Is anyone hiring expats for staff positions in management or analysis?

[Jeremy]

Magandang Araw - Good day!

My name is Jeremy. Last summer I was an intern at an international non-profit in Makati conducting Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Research. I fell in love with working in the Philippines and I have been trying to figure out how to get back ever since. I recently graduated with my Masters in Public Administration and I was a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellow with a concentration in Tagalog. I'm 34 and a single parent (yes, I brought my son with me). I have completed informational interviews with contacts that I have in the Philippines about the work they do. However, I always run into the same constraints: I'm a little too old (2 years)  for Young Professional Programs in major organizations, a lot of the positions are for nationals only and lastly most of the positions are too short-term or simply too little pay - under $30,000 a year. I'm aware that finding a job in the Philippines as an expat is very difficult. I have 9 years of program management, 4 years of staff management and 3 years of working as a database manager/analyst. My areas of expertise are in WASH and housing development, but my I have done a tone of program evaluations on a variety of markets and issues.

My questions are as follows: 

1.) Is there anyone who is a single parent who has been successful in finding work in the Philippines, preferrably with a humanitarian organization.

2.) What skill sets are most sought after right now in the Philippines, government, NGO or private business right now.

3.) Where are people looking for jobs? Are there lesser-known websites?

4.) Are there recruiters or even agencies that can help me get in touch with organizations?

I am really serious about wanting to move back to Manila, especially if it is with an international humanitarian non-profit. I am aware of ADB, USAID, Oxfam WF, World Vision, Habitat for Humanity International, UNICEF, UNIC, UNDP, and ICS. I am really open to suggestions.

Maraming salamat! Thank you very much!

Jeremy

[Dave Hounddriver]

2 hours ago, Jeremy said:

a lot of the positions are for nationals only and lastly most of the positions are too short-term or simply too little pay - under $30,000 a year.

As soon as I read your salary requirement I figured you were going to have trouble.  Now if you were interested in a management trainee position in a call center for $1,000 a month you would be much more likely to find work.  Once you have your foot in the door there will be further opportunities.  But starting at $30,000 a year is an unlikely scenario.

[OnMyWay]

I would suggest that your best bet for success would be to get a job in the U.S. with a multi-national corp. that has a strong presence in the Philippines, with known positions filled by expats.  Then you can lobby your way into an overseas assignment.  Yes, it will take some time, but I don't think getting a job directly here is highly likely at a good salary.

I bought a car from a young Brit who lived in Manila and worked for Linde AG.

[Jeremy]

Yes, I'm looking into that too. The thing is a lot of the international organizations that I want to work for are hiring nationals only. I have really mixed feelings about it, because on the one hand I'm actually happy about this, but it doesn't do me any good personally.  Thank you though. I'll keep trying.