Coaching on Important Issues in the Daily Work of International Cooperation

Beat has coached individuals and groups in career development, career transitions, work-life balance and job applications for 15+ years. Originally trained as a forest engineer (ETH Zurich), he worked in the field for various development cooperation organisations, mainly with NGOs in Africa and South America.

Thanks to his knowledge of the sector and his extensive experience in talking to people from very different backgrounds, Beat has developed a thorough understanding of the links between personal expectations, individual circumstances and the reality of working in international cooperation. He is a certified coach (Trigon).

Beat is fluent in English, French, German, Spanish.

Shazia has coached individuals, as well supported civil society organisations and social enterprises on issues related to their professional development, leadership and management skills and organisational transitions. She has 25 years of professional experience in humanitarian, human rights and development action within the UN system, with the ICRC and NGOs, including senior management in emergency operations, and thematic expertise roles (protection, human rights, youth employment).

She has experience with multi-disciplinary teams and a good cross-sectoral knowledge (health, water, agriculture) as well as experience in advocacy. Having worked and lived in fragile contexts across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, collaborating with people from different cultural and professional perspectives, she understands the reality of work and life away from home and the importance of collaboration and partnership.

Shazia is fluent in English, French and German.

Adrian has worked in international cooperation for 30+ years for the ICRC, SDC, UNHCR, OSCE and cinfo, as well as the private sector. With a MA in International Relations / Development and Business Administration, he has had experience living and working on all continents. He started his career in the field of humanitarian aid, human rights and governance. Over the years, he has specialised in career development, organisational development, programme monitoring and evaluation and private sector development issues.

He is a certified coach (Trigon) and has extensive experience in coaching, advising and interviewing – in Switzerland and in the field. Today he manages his own consultancy company. He is married with three children and living a dual career in international cooperation, which included a Job/Top-sharing in India for SDC.

Adrian is fluent in English, French, German and Spanish.

Babette has 15+ years of professional experience in international cooperation, including almost 10 years in Africa and Asia. With a university degree in anthropology, political science and economics, she understands the sector from the perspective of both the field and headquarters. She has worked as a freelance consultant, as well as in NGOs, government agencies and multilateral organisations.

Her skills in intercultural dialogue have been reinforced through several years of direct interaction with beneficiaries and partner organisations, which she considers an important foundation of her work. In addition to her advisory and coaching role in many of her previous jobs and with cinfo, Babette has also completed a practice-oriented CAS in Coaching. Through active listening, Babette passionately supports people in discovering starting points for new ways and solutions.

Babette is fluent in English, French, German.

Daniel Glinz is a consultant at cinfo. He develops and facilitates continuous training programmes for professionals and organisations, with a special focus on intercultural communication and leadership.

Having started his career as a news correspondent in East Asia, he joined the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC as a delegate. After spending several years in the field (Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, India, Colombia, Mexico and Central America) he worked in the Geneva headquarters, where he completely re-designed the on-boarding programme for the new staff. He later took responsibility for the delivery of learning and development activities. Besides a bachelor’s degree in sinology, he holds a Swiss Federal Certificate in Adult Learning, and a MAS in Transcultural Communication. Daniel Glinz is also a certified professional coach.

Daniel is fluent in English, French, German, Spanish.

Gabriela has been involved in counselling and supporting people for 15+ years, mainly in international cooperation. She has master's degrees in International Relations (Geneva) and Southeast Asian Studies (Bangkok). She lived in Asia, Africa and Southeast Europe for 10 years, working with humanitarian organisations such as the ICRC, UNHCR and SDC/SHA, as well as for a UN peacekeeping mission.

After returning to Switzerland, she gained in-depth knowledge of the federal administration and the asylum sector. She has complemented her many years of experience in intercultural communication with a CAS in Systemic Counselling, which she has also used outside of international cooperation. As an advisor at BNF, a programme of the University of Bern, she has supported job-seeking academics in their reintegration into the Swiss labour market. She is also a Certified Professional Coach (iPEC).

Gabriela is fluent in English, French, German.

Heinrich Schneider is our senior security consultant and a certified trainer. Since 2011, he has been advising national and international organisations on security structures, crisis preparation and management, and duty of care. He trains personnel in practice-focused courses on behaviour in insecure environments and sensitive situations and in stress management.

Heinrich was head of international police reforms at the Federal Office of Police for 10 years, responsible for projects in cooperation with the UN, the EU and the OSCE, and a member of the federal government's crisis team on hostage-taking and extortion. He has worked as a consultant in many countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.