Career Advice in International Cooperation

Simon Plüss has more than 25 years of experience in humanitarian aid, development cooperation and public communications, holding senior positions both in operational environments and at headquarters. His humanitarian career began as a volunteer and evolved into roles with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP), where he served as spokesperson and field delegate in Africa and the Caribbean. He also led global organisational development and emergency response for the World YMCA Movement. A certified adult trainer, coach and NLP Master, Simon has led extensive management training programmes, including for ICRC managers.

At cinfo, he now offers his extensive expertise in career coaching and training, helping individuals and institutions in international cooperation to maximise their impact. Simon's goal is to help others build meaningful careers in the sector, drawing on the valuable mentorship he received during his own professional journey.

Simon is fluent in German, English and French.

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.

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 an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) recognised by the International Coaching Federation.

Gabriela is fluent in English, French, German.

Lisa has been advising and supporting individuals and organisations in international cooperation for over 30 years. She began her career as an ICRC delegate in Africa and the Middle East, worked for several years in the asylum sector and then at cinfo. She has carried out recruitment and human resources development mandates for the Swiss Confederation, NGOs, foundations, UN agencies and training institutions in the field of international cooperation. She has many years of management experience at various levels, most recently as an Executive Director, and knows from personal experience how to balance work, family and other aspects of life.

Lisa holds a Master of Arts in Organisational Development and is a certified coach (Trigon). She is fluent in German, English and French.