Professor Aptel leads the Policy, Strategy, and Knowledge Department at the IFRC, overseeing strategic planning, humanitarian diplomacy, protection and inclusion, monitoring and evaluation, innovation, organization learning and capacity strengthening. She has over 20 years of experience in management, strategy, legal and policy roles, having worked for the UN, think-tanks and NGOs in Africa, Europe, the Middle-East and North America.

She is also a professor of international law, teaching at the Fletcher School, Harvard and the Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria. She has widely published in the areas of international law, international criminal justice, transitional justice and child rights.