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You don’t have to stress so much about the future. If you have a solid resume and you’re smart enough (and most people are smart enough to be doing the work that they’re doing), and if you developed your career in a smart way and you don’t burn any bridges, there’s really not that much to worry about () because there’s a lot of work that needs to be done all over the world.” Kipp Efinger is an independent consultant. Before going solo, Kipp served as Pact’s Country Director in Thailand, overseeing environmental governance and health projects funded by USAID; the Department of State; Chevron; and The Global Fund. Before moving to Thailand in 2013, he was based in Pact’s Washington, DC office, where he managed support for a diverse portfolio in the Asia/Eurasia region, including multi-million dollar start-up operations for USAID projects in Nepal and Ukraine. He was also a member of Pact’s democracy and governance technical team from 2008 until 2010. Before Pact, Kipp served as Program Officer at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), managing economic reform programs and advocacy grants with business associations in Asia and Eurasia. Kipp has also worked for Mercy Corps in Azerbaijan and IREX in Washington, DC. You can connect with Kipp here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kippefinger
IN TOR 093 YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Organizations
- CIPE
- PACT
- USAID
- Department of State
- Chevron
- The Global Fund
- Mekong Partnership for the Environment
- Peace Corps
- Washington Post
- NSEP Fellowship
Topics
- Management and Technical Skills
- Communication, Language and Culture
Places
- Bangkok
- Washington, DC
- Nepal
- Ukraine
- Asia and Eurasia region.
- Tajikistan
- Moldova
- San Diego
- Hanoi
EPISODE CRIB NOTES
Kipp PACT Jump Kipp has been with PACT for 8 years, since 2-3 has been Thailand County Director The office runs several programs: Health care, environmental governance Gave up Country Director post for freelancing, still within PACT “The way project cycles work, you are always looking for financing” It became hard to have a country director permanently, who was not a PM It was in good terms, Kipp is content with how things are turning out He and his wife will remain in Thailand for now What is there to do “Thinking about it for months. Marketing, getting out” Things have happened organically, some project are lining up Earthquake relief, infrastructure governance Then, a workshop in Bangkok After that. no idea “After the right proposal” Stephen: The holy grail. Being qualified and free Confidence about your value is important. Kipp’s became so in technical issues, went moving to project management skills Kipp thanks to some mentorship finding this out He credits a multi-million dollar Nepal project “I build a particular skill set” Stephen: A startup\shutdown expert “It’s nice to have a couple of things for which you have some expertise” Technical + Management skills are the holy grail “Opening and jumpstarting a regional office is a great skill”. Navigating people, culture, timelines, regulations, politics It also applies to changing into a completely new office Favorite startup\shutdown story Funders want remarkable change over 2-3 years While presenting bureaucratic hurdles They assume partnerships and teams are already in place They think their requirements are not only easy to comply with, but that work in favor of the project Expertise tells a different story A shutdown is a diametric story from startup. “It can be sad, with layoffs” “I prefer to start up than to shutdown” If the organization has a long term commitment to a country, the shutdown is only the closure of a chapter Working ourselves out of a job It’s good to remain a bit long after the project is done, but not too long A good practice would be to cede projects to local leadership, younger staff It’s dangerous for an organization to become accustomed, comfortable on the assignment But networks do have value, it is difficult to find the right people, let alone champions For a while, the project scope left Kipp without assignment He was lucky enough to have a boss who considered him, and strove to find a good place for him “Let’s take a look at your skill set. Here you go, develop your management skills” Kipp begun sharpening his mgmt skills in practice: managed projects, staffs, communications inbound He has made tools and systems other people use His transition was possible for his many particular circumstances, and relationship with the donors Fail on Kipp’s face Kipp was running a program portfolio in Central Asia, traveled to Tajikistan (“does not get a lot of attention”) He meets an interesting organization, outside of the donors’ realm (business, entrepreneurial advocacy) Kipp was excited about the work. Presenting it to the board, he gets grilled. Why was he doing that? Funding ended. He tried to come up with something. “Dust yourself up” Answer all the question, especially before they come up When did Kipp becoming Kipp English major, not sure what to do “I wanted interesting experiences, travel, human relation” Joins Peace Corps Taught English in Moldavia, lots of idle time He found people who blew his mind. Got interested in law school, he’s told what a horrible idea it is Back to California, San Diego. Wanting to do something. Would not last long at jobs. Late ’90s He sees all DC jobs dream jobs Peace Corps allowed them relatively easy entry Joins IREX, who works with the Eastern Bloc. Kipp speaks fluent Russian The idea of working in development was naturally evolving A series of small humanitarian jobs Then a scholarship. Learns Turkish Works in Azerbaijan internal displacement Gets into disaster relief, a particularly difficult sub-field if you want to have a family Gets into management “On a global scale, the world has changed since I first started” US is not the only power. China has development aid branch Lot of talk about the private sector, it is interesting but will take long before replacing nation aid Countries are doing well, some better Issues in the former Soviet Union remain. Russia is engaged on the international conversation, not quite developed Some hope on commonly agreed upon issues (not too much) Nations are developing, in South East Asia, Mekong Emerging countries go with lots of lessons learned, hopefully including environment Companies want to be players in emergent development Capitalism can be “ridden” away from destruction Stephen: Some countries do not follow relief guidelines because of diplomatic issues Lots of ongoing conversation, and questions about billable time around the world It does not work for everyone. Most want to settle eventually Stephen: Navigate ambiguity If you have a nice CV, good relationships, you will have a place in international development, make a better world “Formative” experience Election observer in Azerbaijan Cold December, watching people casting ballots for 12 hours He notices there is clear signs of tampering. Kipp reports it to the police The officer becomes outraged, reply “this does not happen” It went on several times during the day “I thought I would get killed. Almost” He mentions it to his liaison outside Some time later, a senior officer arrives to investigate The officer begins apologizing to Kipp “Very funny situation” The last question Kipp’s advice is to “be easy to work with” Great ideas or Ivy League pedigree is no excuse not to communicate, not to get things done, not be serious Whatever your skill is, find a niche but “take it from there”Please share, participate and leave feedback below!
If you have any feedback you’d like to share for me or Kipp, please leave your thoughts in the comment section below! I read all of them and will definitely take part in the conversation. If you have any questions you’d like to ask me directly, head on over to the Ask Stephen section. Don’t be shy! Every question is important and I answer every single one. And, if you truly enjoyed this episode and want to make sure others know about it, please share it now:[feather_share show=”facebook, twitter, linkedin, google_plus” hide=”reddit, pinterest, tumblr, mail”]
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