The HALO Trust

General Info

The HALO Trust conducts humanitarian landmine clearance and ordnance disposal...

... in Abkhazia, Angola, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Colombia, Kosovo, Mozambique, Nagorno Karabakh, Somaliland and Sri Lanka. We employ nearly 8,000 national and 50 expatriate staff - the latter generally joining HALO in their late 20s or 30s. If you want a challenging and rewarding career, then you might consider working for HALO.

HALO is looking for leaders who will be resourceful, adaptable, resilient, self-motivated and prepared to work in remote and challenging environments, away from e-mail and sometimes any form of social life, for extended periods. In addition to the day-to-day management of mineclearance operations the responsibilities include: liaison with Government, the diplomatic community, police, military and other NGOs as well as the less glamorous activities of financial accounting, administration and logistics. Expatriates can be promoted to manage a national programme within two years of joining HALO. Previous leadership experience in the Armed Forces may be to the applicant’s advantage, but it is not a prerequisite – our current employees come from a very wide range of backgrounds.

Selection and overseas training is field-based and takes around six months. The course covers: mine and ordnance recognition and clearance, survey and mapping, risk assessment, task prioritisation and planning, equipment and vehicle husbandry (HALO has over 1,200 vehicles overseas), radio communication, first aid, accounting, proposal and report writing (applicants must have good Word & Excel skills). You will also be expected to develop quickly a working knowledge of the local language.

Postings are ‘unaccompanied’ with seven weeks of holiday per annum split into three periods. The work therefore tends to appeal more to single than married people. Daily duties are normally physically demanding so a good level of fitness and excellent health is a requirement, with a formal health assessment for new trainees. The pay scales reflect performance and are commensurate with management responsibilities. Most living costs abroad are covered by HALO, as is insurance.

This endeavour is not for the faint-hearted; but HALO believes that the right person will find considerable job satisfaction.