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.
+ Join us on May 23: Devex is hosting a digital event offering insider perspectives on the current state of development consulting to help guide the next steps in your career path. Register now. To gain access to this and all digital events, advice guides, and the world’s largest global development job board, sign up for a Devex Career Account with a free 15-day trial.
Data download: The state of the globaldev job market
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. Global health has seen a 45.5% drop in job postings 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. UNICEF’s 917 postings represent a 54% decrease 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. Climate-related roles (1,876) have increased by over 9%, 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, entry-level job seekers have encountered an even more challenging job market, 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.
Download: Who is still hiring in global development? (Career)
Explore more: Your tool kit for navigating job loss and the US aid crisis (Career)
Top full-time staff jobs this week
1. Senior Manager, Information Security
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Switzerland
2. Evaluation Officer
Caribbean Development Bank
Barbados
3. Senior Project Director – Global Eye Health Initiative
The Fred Hollows Foundation
United States | Cambodia | Ethiopia
4. Project Manager
UNOPS
Kiribati
5. Senior Research Associate
Innovations for Poverty Action
Rwanda
6. Legal Officer
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 rights: 3 things to know
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 must be nuanced. These are three things experts say every development professional should know about these communities.
Disproportionately impacted by climate change. 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.
The importance of FPIC. 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.
Handling Indigenous knowledge with care. 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.
Read: Indigenous rights — 4 things all development workers should know (Career)
Top consulting and short-term jobs
1. Economist (Data Science)
Asian Development Bank
Philippines
2. Individual Consultant: Development of the Feed Ghana Programme
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
Ghana
3. Subject Matter Expert — Evaluation of the South Kivu Health System Support Program
Socha LLC
Democratic Republic of Congo (remote)
4. Individual Consultant: Epidemiologist Consultant
UNICEF
Switzerland
5. Consultant, Health Tax Policy — Africa
Resolve to Save Lives
Worldwide
6. Humanitarian Operations Center Specialist
Safe Reach Solutions
West Bank | Israel
+ For more opportunities, check out the weekly Devex Jobs Alert newsletter on LinkedIn and Devex’s Job board.
Around the watercooler
News and views from around global development worth knowing about.
• U.S. philanthropies bracing for tax bill. 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.
• Nutrition gets top billing at WHA78. 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.
• MCC’s acting CEO resigns. 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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About the author
Justin Sablich
Justin is a contributing writer and editor who previously led Devex’s careers content strategy. Before joining Devex, Justin served as the managing editor of Springwise, covering sustainable and climate-tech innovation across all business sectors. He also spent over 13 years as an editor and writer for the New York Times, specializing in digital content production and strategy while producing written and multimedia content on a range of topics, including travel, sports, and technology.
