Careers in International Organisations and NGOs

Meet an Alum sessions are informal opportunities to build your industry knowledge and make connections with General Course alumni. 

In this session, you'll have the chance to meet alumni who work in International Organisations and NGOs. You can ask the alumni about their day-to-day job, how they got into their role, and for any other career-related advice or tips they’ve picked up from their career journey so far. 

 This event will be particularly useful if you are:

• thinking about the realities of a career in this area or a related sector
• curious about the sort of work and responsibilities jobs in this area can entail
• interested in finding out how utilising the experience of studying at LSE can be used to get ahead in this area
• keen to build your connections

Meet the Speakers:

Taina Christiansen (LinkedIn). Taina joined LSE from Mount Holyoke College to study on the General Course in 2003-04. After graduating with a BA in International Relations and Politics, she undertook an MA in International Peace Studies at Universidad para la Paz in Costa Rica. Since then Taina has pursued a career with the United Nations. First interning at UN Headquarters in New York with the Secretariat, and subsequently with UNAIDS in Geneva – followed by numerous positions with five different United Nations agencies, across five countries. These include UNAIDS working on HIV in humanitarian response, ITC on human resources policies, two peacekeeping missions in Mali and Congo in the field of conduct and discipline, and currently with UN-Habitat, first at its headquarters in Nairobi and currently stationed in Beirut, Lebanon – where she leads the Country Office and programme. Taina is Swedish/Danish, but grew up across Africa and has one daughter.

Kartik Raj (Twitter). Kartik attended the LSE’s General Course in 2000-01 on a year abroad from Middlebury College, where he studied International Politics and Economics. He works as a researcher in the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch, focused on the human rights dimensions of poverty and inequality in the region in Europe. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch in 2017, he worked for nine years at Amnesty International as a campaigner and researcher on the European Union team on a variety of issues, including counterterrorism laws and policies, access to abortion in Ireland and Northern Ireland, accountability for human rights violations in Northern Ireland's "Troubles," forced evictions of Roma, travelers and migrants without regular status, and police ill-treatment and deaths in custody. Kartik is based in Barcelona, and longs to return to the campus and enjoy a cheese toastie and a white coffee at Wright’s Bar the next time he’s in London. He lived on this diet while at the LSE.

Nomfundo Mncina (LinkedIn). Nomfundo attended LSE’s general course in 2017 – 2018 on a year abroad from Colorado College., where she studied International Relations and Government. After graduating from Colorado College with a degree in International Political Economy, Nomfundo joined a startup NGO providing quality education to children in underserved communities in Liberia and Morocco. Nomfundo is currently based in the Kingdom of Eswatini, working at the Clinton Health Access Initiative to strengthen the health systems in the country. Nomfundo has fond memories from her time at LSE. She particularly misses the hole in the wall Thai restaurant just 5 minutes from campus, where you could get a delicious meal for £5!

You may like to read LSE Careers' list of information interview questions for ideas of what you can ask the alumni.