Community Development Work

Community development work includes the application of development plans to improve the standard of living and the wellbeing of the community at local and national levels. Development functions are mainly carried out by government officials. However, it may include other firms such as not for profit organizations or religious organizations, working under private management. They perform social services aimed at providing facilities to community at large, without having the intention of profit making.

What is included in community development work?

Community work tackles the problems faced by the community at large. The main issues dealt by them include:

• Land Usage: Appropriate allocation of land for residential, public utility, commercial and agriculture purpose
• Environmental: Ensure preservation of the environment while implementing development plans
• Social: Cater to the food, shelter and education requirements of the low income groups
• Amenities: Make the community self sufficient in arranging facilities and services for the community
• Events: Organize events and social gatherings to bring awareness and for entertainment purpose
• Health and Hygiene: Manage the hygiene levels and cleanliness standards of the community

We have enlisted the most common community development work profiles with a short job description.

• Community Development Director: He estimates the future needs and drafts the community development plan. He makes plans to develop the infrastructural facilities of the community. He provides sanctions and leads the projects till its completion stage.

• Community Development Officer: He handles the practical aspects of executing a development project. He invites quotations, chooses the suitable tender and arranges the resources to launch the projects. He organizes meetings and maintains a track of the progress of development projects.

• Community Development Engineer: He judges the feasibility of the community development work by analyzing the engineering aspects of the plan. He evaluates if it is safe to carry out development programs and conveys the precautionary measures to be taken for the same.

• Financial Aid Coordinator: He communicates with the business enterprises, socialites and general public to collect financial contributions towards social work. He promotes the social causes and arranges sufficient funds required for organizing the activity.

• Volunteers: They work at the grass root levels and perform actual development functions. They perform the tasks of conducting research, communicating with public to identify their needs, creating awareness, distributing materials, analyzing the effect of development work, etc.

Work Requirements

• Educational Qualifications: The job requirements depend on the position and its chief responsibilities. Candidates are required to possess graduation in any of the fields such as civil engineering, economics, accountancy, public administration, etc.

• Skills: Employers prefer candidates with following skills while hiring for community development work:
  • Ability to identify needs of the community at large
  • Ability to judge feasibility of implementing and financing projects
  • Ability to communicate with associates from varied backgrounds
  • Ability to work on computers and handle technical systems
  • Willingness to carry out field inspections and work overtime

• Community development work is a combination of on-field and off-field work. The management officers carry out their work from offices. Also, they make site inspections to gain an overview of the actual conditions and evaluate the feasibility of the projects.
• The actual working hours for community work is 40 hours. However, the officers may have to work at night or on weekends. Often, they must exceed their actual time in order to complete projects and meet the development targets.
• Traveling includes long hours of walking and standing. This may cause fatigue and pain in legs. Additionally, political instability or bureaucracy can led to work pressure.
• Job transfer is common in this profile. Government officers are asked to shift base to other cities
• Officers can choose to work as full time employees or on contract basis.

Career Prospects

Job opportunities are estimated to grow in community development field. There are different areas to specialize and work under community development. It includes engineering, finance administration, clerical, etc. Most of the development jobs are government jobs. The main drawback is the career advancements opportunities tend to be limited and slow in public sector in most cases.

We hope this community development work has provided the necessary guidelines to job seekers to choose the career path.