Rachel Sider
Master of Public Policy Candidate at the University of Oxford
Education
Middlebury College
B.A., Middle East Studies and Political Science
2014Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxfor
Master's, Public Policy, Public Policy Analysis, Negotiation and Evidence for Policymaking
2021Podcasts
473: What a Humanitarian Policy & Advocacy Advisor Does With Rachel Sider, Norwegian Refugee Council [Main T4C Episode]
Rachel Sider is a Policy and Advocacy Advisor for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). She is based in Jordan and is a member of the NRC’s Syria Country Management and Crisis Management team. In recent years, Rachel has become an experienced strategic advocacy and policy professional focusing on human rights,..
Career Path
Interview Highlights
“I was very curious and quite troubled by the fact that people had had to flee their homes, whether that was to another country or within a conflict zone.”
Best Career Advice
“Don’t be afraid to take a more junior position because you don’t know where that will take you, and it very often could launch you into a more senior role or a more interesting place faster.”
Career Challenge
“I was halfway through finalizing a big report that we wanted to launch on issues of durable solutions for Iraqis. And what I came up against was a lot of opposition by my new manager to the fact that we would have a public report. I quickly found that he was not necessarily a great manager. He didn’t really understand policy and advocacy very well, and a lot of his opposition was based on misunderstanding and a lack of real induction into what the issues are in the country and why a report like this would be so useful.”
Skills
Grassroots Organizing, Political Campaigns, International Relations, Program Development, Project Management, Creative Writing, Volunteer Management, Public Speaking, Modern Standard Arabic, International Research, Middle Eastern Studies, Refugees
Professional Interests
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, The Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, MPP Student Network – McGill, Harvard, Oxford, and UofT, Middlebury College Network, DPMI-Design, Partnering, Management and Innovation For Development Alumni Group, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, Middlebury College
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