After studying history, an opportunity lead Mathieu to project management in the development field. Some experiences later, he now strongly believes in the public private partnerships for sustainable development.
The Master of None
"On my first day in Oxfam, I joined an internal symposium gathering of 120 colleagues from 17 different countries, I felt so excited and so terrified at the same time! I could not understand any acronyms; I was lost, but I could already feel the good energy." Mathieu had already met the Oxfam team in the context of his previous job, while he was in charge of implementing public private partnerships, and was impressed by the programs. "Working for local NGOs, I wanted to experience new approaches in a large-scale international working environment. I deal with multiple partners and topics. I can speak the same day about agriculture, social protection or the mining industry, even if I don't have the technical knowledge of course."
"Engaging with the private sector is essential"
Development aid is decreasing so the organization has to find new ways and new skills to source funds. They generate a dialogue and consistency between the programs, coordination and support, but this isn't Mathieu's only role. "There are lots of possibilities to explore, he explained. Oxfam could create services for example." First, Mathieu had to find his place and explain this new role, and above all, what he can bring to the organization. Oxfam is always willing to evolve towards new directions. The organization takes care and invests a lot for staff capacity building in new skills; such as MOOC, mentoring programs, Facebook Workplace and others in order to move forward.