Since the U.S. foreign aid freeze began on Jan. 24, 20,000 job postings have appeared on the Devex board. While this is about 21% less compared to the same period in 2024, the more you know about what recruiters are still looking for, the better chance you have of gaining an edge in this more competitive market.
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In this edition of Career Hub, I’m sharing some of what we learned from our latest downloadable career guide, which features an extensive breakdown of post-aid freeze job posting trends. Plus, some of the best new job opportunities on the Devex board, featuring roles from leading organizations such as Innovations for Poverty Action, Caribbean Development Bank, and many others.
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While we have spent the last several weeks looking into various segments of the development sector via job board data analysis, our new downloadable guide on who is still hiring is the most comprehensive effort yet to help you make sense of the current recruitment landscape.
Among its findings are details on which sectors have been hit the hardest since the U.S. aid freeze started on Jan. 24. compared to the over 2,300 advertised during the same period last year. Significant hiring slowdowns from sector giants such as UNICEF were largely responsible for this decline. compared to last year, when it advertised 1,995, the second-most of any development organization.
Other sectors have weathered the storm much better, and in a few cases, have seen year-on-year growth. fueled in part by a resilient Asian Development Bank. ADB’s nearly 1,500 total postings are the most of any organization since the aid freeze began, and are roughly the same as in 2024.
We also found that while nearly 19% fewer mid-level positions have been posted, as the nearly 4,600 postings this year are about 30% lower than in 2024.
Our guide also breaks down trends based on geography and contract types, and identifies the 50 most active development organizations across five categories, including the top consulting firms, NGOs, and foundations.
Who is still hiring in global development? (Career)
Your tool kit for navigating job loss and the US aid crisis (Career)
1.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Switzerland
2.
Caribbean Development Bank
Barbados
3.
The Fred Hollows Foundation
United States | Cambodia | Ethiopia
4.
UNOPS
Kiribati
5.
Innovations for Poverty Action
Rwanda
6.
The Pacific Community
Fiji
Devex Talent Solutions, our boutique recruitment agency, is supporting the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean in its search for an employee experience senior specialist and a senior change management specialist, with applications for both positions closing on June 14.
+ See more roles DTS is helping to fill.
Indigenous groups are often a target demographic for development assistance, but given the historical subjugation of and disregard for Indigenous peoples, the way in which the development community interacts with them. These are three things experts say every development professional should know about these communities.
Reliant as it is on ancestral land, which links to spiritual beliefs, language, and culture, the way of life valued by Indigenous groups is directly threatened by climate change. Indigenous communities are being displaced by climate change seven times faster than other communities.
Otherwise known as free, prior, and informed consent, FPIC is critical when engaging with Indigenous groups on any work. “If you do development activities in their lands and territories, then they have an international right to be the prime decision-makers,” says Marianne Wiben Jensen of the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.
As more people embrace and appreciate the wisdom of ancient practices that preserve the land and its resources, development workers have to be careful about how they work with that information. Some academics have been accused of extracting knowledge from communities without proper consent or sourcing.
Indigenous rights — 4 things all development workers should know (Career)
1.
Asian Development Bank
Philippines
2.
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
Ghana
3.
Socha LLC
Democratic Republic of Congo (remote)
4.
UNICEF
Switzerland
5.
Resolve to Save Lives
Worldwide
6.
Safe Reach Solutions
West Bank | Israel
+ For more opportunities, check out the weekly Devex Jobs Alert newsletter on LinkedIn and Devex’s Job board.
News and views from around global development worth knowing about.
• President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would increase taxes on private foundations, place a 5% tax on remittances for non-U.S. citizens, and allow the government to revoke the tax-exempt status of organizations it says support terrorists.
Next week, in Geneva, WHO’s highest decision-making body will consider resolutions that would extend a plan for maternal and child nutrition, and restrict digital marketing of breast milk substitutes.
The acting CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the U.S. aid agency that was recently instructed by DOGE to rapidly wind down all operations, resigned on Tuesday.
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