Staff profile: Joy Hutcheon

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Joy is a UK-based DFID employee, working at our East Kilbride HQ, where she is one of our most senior managers.

What do you do and how did you come to work for DFID?

I'm DFID's Director of Communication and Knowledge Sharing. I'm one of ten Directors in the organisation, responsible for our programme of research into how to reduce poverty, our evaluation programme which checks up on how we're doing, and finally our communications work. 

This includes media relations, publicity and internal communication - and how developing countries can use the media and communication to help reduce poverty. A couple of examples of what we do in this area: the Rough Guide to a Better World and Developments Magazine

I joined the Civil Service in 1988. My first choice of Department was DFID's predecessor (the Overseas Development Administration) but they had already filled all their vacancies for the year when I came along so I joined the Home Office. 

A few years ago I decided I still wanted to work in development and took special leave and worked as a consultant in the Caribbean for three years to get some experience overseas. When I came back I was able to transfer to DFID.

Describe your typical day

My typical day will often involve travelling to or from Scotland as I'm based in our East Kilbride headquarters at the moment. I'll probably discuss some current or new work with my research or evaluation teams - I'm personally responsible for signing off expenditure up to £20m. 

I also spend time individually with staff working out how to get things done as well as going out and about representing DFID and meeting people we work with. Occasionally I find myself knee-deep in mud discussing an agricultural breakthrough in Africa. Those are the really good days!

The best bits? Going out and seeing the progress that's been made and understanding from real people what they need to help them get out of poverty. In Uganda, HIV patients sang us a song about how making treatment available had changed their lives.

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What does it feel like to work for DFID?

I've worked in a range of public sector organisations and while all of them have had their frustrations I'd rate DFID pretty highly. 

Really good things about it are that people in DFID are totally committed to what we're trying to do and are very professional - which are vital when responding to humanitarian situations or natural disasters like the South Asia earthquake. 

People tend to work hard here because they're so determined - but DFID does have a very positive attitude to flexible working and getting the balance right between work and the rest of your life.

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What is the most important thing you've learned since working for DFID?

One thing that keeps coming home to me is just how much more we could achieve if we rich countries all worked better with each other and with developing countries. 

Another is the importance of listening. It's very easy for donors to go round telling developing countries what they need to do but actually we need to listen and learn and support. Poor people are a very good authority on what they need to improve their lives.

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Any advice for someone who wants to work in development?

People come into development by all sorts of routes, but the one thing they all have in common tends to be experience and passion about reducing poverty. 

Most people joining DFID already have some experience or have studied international development or are experts in a poverty related area like health, education or agriculture. If it's what you really want to do, my advice would be to get overseas and get some experience and be prepared to be patient and persevere. 

You spend a lot of your time at work and it's worth some investment early on to end up doing something that gets you out of bed in the morning.

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