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Devex Career Hub: Aid-freeze legal battles fuel further confusion

Published 3 weeks ago5 minute read

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While thousands of global development workers continue to grapple with what’s next following layoffs and furloughs, legal battles rage on that some .

In this edition of Career Hub, an update on what recent court orders and lawsuits mean for those caught in the fallout of the U.S. aid freeze. Plus, some of the best new job opportunities from leading organizations such as the Danish Refugee Council, The Carter Center, and more.

Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar and a panel of sector leaders will discuss the ongoing aid freeze and the critical next steps for those who have lost their NGO jobs.

1.
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market
Worldwide (remote) 

2.
UNOPS
Myanmar 

3.
Action Against Hunger
United States 

4.
The Carter Center
United States

5.
The Palladium Group
Australia 

6.
Relief International
Syria 

+ See the full list

Devex Talent Solutions, our very own boutique recruitment agency, is assisting in its search for a country director to be based in Mwanza, Tanzania. Those interested should apply by March 7.

+ DTS is also seeking candidates for a manager of finance and administration with Roots, which is based in Canada (closing March 2), among many others. See more roles DTS is helping to fill.

A lawsuit filed yesterday is  There are more than 1,000 PSCs who work at USAID, the majority of which have already lost their jobs, been locked out of their accounts, or been suspended from the agency.

While a previous court order temporarily halted USAID’s direct hire employees from being placed on administrative leave, this new lawsuit focuses specifically on PSCs. It follows another recently filed lawsuit by 26 former and current USAID employees against Elon Musk, stating the billionaire has decimated the agency without the authority to do so.

Despite some recent legal victories, most notably a federal judge’s order last Thursday that the Trump administration temporarily halt its foreign aid freeze on existing programs,

Peter Marocco, USAID’s acting deputy administrator, stated that virtually “all USAID contracts are terminable by the Agency for convenience,” according to a document filed on Tuesday. Less than 24 hours after the government’s rebuttal,  filing an emergency motion to enforce the temporary restraining order and hold the defendants in civil contempt.

 Mitchell Warren, the executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, shared his experience with Devex of speaking with several organizations from South Africa who were trading bits and pieces of information — one saying that USAID projects could get waivers; another saying they couldn’t; one saying foreign assistance can restart due to the court case; another saying it was still frozen.

“No one knows,” Warren said. “And if you go to anyone at USAID to get information, the message you get back is: ‘Thanks for your email. The agency has not provided guidance.’”

 Follow the latest news and careers coverage of Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office and their impact on the development sector.

 Anonymous USAID employees, contractors sue Musk, DOGE

1.
African Development Bank
Côte d’Ivoire 

2.
World Food Programme
Ethiopia 

3.
World Health Organization
Worldwide (remote) 

4.
Environmental Justice Foundation
Liberia | Romania 

5.
Danish Refugee Council
Colombia 

6.
International Organization for Migration
Philippines 

+ For more opportunities, check out the weekly Devex Jobs Alert newsletter on LinkedIn, our next early-week edition of Career Hub, and Devex’s Job board.

 “If you’re feeling unsettled and scared and uneasy about the future, know you’re in good company.”

— Spencer Campbell, social impact careers coach

With thousands of global development professionals experiencing job losses, furloughs, or reduced hours and pay, and many more worried that they might be next to experience this hardship, fear is an emotion being broadly felt in the social impact space.

But listening to your fears rather than running away from them can set you on a path to landing the right role and , according to Spencer Campbell, social impact careers coach, and Dan Freehling, an executive leadership coach. Here are a few takeaways from a recent digital event held for Devex Career Account members.


Campbell and Freehling recommend listening to your fears as a first step for any job seeker striving for direction in their job search. “Fears should be used to inform our needs and our wants,” Freehling says. Start by “getting these down on paper [and] getting these out of our heads.”

 Figuring out what you need from your job and what you want out of it is a “deliberate process of sitting with them and making sure they make sense for you,” Freehling says. For needs, this also involves identifying “actions am I going to start doing, stop doing [or] continue doing.”

Your job search strategy will largely depend on your specific situation, especially when it comes to your finances. If time is short, you may need to prioritize “a much faster [job] search, and it might be a much more expansive [and pragmatic] search, Campbell says.

Circles of career evolution — unlocking fearless impact

News and views from around global development worth knowing about.

+ To keep up to date with all the must-read global development coverage, be sure to sign up to the daily Devex Newswire.

 for global development’s top jobs, expert career advice, and practical tips to help you do more good for more people.

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