Vickie Hawkins studied international relations at university, then moved into the third sector after graduating. She first worked at Oxfam and then as a financial coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières, moving between the UK and abroad, most recently for two years as Head of Mission in Myanmar. She became UK Executive Director in May 2014. She will be addressing the society on the subject of "Impartial Aid? Tackling the Challenges to Contemporary Humanitarian Action".

The event will be FREE to IR Soc members, and followed by a drinks reception.