meeting & Reception Centre, 1315 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario
| Session: | Marketing Yourself as a Development Professional |
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Speakers: |
Alan Robbins, Membership & Partnership, Partner and Global Head, Devex Paul LaRose-Edwards, Executive Director, CANADEM Gunter Rochow, Chairman, Capra International Inc. Derek Smith, President, DPS International |
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Objective: |
This session aims to help junior professionals or those contemplating a career change to: find a job or work as a consultant in international development, through various opportunities. Alan Robbins will serve as Chair, and will speak to the way the Devex supports its clients to find meaningful work in international development, keep abreast of key development issues and trends, and match partner organizations with qualified professionals. Paul LaRose-Edwards will speak of CANADEM assignments and mentoring opportunities available to Canadians in this field. Following their presentations, the resource people will be participate in small working groups for further discussion and advice to participants. They may also be available for one-on-one meetings, details to be announced at the conference. |
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Biography(ies): |
Alan Robbins, Membership & Partnership, Partner and Global Head, Devex
With a passion for mainstreaming development, Alan Robbins works with Devex members to help them do their work even m ore effectively - to Do Good and Do It Well. A member of the team that founded Devex in 2000, he serves the membership of more than 1,000 donor agencies, companies and NGOs around the world. In addition, he leads Devex's work in creating new and innovative partnerships with all types of development actors, from aid agencies to cor porations to NGOs and everything in between, and enjoys helping organizations find new and improved ways to impact development. Prior to Devex, Alan served as Deputy Director of the Executive Council on Diplomacy, a non-profit organization to foster understanding between the US government and civil society, and the foreign diplomatic community in Washington. He also spent brief stints in New Jersey politics and local government. He has a B.A. History and Political Science from Rutgers University and an M.A. International Affairs from George Washington University. Presentation: What Will the Next Generation of Development Professionals Look Like? Paul LaRose-Edwards, Executive Director, CANADEM  Paul founded CANADEM in 1996, and has been working in the international community for over 30 years. In a 1995-1996 study of UN field operations for Canadian Foreign Affairs, he recommended the creation of CANADEM, then set it up as an independent NGO. Apart from a leave of absence to be the UN OHCHR Representative in Jakarta, he has headed CANADEM ever since.
Prior to CANADEM he had worked in the international community for several decades. Most of his international service was in international human rights, dealing with the politics of advancing rights. With an LL.B. and LL.M. in international human rights law, Paul worked in a variety of missions and countries including Rwanda, Kosovo, Croatia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Indonesia and Afghanistan. He has been staff with NGOs such as Amnesty International, as well as on staff with the Canadian Government, the UN and the Commonwealth Secretariat. He was a consultant for an even larger grouping including the OSCE, EU and NATO. Paul’s last diplomatic post was as Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Indonesia, and for four years he was the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Head of Human Rights in London UK. A former Canadian Armoured Corps officer and Royal Military College graduate, he has and continues to do civilian-military work with various militaries including the Canadian Forces (Staff College, Peace Support Training Center); NATO civil-military training, doctrine and concept development; UK Staff College; and the US Naval War College. Presentation: Register with CANADEM Gunter Rochow, Chairman, Capra International Inc.
His work for the World Bank in Colombia has led to a Presidential Decree to apply labour adjustment process in some 165 governmental entities. He participated in an international team to assist post-Communist Russia in its transition to a market economy. In Brazil, he led competency development for some 300 occupational families to serve as a basis for curriculum development in Brazil’s national apprenticeship service (SENAI). In the area of evaluation, he led several global projects dealing with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, poverty reduction among the least developed countries through enhanced trade capacity, as well as, currently, a global evaluation in the area of public health, innovation and intellectual property. Presentation: Marketing yourself as a Development Professional Derek Smith, President, DPS International
Mr. Smith has worked extensively as a Task Manager and Senior Advisor for the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), working in more than 20 different countries. Recently he has specialised in re-organizing loans and improving solid waste management projects for the IDB, working in Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, Guatemala and El Salvador. From 1999 – 2000, Mr. Smith was hired by the IDB to act as their senior advisor and supervisor during the development of the Belize National Solid Waste Management Plan. The work included a review of existing collection transport and waste disposal procedures and all laws and regulations related to national solid waste management. He also reviewed the waste characterization data and the existing (previous) National Waste Management Plan. He prepared a detailed review of the proposed landfill site design and a hydrogeological study of the proposed Mile 24 and Mile 27 sites. Mr. Smith participated on the National Solid Waste Management advisory committee reporting to the Inter-American Development Bank. |
Gunter Rochow, a business and international development consultant, is a Credentialed Evaluator (Canadian Evaluation Society). As Chairman and President of Capra International Inc. (
Mr. Smith’s technical expertise is based on experience gained in over 44 years on projects related to solid waste management, hazardous waste management, the development of potable water supplies, sanitation, water contamination issues, environmental impact assessments, environmental business planning, training and project management. He is the author of over 800 consulting reports and scientific papers.