Where a secretary general can go next
5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a secretary general already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Secretaries general head international governmental or nongovernmental organisations. They supervise staff, direct policy and strategy development, and function as main representative of the organisation.
Also known as first secretary, secretary-general, general secretary, international organisation chief officer.
Managers 28 skills on file 5 career moves 0 above 60% overlap Closest: secretary of state, 58%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 2 · A bigger jump
Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.
Table 3 · What the job itself asks for
A secretary general needs 13 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- coordinate government activities in foreign institutions communication, collaboration and creativity
- represent national interests communication, collaboration and creativity
- good governance social sciences, journalism and information
- bookkeeping regulations business, administration and law
- conduct financial audits information skills
- audit techniques business, administration and law
- represent the organisation communication, collaboration and creativity
- project management principles business, administration and law
- maintain relationships with government agencies communication, collaboration and creativity
- budgetary principles business, administration and law
Table 4 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a secretary general does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
- secretary of state 61% covered · difficulty 38.4
- city councillor 52% covered · difficulty 46.4
- public administration manager 44% covered · difficulty 52.7
- civil service administrative officer 37% covered · difficulty 59
- government minister 35% covered · difficulty 59.5
- government planning inspector 31% covered · difficulty 63.7
- tax policy analyst 30% covered · difficulty 64.9
- healthcare institution manager 26% covered · difficulty 68
Look up another occupation
Secretary general is filed under Managers, ISCO major group 1. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a secretary general’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.