Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Humanitarian aid worker, human rights worker + social work

In domestic US professional positions, employment with a strickly humanitarian aid focus is more limited than international work, though this may change depending on the state of previously less common factors, such as houselessness, hunger, and other formerly relatively uncommon phenomena.

Domestically, in the US, this work can be classified as social work, a natural career option for a CTPS major or minor. Indeed, there are areas of the country that are historically impoverished, with less public funding, where a graduate with a BA/BS in CTPS can be hired as an entry-level social worker without any other qualifications. The pay is often lower than average for social workers, the clientele may be more marginalized and impoverished, but it's a dream job for the right person with certain ideals and orientations. It can also give a working person time to earn a graduate certificate or even a masters degree while working full time, paving the path to a position as a social worker anywhere. 

Income is generally greater in some of the international humanitarian aid projects, especially those which are well funded by governments or consortia of governments, e.g., more dangerous conditions in hot conflict zones. The dangers can be prohibitive, such as those humanitarian organizations that were active in Gaza during the 2023-2025 war between Israel and Hamas, when both sides targeted noncombatants, which is frequently where humanitarian aid workers and their fixed or mobile facilities were.

Sadly, the wreckage committed by the Trump regime, such as destroying USAID, greatly negatively impacted that career field, with overseas opportunities largely veering toward the fewer opportunities in private foundation-funded nongovernmental organizations. It is to be hoped in this arena and many others that a future US administration and Congress will strongly restore this funding and rebuild the governmental agency infrastructure that had previously made humanitarian aid worker a staple career option for the CTPS graduate. 

Some humanitarian aid work remains available and will not close down, such as the American Red Cross,[1] which works domestically and internationally. The student who hopes to do this work will be well served to earn an undergrad degree in CTPS with a minor in public health or a CTPS degree with electives in public health, though even with the American Red Cross there are entry-level positions that focus more on marketing and communications. As with any desired career path, the idea is to fix on what you want to do and work with advisors to build the coursework and degree composition that is your on-ramp to employment in your envisioned future.

Human rights work is one career extraordinarily attractive to some CTPS students and entry-level work in that field is available. Enduring organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee, Front Line Defenders, Save the Children, Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Amnesty International, the Associations of Women's Rights in Development, Open Society Foundations, and Freedom House all hire at the entry-level. Some require post-degree experience and some do not. Some have affiliate organizations that hire separately. As with all CTPS career paths, volunteering for such organizations and serving as interns at such groups can be a strong advantage in post-graduation job search.[2]

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[1] https://www.redcross.org/about-us/careers.html?srsltid=AfmBOooJghHo_NbLMrOQMzm0H86epiQEkA2pC9xIS3ZrEg7tSDMP2VxG

[2] For example, some years ago I had lunch with the volunteer-coördinator for a large humanitarian assistance organization and she told me that she fielded, on average, approximately 200 inquiries per week just to volunteer for the group, only a tiny handful of whom she was able to place. Later I sat with a student who had her heart set on working for that organization and, armed with her transcript showing her strong affinity for that work, as well as a letter of recommendation from germane professors (including me), she not only secured a volunteer position, but within a year she was hired by them full-time and was, in her case, deployed to do work in the Middle East helping them bring aid and CT education to one country. 

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Your favorite boss (you)

 Your favorite boss (you)

You have a CTPS degree of some sort. Each degree from each institution is unique; some were founded by a psychology professor and are heavily favored with coursework that emphasizes that. Some degrees are developed and founded by a sociology professor and feature courses that tilt toward that corpus of knowledge. Other common founder specializations that lead to degrees oriented toward their origins: Political Science, Law, Religion, History, and Philosophy. Note that only Law (Alternative Dispute Resolution) leads naturally toward noted non-academic (teaching/research) employment. Other degrees stretch further and further toward acquisition of terminal degrees in order to teach in higher education.

However. There is a grand tradition of simply declaring yourself as available to do certain paid work. Using what students learn in some CTPS programs, there is really no limit to what a graduate may decide is their chosen profession and they may offer their services to the marketplace of potential clients, none of which generally involve government licensing or mandatory legal requirements aside from legal business practices, including but not limited to: 

·       peace journalism content creator, either to a publisher or as monetized creator content in any number of forms on any number of platforms

·       conflict coach

·       facilitator: general, consensus, retainer

·       public office (school board, city council, city manager, etc.)

·       consultant to local or state government offices, either with elected officials or with agencies

·       tutor, research assistant

·       expert witness for litigators[1]

·       development director for a nonprofit or advocacy group

Any of these may require further development of a curriculum vitae that shows subject matter expertise; this can be gained in a number of ways, including but not limited to: 

·       academic peer-reviewed journal article publishing

·       volunteer experience

·       entry-level experience

·       establish your own specialized non-profit to provide services either as fee-for-service or funded by grants or a combination

While it is, to be blunt, a dreary chore to upkeep your c.v., do so. It should be ready to send out to clients at a moment's notice. While there are many intricate guidelines for preparing a proper c.v., here is what I stumbled across after a university administrator rejected my curriculum vitae in one promotion process: I asked a senior, highly accomplished professor for her c.v. She sent it to me, I saved it as mine, and then cleared all the content except the categorial headlines. Then I filled in my own credentials, publications, education, university service, community service, and awards. When I resubmitted, it passed through without a hitch. When I told this senior scholar what I did she burst into laughter. It remains my c.v. to this day. Thank you, Dr. Schechter.

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[1] This occurred a few times for me. I volunteered as an expert witness in civil resistance necessity defense cases because I have a fairly strong personal history and knowledge that qualifies me. That is in cases of accused criminal behavior. However, somehow this came to the attention of some litigators and they paid me to testify in civil cases, including wrongful death, which was both satisfying (we won a great deal of compensation to the family of a man wrongfully killed by police) and lucrative. I was compensated for a day in court at a rate approximately equal to a full month of teaching as Associate Professor at my university. The pro tip: keep your c.v. up to date. Seek an occasional media exposure--law offices take notice.

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: DEI workers

 DEI workers

Diversity is the hallmark of success. A diverse natural world is a resilient world, as evolution experts tell us. The more species there are in an environment, the more that environment can withstand pressures. Similarly, a stock portfolio that is diversified weathers problems to various sectors of the market with more abilities. Studies done on the intersection of cross-cultural competence, conflict transformation training, and work teams show the more trained a team is in both, the more productive they are. Diversity tends to make groups of humans more successful. 

Equity is not mandated sameness, or even equality. When someone plays poker all night and is found cheating at 3 a.m. the players don't agree, well, okay, play fair from now on--that is equality. No. They confiscate the cheaters' winnings. That's equity.

Inclusion is avoidance of exclusion. Getting everyone possible included in the workings of society, the successes that flow from those workings, and leaving no one behind--that's inclusion.

These are simple concepts until attempts are made to enact them, at which point many parties begin to howl about relative deprivation, which is the idea that whatever the other party has is somehow more than I have and thus more than they deserve. People will resist that perceived or real relative deprivation, as we see all over the world and in our communities, our families, and our workplaces. The DEI officer at an institution is someone who is a master of the arts of conflict transformation. That official will excel at the problem-solving approaches learned in all the courses taken to earn a CTPS degree. It will not be enough to be BIPOC, though that seems to be an assumption some have made through their own lens of relative deprivation. 

DEI has thus been under attack and it will often be approached using alternative terminology to avoid attack by the political officials inclined to do so, oftentimes elected by resentful voters whose own perceptions are driven by feelings of relative deprivation. Now, starting in January 2025, entire federal agencies have banned the term DEI and all words that seem associated with it. That ban cascades not just to federal employees, but to recipients of federal funds in any capacity. It has also metastasized to the corporate world and into higher education as business and universities seek to avoid being punished for apparently favoring DEI.

The obvious problems with this lurch to the right and heavy-handed attack on what DEI directors achieve are many, yet enlightened organizations continue to practice it and even hire new DEI staffers and directors.

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Business competencies

 Business competencies

The list of technical skills that will be helpful or even necessary to succeed in the soft power world of Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies (CTPS) is virtually infinite, especially if you are part of a small organization or even working for yourself--huge organizations tend to drive workers into a more specialized, narrower band of competencies to maximalize efficiency and productivity. Of course, in those large organizations--government, corporate, institutional, or nonprofit--your CTPS skills matter substantially as well, because a mass of specialists can be disjointed, dysregulated, and dysfunctional if the moving parts are not in sync or generating relational friction rather than constructive, creative problem-solving. 

The deep theoretical knowledge of CTPS enables the emergent student-into-worker to create solutions to unanticipated or new and novel problems. Carrying that theory of principled negotiation into each human interaction may require self-talk and "going to the balcony" sessions, but the theory not only works when studiously applied to real presenting problems, ignoring the theory can, at times, prove its worth by the cascade of negative outcomes that might have been avoided by being intentional about it.[1]

Perhaps you learn to start a nonprofit--even a good autodidact can achieve that. Yes, perhaps you took a class that taught you the basics, or, for some who focused on more CTPS-specific courses, perhaps you didn't. You have a concept, not too much funding, and you can always spend a bit of time on YouTube,[2] checking out helpful advice from others who, it is hoped, actually know what they are doing. While it may feel like a poor use of your time to surf the random YouTube content, it can provide you with a start point. Then, like we all do, simply Google it for even more help[3] in planning how you can actually do the business of creating a nonprofit. As with any random online search, caveat emptor. Some consulting services can be scams. Yes, you can hedge your bets a bit by seeing if the service you've found has generated reviews,[4] and what those reviewers have to say, before you hand over the few funds you have.

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[1] This happened to me, a professor and practitioner in the field, when, after years of co-living with others in my home, I rented a room to an alcoholic who immediately began acting out in very destructive ways too grotesque to enumerate. When he did so around my disabled son, I lost it and a legal battle began. I should have accepted a court-offered mediation but I was so dysfunctionally angry I hired a lawyer. The one I hired was simply not as effective as the one my renter hired. I lost many $thousands rather than a few $hundred. After, I realized I was like the doctor who refused offered medical care and paid the price. It taught me many lessons, including a tendency to point out to others who are in the throes of an amygdala hijack that the prices and consequences can be prohibitive; it is a friendly act to intervene on another in that state. Our learning is only of value if we employ it.

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFu6Ptclq_E

[3] https://bizee.com/form/start-a-nonprofit?utm_term=how%20to%20start%20a%20nonprofit&utm_campaign=%7Bcampaign%7D&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=7525761879&hsa_cam=21909533501&hsa_grp=172070434524&hsa_ad=721401410623&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-1235493845&hsa_kw=how%20to%20start%20a%20nonprofit&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21909533501&gbraid=0AAAAAD_aQeb7pihRhCJC6-mnQS8u0Jm2z&gclid=Cj0KCQiApfjKBhC0ARIsAMiR_ItNnImK_WwZJyZ1Lm5eXXkbOmgmdeMeIn9OT1Ilzhp0avuz5kMMQJAaAsJAEALw_wcB

[4] https://www.yelp.com/not_recommended_reviews/narwhal-law-and-business-strategy-portland-2

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Mediation in the suites

 In the suites

A simple online look at current mediator positions[1] shows a real variety, from peer-to-peer in organizations, to court-ordered (Alternative Dispute Resolution, or ADR), to workplace, and much more.

The career paths are many, can be quite specialized, and are growing in many places in the world, e.g., a growth in mediator positions in alternative dispute resolution for thousands of citizen complaints of police conduct in both Australia and New Zealand (Riley, Prenzler & McKillop, 2020).

The roots of ADR go back to Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian educated in the law in England who opened his practice back in India, then in South Africa, and then back to India. As a lawyer he was trained in purely adversarial tactics and strategies, but that was not his nature, and eventually, going outside the practice of law as it was done then (and now) he called the contending parties to meet, and simply mediated a process that ended in agreement. Much later, in his autobiography, he wrote that, "At last I had learnt the true profession of the law." Based on his method--mediating opposing parties to a mutually agreeable outcome--the practice became known as Alternative Dispute Resolution and is still featured in some law schools as one of many courses taken to earn a law degree. Some law firms offer ADR at times. Other firms focus on ADR as a mediation service, often in lieu of lawyers. Indeed, a graduate student in the Portland State University Conflict Resolution program worked for such a firm and said, "We are all proud that no lawyers work here." 

Some ADR practitioners do so through the court system, as court-appointed mediators in various categories of cases, such as landlord-tenant eviction disputes, small claims, or domestic relations. Each state makes its own requirement rules. In Oregon[2], for example, the state says: 

To be a court-connected mediator in civil cases, small claims or landlord tenant eviction cases, the following requirements apply:

·       Basic mediation curriculum (30 hours)

·       Court system training or substantially similar training (6 hours)

·       Experience observing three actual mediations and participating as a mediator or a co-mediator in at least three court cases while being observed by a person qualified as a general civil mediation supervisor and performing to the supervisor's satisfaction.

Complete requirements to serve as a court-connected mediator can be found in UTCR 12.060. Please contact your local court for instructions on how to apply.

In Oregon, the requirements for domestic relations[3] court-appointed mediators are far more rigorous, starting with a minimum of:

BA in a behavioral science related to family relationships, child development, or conflict resolution and at least 7 years post BA experience in providing social work, mental health, or conflict resolution services to families.

The best advice, then, for a student interested in qualifying to be a domestic relations court-appointed mediator might be to major in a behavioral science degree with a Conflict Resolution or CT minor. 

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[1] https://www.indeed.com/q-certified-mediator-jobs.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&aceid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22925951201&gbraid=0AAAAADgc-H4mB_LAgpDvb1u8Qs6Rrw5tE&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsNPKBhCqARIsACm01fSgzSb3W_O_wvM9jfD4erZgBt_F2SxtNrUCZkJoGfzZqkiT492dRwUaAtkhEALw_wcB&vjk=94e7b80a5d70e7f5

[2] https://www.courts.oregon.gov/programs/adr/pages/mediatorapplication.aspx

[3] https://www.courts.oregon.gov/programs/ADR/Documents/MediatorQualificationsByType.pdf

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Peace journalism, communications, messaging

 Peace journalism, communications, messaging

What sort of careers are available to those who study Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies and who wish to focus on some combination of promoting peace and justice and persuading others to do so? Some possibilities:

·       Any entry-level journalism job is a possibility, from all forms of media, such as reporting, op-ed writing, social media messaging.

·       Content creator, either for hire or as a monetizing venture.

·       Organizational communications staffer for organizations that work for peace and justice.

Peace journalism is just normal journalism with different sequences and priorities. For instance: 

·       Rather than "if it bleeds it leads," the peace journalist will seek out the players in conflict who are committed to nonviolence and draw out their motivations and knowledge.

·       Rather than interview just the opposing leaders in an adversarial struggle, the peace journalist will explore the actions of parties who are far more quietly seeking openings into transforming the conflict from destructive to constructive.

·       Peace journalism features different gatekeeping, which is the power of reporters, editors, and media shop owners (publishers). Such gatekeeping can be the choice of topics, subtopics, and who to source.

·       Peace journalism approaches framing a bit differently from traditional journalism. For example, on a local scale, a peace journalist might well write about a proposal by a unit of government to allow a trash incinerator as an issue involving systemic racism, if there is evidence that BIPOC demographics are disproportionately potentially affected. A peace journalist would likely frame stories on many conflicts as a cost/benefit analysis, with insertion of the particulars of exemplars. And the peace journalist would use gatekeeping to highlight the evidence that amplifies the frame for peace and justice.

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Civil resisters, movement leaders & community organizers

Though the pro-war, pro-pollution, anti-DEI, pro-racism leaders and influencers in the US frequently claim[1] that the people in the streets protesting what they do are "paid professional protesters," that is a complete fabrication, as any activist who has been deeply involved in building social movements knows well. The next claim is that these paid professional protesters are funded by George Soros.

The actual career opportunities in the realm of resistance are relatively few and normally low paid. It is a career path for the conflict transformation student whose first consideration is the strong desire to make a living doing the movement work that is foremost in the spirit, heart, and mind of that student. In other words, to be realistic, the idea is to earn enough doing movement work so that the student isn't being a barista full-time and doing the movement work as a part-time volunteer. 

For actual resisters, that is, people who can at times boldly get arrested and incarcerated in pursuit of movement building for peace and justice, a life crafted to allow for that is key. Some options include living in community and choosing a community that can flex with that approach. Such communities might include, for example, many Catholic Worker communities. Holding a Conflict Transformation or Peace Studies degree isn't a requirement for membership in such communities, but it would tend to orient the degree-holder who wishes to engage in resistance toward a corpus of knowledge that serves both the community and the campaigns or movements the graduate is drawn to.

There are some other opportunities for those who are drawn to research, perhaps with the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict or the Albert Einstein Institution, and those positions pay far more than a typical community organizer who works for any number of organizations, some local[2], some national or international with local chapters. Examples might include Physicians for Social Responsibility, the American Friends Service Committee, the National Lawyers Guild, and more.

In various sectors, community organizers build political will for policy creation or defense. For example, some staff for Planned Parenthood work specifically as community organizers, especially in the wake of the US Supreme court Dobbs decision (overturning Roe v Wade), defending abortion rights state by state (Pottenger, 2024). Where feasible, those Planned Parenthood workers are unionized, which generally makes their positions more secure, with benefits that many local advocacy or movement organizations cannot afford.

One of the most interesting confluences in the employment picture for Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies (CTPS) grads is the extent to which the theories learned open into creative responses that can prove highly successful. 

So, for example, in a good Consensus Building class, the student learns many things that translate into excellent community organizing, not just at the 30,000-foot level but right in the literal face of interpersonal relationships. All CTPS courses have dignity, face, respect at the start line. But consensus organizing teaches that external resources, with appropriate conditions, can serve a community quite well. Old guard community organizers trained in the Alinsky adversarial model might well gain some concessions or even defeat an external party in the name of the community. 

For example, a supermarket chain announces plans to build a new store in a community that is largely a food desert served inadequately by overpriced and understocked bodegas. A traditional organizer would whip opposition and likely successfully exclude that supermarket. 

A consensus organizer educated in CTPS might do a more thorough assessment, analysis, and seek to set up exploratory meetings with the corporate team and a team designated by the community to dialog, discuss, learn, and then evaluate. The community team might seek to gain commitments from the corporation on a number of items, such as employees hired from the community, grants available to community organizations, fair labor practices including unionization, and more. A consensus organizer, educated with a CTPS degree, would likely achieve a strong record over time in such employment, developing a range of relationships that not only produce short term victories for the community, but showcase possibilities that translate into more mutual gain, even political favor, and opportunities for community prosperity based on integrity, DEI, and general uplift. This model, then, is one to employ and solidify a career grounded in community gratitude rather than a simple "He fights the bad guys" reputation too many old school community organizers have. Keeping out charlatans is important; bringing in collaborative parties is what keeps it more sustainable.

References

Pottenger, K. (2024). Planned Parenthood: Bargaining after Dobbs. New Labor Forum (Sage Publications Inc.), 34(1), 91–97. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.1177/10957960241298934

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[1] https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/compensated-activist-majority-protesters-paid/ NewsNation is a cover for rightwing "analysis" that is often an apparently sober examination of outrageous lies from far right sources, as though the lies have merit and only need to be examined from an assumption that they are true and, since they are, why? What are the arguments on both sides of the false claim? In this case, for instance, a supposed paid protester, who claims that the majority of the No Kings protesters are paid, supposedly argues that it doesn't mean that the protesters are insincere. This fake journalism can be slick and, to a person ignorant of it, convincing. In this case, as someone heavily involved in building social movements for six decades, I absolutely know it is a fake journalism story with literally zero truth. 

[2] For example, in the early 1980s I was approached by a local peace activist in the far north of Wisconsin to start an actual paid organization. She and I and one other woman started it in Hayward, Wisconsin and called it Waging Peace. Jeanne was Education, Madge was Office Manager and Public Speaker, and I was Liaison to local peace groups across northern Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and northeastern Minnesota. We funded ourselves by a combination of direct mail appeals and small grants. We paid ourselves minimum wage. For each of us, it was simply a time in life where we had some financial obligations but not so overwhelming that we couldn't live on minimum wage and we were all driven to work full-time for peace and justice. In my case, I eventually became a full-time resister, going to prison for a direct disarmament action, but following that with using my Peace and Conflict Studies degree to get hired as an adjunct Peace and Conflict Studies professor, which ultimately led to a full-time professor appointment. This is a highly unusual career path, but it's my reality.

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Spinning it up from thin air

It is possible, in some cases, to simply invent a career and lean in with your whole heart and make it so. 

For example, in the early 1980s I was approached by a local peace activist in the far north of Wisconsin to start an actual paid organization. She and I and one other woman started it in Hayward, Wisconsin and called it Waging Peace. Jeanne was Education, Madge was Office Manager and Public Speaker, and I was Liaison and Trainer to local peace groups across northern Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and northeastern Minnesota. We funded ourselves by a combination of direct mail appeals and small grants. We paid ourselves minimum wage. For each of us, it was simply a time in life where we had some financial obligations but not so overwhelming that we couldn't live on minimum wage and we were all driven to work full-time for peace and justice. In my case, I eventually became a full-time resister, going to prison for a direct disarmament action, but following that with using my Peace and Conflict Studies degree to get hired as an adjunct Peace and Conflict Studies professor, which ultimately led to a full-time professor appointment. This is a highly unusual career path, but it's my reality. Others have created something from apparent nothing and have thus been able to devote themselves to the work that fed their passion. 

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Mediators in the streets

 

In the streets

Mediators on the street level generally work with a variant of the CLARA[1] method of deëscalation, a method used by unarmed civilian protection teams around the world. Calm, Listen, Affirm, Respond, and Add information is an approach to outbreaks of destructive conflict "in the wild," that is, not in an office or other professional setting where the parties have sought the help of a mediator. 

Some cities have formal branches of emergency responders who are unarmed and are usually dispatched to intervene in eruptions of conflicts that can include threats of harm, whether self-harm or harm to others, but which do not involve overt display of weapons. These workers are usually available in one of two fashions. 

They may be the result of well-trained 911 dispatchers who know that a gun is not needed when a fire breaks out, when someone has a heart attack or other health emergency, and in situations that often may escalate by the mere presence of sworn officers with weapons but involve no weapons displayed by the parties in conflict. 

Alternatively, or in addition, the jurisdiction may have a dedicated emergency number for such conflicts. 

What are the professional positions associated with this agency of local government?

Dispatchers are trained in all aspects of fielding calls for first responders, including seeking credible information, ferreting out salient facts, and ruling out either the nuisance calls that don't require a city response or calls that actually must go to the actual police force.

Crews must be trained in deëscalation, which includes both a method such as CLARA and the skills to practice emergency psychological first aid.

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[1] https://inittogether.cargo.site/CLARA-Method

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Facilitator

 Facilitators, from consensus process to ombuds and beyond

A career based in facilitation is usually either in a large organization or as a consultant for a large organization. It may come in the form of a specialized process, such as a consensus decision-making circumstance or it may be one of many conflict management services, such as ombuds services or the design and implementation of internal conflict management. It can be a position that is free-floating in a large organization--government agency, institution, corporation--so that the facilitator is simply available across this large organization or it may be a service offered by a private consultancy that a large organization uses from time to time.

Leading a consensus decision-making process is a specialized set of competencies often done in order to legitimately flatten any hierarchy for the purposes of making major decisions, seeking the genuine input and ultimate consensus of all parties or representatives of sectors of the organization, without fear or favor. This is fairly unusual and even more unusual when management--e.g., owners, CEOs, heads of large departments--have an official power pyramid that is difficult to authentically set aside for the duration of the consensus process. A specialist in facilitating this may be required, and it often starts by engaging in the requisite education of the parties to convince them that, for this decision-making process the facilitator has been brought in to temporarily change the structure of how decisions are made, to seek the participation of each of the parties at the table without the disabling effects of fear of overstepping authority.

An ombuds, on the other hand, is available to individuals and small groups within a large organization, to hear concerns and complaints and to facilitate progress toward solutions in order to head off conflicts that might otherwise become litigious or some grander problem, including severe loss of productivity or efficiency due to festering conflict. Latent effects of unattended conflict can radically reduce the productive output of portions of a large organization, imposing ongoing costs that good upstream conflict work, such as ombuds services, can help reduce. 

At times facilitation may also include designing an internal conflict management apparatus and organizational culture that seeks to make the organization self-facilitating to some measure. This frequently includes trainings that skill up more and more of the members of the organization to recognize the problems of unmanaged conflict and to initiate or even perform conflict management themselves. A series of trainings may include increasingly specialized sets of competencies such as: Understanding the organizational working diagrams; Deëscalating workplace conflict; Bystander intervention; Small group facilitation; Envisioning personal futures in the organization; Mandatory reporting legal requirements; Building an organizational culture toward increasing success; Team-building, and much more.

Careers in Conflict Transformation and professional peaceworking: Mediators in the streets and the suites

 Mediators in the streets and the suites

The role of the mediator is to transform destructive conflict into constructive conflict. The levels at which this can be accomplished are essentially infinite; conflict is one natural, ubiquitous human phenomenon and it frequently becomes destructive because it is often rooted in disrespect or the perception of such. At our core, we crave dignity, the positive regard that any human relies upon in our social being makeup. When conflict is actually an expression of contempt it can lead many humans into suspecting such disrespect in all conflicts, even when they are founded in simple disagreement, not emotional dismissal of the other.

When a person can be perceived as a neutral party who cares equally about the well-being of all parties to a conflict, that person can act as a mediator in seeking a workable, acceptable solutionary outcome. Usually, the outcome that is transformative is not a permanent resolution to a conflict but rather a commitment by all the parties to treat each other as being honest, respectful agents in the search for collaborative paths to progress. 

Learning to help others reduce defensiveness is as important as learning to help others reduce actual practices based in disrespect for others. All this requires some understanding of and mastery of aspects of psychology; from the Rogerian "unconditional positive regard" to a trauma-informed approach to hearing from each party, the stance of the mediator is what Kwame Christian calls "compassionate curiosity," listening more, talking less, helping uncover the painful past and the unfortunate assumptions we carry into our human interactions.