Global Health Careers.

Overview of Global Health Industry

The global health industry encompasses a wide range of sectors, organizations, and disciplines, that work towards improving the health outcomes of populations around the world. Governing bodies, non-governmental organizations, private sector entities, and academic institutions all play a role in shaping global health policies, implementing health interventions in resource-limited settings, and advancing research on health issues that impact populations globally.

As the Global Health Industry is vast, a challenge for job seekers is to understand the landscape of employers, the sectors in which they reside, and what roles and skills are in demand.

One way to understand the landscape is to follow the money or funding. Understanding the role of the US Government  and US government funding  for global health is key for career seekers in the US. The US Federal Government, through USAID, is the largest single government aid contributor  in the world, although many other countries donate a higher percentage of their Gross National Income (GNI). In addition to USAID, the US Government provides funding for global health programs through other agencies. These include: US Department of State; National Institutes of Health (NIH); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and Department of Defense (DoD).

USAID’s global health efforts fund many projects and agencies. USAID makes investments in health systems strengthening and breakthrough innovations, focused around three strategic priorities: Preventing child and maternal deaths; controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic; and combating infectious diseases. Experience with USAID and the programs it funds, is a key differentiator for job seekers. The CDC offers jobs, fellowships, volunteer opportunities and professional training in Global Health,  while the NIH, through its Fogarty Center, supports researchers, scholars and scientists to respond to current and future threats to health by providing opportunities to tie biomedical research to real world applications. The Fogarty International Center offers NIH funding and maintains a directory of Non-NIH Funding Opportunities for those in the field of global health research.

There are many other players from multilateral agencies (UN Agencies, WHO, etc.), national governments (Germany, UK, Japan, EU, France, etc.), as well as large foundations (Gates, Bloomberg that fund global work through implementing agencies, including global and local NGOs, Universities, and recipient governments. The global health landscape is interdisciplinary and includes a close relationship with global economic development and global education activities.

Explore these sites for a deeper look at the Global Health Industry

Common Job Titles for Global Health

These titles will vary depending on the specific organization and job requirements, but they give a general idea of the names of entry-level positions that MPH graduates interested in international public health can pursue.

  • Program Assistant
  • Research Assistant
  • Project Coordinator
  • Data Analyst
  • Health Educator
  • Program Officer
  • Research Associate
  • Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
  • Program Analyst
  • Public Health Specialist
  • Program Manager
  • Epidemiologist Assistant
  • Surveillance Officer
  • Health Promotion Coordinator
  • Field Researcher

Firms will have their own way of classifying roles. One of the challenges is to understand your target firm’s way of naming positions. Here is one global health firm’s way of classifying job titles, and how it relates to years of experience required:

  • Entry-level (1-3 years of experience)
    • Look for Associate level (Senior Project Associate)
  • Mid-level (4-6 years of experience)
    • Look for Officer level (Technical Officer, Project Officer)

Where these Positions can be Found

There are many organizations that work in global health. Each have their own naming convention for positions. Learn these for the organizations of interest to you. The list of organizations below include multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies, Consulting Firms, Government organizations, like USAID, NGO’s, Donor Agencies, Humanitarian responders, and more. Some firms can be in more than one of these categories. A great way to quickly learn about an organization, is to look them up on LinkedIN.

  • Abt Associates
  • Camris International
  • CARE International
  • The Carter Center
  • Catholic Relief Services
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Chemonics
  • Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
  • Doctors Without Borders Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
  • FHI 360
  • FAO (Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN)
  • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance
  • Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
  • International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
  • International Medical Corps (IMC)
  • International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
  • International Rescue Committee (IRC)
  • JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency
  • John Snow, Inc. (JSI)
  • Management Sciences for Health (MSH)
  • Medair
  • Mercy Corps
  • Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World)
  • Oxfam International
  • Palladium
  • Panagora Group
  • Partners In Health (PIH)
  • PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health)
  • Pathfinder International
  • Population Services International (PSI)
  • Project Hope
  • RTI International
  • Samaritan’s Purse
  • Save the Children
  • United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
  • UNDP (UN Development Programme)
  • UNHCR
  • United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
  • USAID
  • US Peace Corps
  • U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
  • World Bank
  • World Food Programme (WFP)
  • World Health Organization (WHO)
  • World Vision International

Career Pathways for Global Health

Check out our Global Health Career Pathways document to research careers by sector, and learn about specific roles and responsibilities.

Just Go There

Back in the day, the advice to land a job overseas was to just go there, plug into the social networks and learn what is happening on the ground in terms of employers, projects and opportunities. This advice may still be out there. However, times have changed and restrictions and legalities of working outside of one’s country need to be navigated. Just showing up is no longer a viable strategy, though learning what is happening is still key to uncovering opportunities. Entry-level roles for recent Master of Public Health (MPH) graduates in global health are typically found through three common pathways:

Work in US for US Based Global Health Firms

Working in the US for a US-based firm that implements various global health projects. These roles encompass a range of responsibilities, including program backstopping, coordination, and management. Graduates may also provide technical assistance in programming, monitoring and evaluation, or other specialized areas such as family planning or supply chain management. Additionally, there are opportunities in pursuing funding through proposal writing and development. While these roles are primarily based in the US, they often involve travel to field locations for coordination, training, and project management.

Gain Experience Domestically Working with Communities

II) Another pathway involves acquiring experience and skills to be more competitive in the job marketplace by working in the US for agencies that cater to diverse foreign populations. This domestic community health experience allows graduates to acquire transferable skills and knowledge that can be valuable for future positions in global health firms. It can also be a vehicle to discover international-like opportunities to work to improve population health in the U.S.

Landing In-Country Positions is Challenging

III) The third pathway is focused on in-country roles that involve managing or implementing global health projects. These roles are highly sought after but also highly competitive, typically requiring 3-5 years of prior experience, and many look for fluency in local language (such as French for Francophone Africa, Spanish in Latin America, and Arabic for the Middle East). Responsibilities in such roles include supporting implementation of public health programs or research. They can involve data collection and analytics, monitoring and evaluation, training, as well as project management and coordination.

Local Hires vs Expat Hires

It is worth noting that the landscape of in-country roles has evolved, with a shift towards hiring more local personnel due to readily available talent at in-country salary levels. Even higher-level positions, like Chief of Party, which requires years of experience and was often filled by expatriates, are more commonly staffed by host country nationals.

While these three pathways may not be the only way, they have historically been the common avenues for recent MPH graduates to enter the dynamic and rewarding field of global health.

Get Overseas Experience

There are vehicles for serving overseas to gain experience or offer expertise through volunteer work – such as US Peace Corps, UN VOLUNTEERS , Fulbright Scholars, VSO International or other groups.

Job Boards

Here are a few job sites that focused on global health and development. Also, don’t ignore the bigger consolidators of INDEED, LINKEDIN, and HANDSHAKE. Visiting your target firms’ career pages regularly abd becoming familiar with their postings can help you discern new ones.

Core Competencies & Skills Needed

Employers seek a variety of skills and experience in applicants. One global health employer expresses it succinctly: What we are looking for:

  • Commitment to mission
  • Project Management skills
  • Proactive
  • Organized
  • Attention to detail
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills
  • Driven
  • A self-starter
  • Critical thinking skills
  • Technical skills
  • Data analysis
  • Data visualization
  • Writing skills

Compelling candidates need to highlight and showcase in-demand attributes and experiences on their resume/CV. For example, in addition to describing one’s ability to write, include links to writing samples.

Here is a larger list of key areas that global health employers can be looking for:

  • Experience – GLOBAL, and with USAID
  • Data Experience / Analysis / Data Visualization
  • Demonstrate Dedication & Passion to Mission
  • Initiative, Flexibility, Adaptability, Drive, Humility
  • Expertise – Technical Skills (Supply Chain; Monitoring & Evaluation)
  • Financial Management Skills
  • Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)
  • Communication Skills – Writing (link writing samples)
  • Fluency (French, Spanish, Arabic)
  • Research Experience
  • Advocacy / Government / Policy /
  • Pharmacology / Biotech
  • Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health
  • Infectious / Non-communicable Diseases
  • Nutrition / Food Security
  • Reproductive Health, Gender, Women’s Rights
  • Microenterprise
  • Program Management, Finance, Proposal Development
  • Experience in Community, Clinic, & Hospital Service Delivery
  • Disaster Response & Emergency Preparedness
  • Immigrant & Refugee Health
  • Health Systems / Infrastructure Development / Capacity Building /
  • Training
  • Supply Chain / Logistics

Salary Expectations

For entry level positions it is not uncommon to see starting salaries ranging from $50,000 to $65,000, and sometimes higher, depending on experience, skills, and what sector in which the firm operates.

The complexity of compensation increases if the position is for a consultant or expatriate based abroad, which may include stipends for housing and travel, and for shorter-term assignments, per diem allowances. These would not typically be features of entry-level positions.

You can view the BUSPH graduate employment data here.

Resume & Cover Letter

Use the standard resume approach to make it easy to review. Some firms may want a CV which has a different approach. See the resume section of our website for guidance.

See PHX Public Health Writing Guidance on Professional Communication

More Advice on Growing a Global Health Career