“For them it’s not the work, it’s the life”: humanitarian leadership development in the Global South

Abstract

What are the leadership development needs of so-called ‘Global South’ humanitarian professionals? The humanitarian professionalisation agenda begun in the 1990s has evolved to include short courses and accredited programmes specifically aiming to build leadership skills. This paper explores how humanitarian professionals from the Global South understand the current context of leadership development, including its barriers of access, and potential for change to be more relevant to their lives and work. Using thematic analysis of eleven key informant interviews, the paper finds three levels of consideration: global politics and inequality, personal and professional enrichment, and practical support. The findings suggest that while humanitarian leadership training can be better tailored and made available to Global South leaders at all career stages, there is a wider, more crucial need to address systemic imbalances. This paper contributes to wider discussion on localisation and inequality in the humanitarian aid sector, and more specifically contributes to the literature on how systemic factors shape the limits of both professionalisation and expansion of humanitarian education initiatives.