As the USAID dust settles, what's the development job market outlook?

At the end of 2024, it seemed like the biggest influential factors on the 2025 aid and development job market would be artificial intelligence, automation, and the continued transition to more locally led work. While then-incoming U.S. President Donald Trump was seen by development insiders as a potential threat to family planning and climate organizations, experts didn’t predict the extent of the upheaval his second presidential term would bring. The dismantling of USAID will have massive repercussions on the job market for the remainder of the year, experts say. “It's going to be just a tougher job market,” said Stephanie Mansueto, a social impact career coach who is seeing an influx in inquiries as individuals affected by layoffs navigate next steps. “Before all this went down with the stop-work orders and the cuts, I was telling people, depending on their level, to estimate a job search to be anywhere from three to six months. Now I'm telling people it's going to be a year-plus potentially for them to find a job.” Shortly after his inauguration, Trump announced USAID staff would be reduced from 10,000 to just over 600 staffers as stop-work orders came into play amid a planned review of all foreign aid. Even as lawsuits go forward on behalf of development workers, other organizations around the world, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and unable to wait it out, are also letting staff go. “A lot of people will try to stay in social impact. They'll either shift to the global non-profits, the foundations, or they'll go more toward domestic or home-country based positions,” Mansueto said. However, foundations and private philanthropy won’t, unfortunately, be able to fill the gap USAID is likely to leave, meaning “there just isn't going to be enough… for everyone to get jobs,” she said. Disruptions to the U.S. aid and development sector take place amid what Devex was already seeing as a decline in nonprofit jobs at the end of 2024. Sixteen percent fewer jobs were posted on its board in 2024 versus 2023. Lois Freeke, manager of the Asia-Pacific and international recruitment business at NGO Recruitment, said she had also witnessed a slowdown in hiring in Australia at the end of 2024. “Job ads were very low with a high amount of applications per ad,” she shared. Such a slump was in line with the general decline in foreign aid spending last year, explained Deborah Doane, who previously held roles with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Wildlife Fund and is the author of “The INGO Problem: Power, privilege, and renewal.” Higher-income countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the European Union cut their overseas spending, which impacted the number of development projects and jobs. Green jobs were a bright spot, Freeke noted, which she attributed to an influx of climate philanthropy. That money might still be flowing — but with more applicants than roles likely available, the development and aid job market is going to be a tough place in 2025, regardless of the subsector, and certainly for anyone new to the market, Doane said. As a result, many professionals, Doane and Mansueto believe, will find homes for their skills elsewhere. New opportunities But Freeke is hopeful that Trump-induced change will open up new opportunities in the sector. Many programs, she believes, will continue thanks to backing from new donors, while new initiatives will arise to combat Trump’s “America First” agenda, she said. For example, as harsher immigration laws come into play, there would be more demand for immigration support and legal advice, she said. “There is also going to be increased mobilization of the grassroots movements and community groups in the ecosystem are being spurred into action as Trump withdraws from the Paris agreement [so] hiring is not decreasing here,” she said. Long-term data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on nonprofit employment, also shows that since 2007, employment in the space has risen despite disruptive events. Doane said the shift could also be used to grow more local and national civil societies. “Local people should be looking to local organizations, creating startups, creating new opportunities, growing homegrown organizations, rather than looking to INGOs for jobs,” she said, “because that's not where the jobs are going to be.” Of the roles still available within traditional organizations, Freeke believes there will be demand for people with skills in finance, monitoring and evaluation, data analytics, and partnerships. “It’s not just looking for people who can submit grants, proposals, and tenders anymore; it's going to be very much reliant on storytelling, partnerships, individual giving, and high net worth, private philanthropy, trusts and foundations,” she shared. As predicted, an understanding of AI will also be valued within the sector as everyone grapples with how it can be best used to advance the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and ensure compliance with donor regulations. Freeke also expects a continued emphasis on green and climate jobs. “I recruit heavily in the climate action sector and these organizations are often totally independent,” she said. “Their funding comes from trusts and foundations and major gifts and this may move further into corporate giving.” Mansueto pointed out that a lot of career accelerator programs are also popping up, such as Voiz Academy, Climate Drift, Climate Base, and Terra.do, that job seekers could explore. Words of advice For those caught in the fallout of Trump 2.0 — or just looking for a new position in 2025 — Mansueto advised that the first step should be assessing your finances to figure out how much time you have to find a job. “If [you] have less than a six-month runway, [you] really need to look at finding a job now and building up finances through part-time or gig work to help not cut into [your] savings so much,” she said. “If you've got a little bit longer than six months, you have more breathing room to think about how you want to go about it.” From there, Freeke said it is important to understand what your value is and where you fit in the nonprofit landscape. “You need to do your research and find out which organizations are hiring and how your skills and experience translate,” she said. Devex’s jobs board currently has roles advertised in Egypt with Humanity & Inclusion; Cambodia with the RTI International; and Senegal with AGRA. The next step, Freeke said, is to collate examples of where you've delivered on a similar remit, backed up with hard data. “Search out opportunities, build personal connections, be proactive in your networking, join communities, get referred in, and have lots of curious conversations with people who can either refer you into a job opportunity or are hiring,” she added. Mansueto warned those who have been working with the U.S. government against “de-governmenting” their resumes to the point of removing specifics. “One thing I want job seekers to know is that employers hire you for the skills you have right now. … So lean into your global work,” she advised, while also warning against panic applying for jobs that aren’t a good fit. Doane also suggested job seekers look within their own countries and communities. “The issues are maybe not the same extremes if you're a humanitarian worker, but look at what's happened in California with wildfires. These are massive humanitarian crises,” she said. This also dovetails somewhat with Trump's “America First” agenda, which could mean the potential for more domestic funding and thus more jobs. “What happened with the last Trump administration is many philanthropic organizations moved away from international funding and started funding a lot more in the US and domestically,” Doane said. Ultimately, Katie Latham, founder of Changemaker Careers, emphasized that “there is still meaningful work to be found” and hope to be had in the sector. “There's such incredibly talented, brilliant, and good-hearted people in the space. Your skills are still so needed.”