Reflections from IREX's Returned Peace Corps Volunteers: Azerbaijan

Working in the Field Operations department at the headquarters of an international development organization like IREX is always a great challenge. By the time I load my email in the morning, my day’s schedule is already half booked with the need to address dozens of emails from more twenty field offices overseas. There is always constant activity as we help manage all the financial, administrative, logistical, and legal aspects of operating development projects across multiple countries. We sometimes joke that we have more interaction with our field staff in offices six thousand miles away than we do with some people on the same floor.

Volunteering with Peace Corps in rural Azerbaijan broadened my perspectives on work and life. During my service, I had firsthand experience with gas shortages and blackouts, corrupt and inefficient bureaucracies, and crumbling infrastructure and transport networks. It was challenging at times, trying to develop lessons with no teaching materials, and teaching in classrooms that were cold and dark. Working with such limited resources forced us to think up creative solutions to keep our students interested and engaged. No heat in the classroom? Get the students up and moving with an interactive game. No electricity during night classes? Let’s go outside and learn about astronomy.

After spending two years overseas teaching, implementing projects, and living with a host family, I am in a unique position to help balance the needs of headquarters with those of our field staff. IREX, like many other development organizations, has a wide array of business processes, policies, and directives from senior management that need to be effectively implemented through our field offices. It is our job to meet these demands, to ensure the integrity and effectiveness of our organization. This process is also a two way street, as we often advocate for issues on behalf of our field staff, framing issues in a way that are easily understood by the management in headquarters. Fostering open dialogues is often difficult in an international environment, where people are many time zones away, the primary means of communication is through email, and English is not everyone’s native language.

These are instances where my Peace Corps experience is a huge asset. Effective communication skills are an essential requirement, as is the need to have a realistic understanding of how business functions in developing regions. I can recall many examples during work meetings when I draw on my experiences in Azerbaijan to offer meaningful input and possible solutions to the issues at hand. Even though I spend most of my time behind a desk working with spreadsheets, it is always a great feeling to know that the work I do supports a world class group of professionals , the projects that they work on, and ultimately the beneficiaries that they serve.

Brendan Bell is Field Operations Coordinator at IREX