Contemporary Vietnam provides an arena to explore the workforce changes that have emerged as a consequence of the program of DoiMoi - the transition from a centrally planned economy to one that is more market oriented. A key aspect of this transition has been the growth of INGOs which offer young graduates career opportunities in globally connected intercultural work environments. NGOs across the world play an important role in ‘mediating interwined and often contradictory processes of political and economic liberalisation’ (Richard, 2009), however, NGOs in Vietnam perform in a state-led context – a political space asigned by the state (Gray, 1999). The Vietnamese staff at INGOs were required to mediate between international consultants' ideas and local communities' practices and customs. Since the young Vietnamese graduates have strong allegiances to both employers and clients, their mediation becomes complicated in the role of being ‘the man in the middle’. This research revisits and extends the concept of cultural mediation by exploring its relevance when different cultural worlds intersect at the context of development projects at INGOs in Vietnam. This paper presents findings from interviews with young Vietnamese graduates working at INGOs, conducted in two phases, between 2010 and 2012. Drawing on theories of cultural mediation and cultural intermediaries (Bochner, 1981; Bourdieu, 1990a) the research suggests that the graduates negotiate the complex cultural terrain in which they operate by strategically positioning themselves between INGO managers and directors and the local communities the INGOs are designed to serve.