Orla has worked with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has been the Danish ambassador to numerous countries. Most recently, Orla served as CEO of International NGO and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (2014-2015). Between 2009 and 2014, he worked as the Alternate Executive Director in the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington D.C., focusing on program development and financial assistance to the private sector as well as to governments in Latin America and the Caribbean – including a major humanitarian assistance program to Haiti.