We currently have around 190 international staff working for MAG across programmes in Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East and South East Asia.
Many of our international staff have worked for us for some time or have returned to us on several occasions. Our international staff enjoy the “feel good factor” of working and genuinely making a difference to people’s lives on a daily basis.
For our staff, there is no greater reward than being able to release land to a community to use for farming or for a school.
The majority of our international staff are appointed on open-ended contracts, offering you job security and the chance to develop with us. For example:
• 45 per cent of our senior managers based overseas have been promoted from within MAG.
• Over 75 per cent of our staff have worked for MAG for more than two years.
Our people overseas
We recruit a range of staff, both technical and support staff, to deliver our life-saving work. Our technical staff have the expertise to oversee the safe clearance of landmines and unexploded ordnance.
Our support staff have the skills to ensure that operations run effectively and efficiently including Finance Mangers, Country Directors, HR Managers and Logistics Managers. Usually our technical staff have military backgrounds and our support staff will have experience in the humanitarian aid sector which creates a dynamic mix of skills.
The types of people MAG needs
For many of our international roles we demand a high level of skills and experience in order to train our national staff in a number of locations. We seek staff who are:
• Committed to our humanitarian mandate
• Able to live and work as a team; the hours may be long and living conditions may be basic
• Experienced enough to work in developing countries
• Committed to our capacity-building mandate
• Able to be flexible and adaptable in response to changing needs and environments
• Able to speak a second language (desirable)
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International staff salary and benefits
People choose to work for MAG because they want to use their skills to make a difference. We also offer a range of benefits including:
• Salary: MAG’s salaries will always be balanced by a desire to direct as much of our funds as we can towards the work we are undertaking. However, our salaries are fair and benchmarked in the NGO and mine action sector.
• Annual leave: six to eight weeks a year, plus public holidays.
• Hardship benefits: in recognition of some of the challenging conditions in some of our locations, we offer staff a hardship allowance and additional annual leave.
• Cost of living allowance: a contribution towards daily living costs, currently between £4,200 and £8,400 per year, depending on location.
• Employee Assistance Programme: MAG offers free access to an Employee Assistance Programme. The programme includes access to Employee helplines, formal counselling, Accessible App, Wellbeing portal and Critical Incident Support.
• Accommodation
• Flights: MAG provides three return flights home per year. MAG will cover the cost of any visas, residency or work permits.
• Insurance: all international staff are automatically covered by MAG’s comprehensive insurance package, including: personal accident and medical expenses insurance; death by natural causes insurance; access to 24-hour medical assistance, including evacuation and repatriation. -
Health and welfare
We hope our staff won’t get ill whilst working for us, but we do recognise that some of the locations in which we work may challenge physical and psychological health.
However, the health and welfare of all staff is of paramount importance to us and therefore staff can expect:
• Travel health advice appropriate for your deployment.
• Vaccinations and anti-malarials if required.
• Company sick pay.
• Biennial medical assessments to ensure our staff stay well.
• First-aid kits.
• Health and welfare handbook, with guidance on a range of subjects. -
Training and development
We recognise that the development of our staff is key to our success. Many of our international and national staff have worked with us for long periods and been promoted within MAG.
We encourage staff to continue with their personal development whilst working for us, not just on formal training courses but on a day to day basis. All staff are expected to be in control of their own learning and development.
Underpinning all of this is our annual appraisal system which allows achievements to be recognised and skills to be developed. All staff have clear objectives and the support they need to meet them.
We embrace different learning styles and encourage our staff to share knowledge, which is particularly important for our international staff who are all expected to develop the capacity of their national staff.
