It’s been a bruising year for global development job seekers, with the USAID shutdown triggering sectorwide layoffs and hiring freezes, creating the most competitive job market in recent memory. If you’ve been on the hunt for months, the endless LinkedIn scroll probably feels impossible to escape. But a new year offers a chance to reset and realign priorities for a more effective search in 2026.
In this edition of Career Hub, I’m sharing three ideas from sector experts that could help put your job search on the right track come January. Plus, the best new job opportunities from Devex’s board, from leading organizations such as FHI 360, Cowater International, and many others.
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Top full-time staff jobs this week
1. Marketing and Media Manager
International Law Institute
United States
2. Subnational Program Manager
Cowater International
Philippines
3. GEDSI Lead
DT Global
Papua New Guinea
4. Program Director, Workforce
FHI 360
United States (remote)
5. Technical Program Director
Pact
Dominican Republic
6. Enterprise Development Coordinator
Heifer International
Kenya
Devex Talent Solutions, our boutique recruitment agency, is supporting CARE USA in recruiting a senior director for humanitarian advocacy. Successful candidates can be based in any country where CARE has an established office. Applications are open until Jan. 15, 2026.
+ See more roles DTS is helping to fill.
New year, new job search
“It's a real need to have a job and be financially stable … but what I find is when people let go of looking after themselves, they often come to a stage of burnout.”
— Jeeda Alhakim, specialist counseling psychologist, University of LondonIf you’re feeling burned out as 2025 comes to a close, protecting your overall health and well-being during the 2026 job search is essential. Here are a few other ways development job seekers can right the ship next year.
Aim for quantity, not quality. Don’t think in terms of “more hours” but rather “a better system,” advises Kelsi Kriitmaa, a social impact career coach. Kriitmaa recommends setting clear, controllable daily metrics — such as submitting one targeted application or reaching out to five contacts per day — rather than chasing every new opportunity.
Rethink how you network. Effective networking doesn’t necessarily mean walking away from a conversation with a solid job lead, says Dan Perez of SRI Executive. The main thing you are trying to gain from a networking conversation is information. Much of the value that comes from networking takes time to emerge, says Stephanie Mansueto, a social impact job-hunting coach, which is why follow-up is critical.
Transition with confidence. Kathryn Harper, who has supported numerous job seekers in refining their CVs, has encouraged job seekers to frame career pivots as moments of adaptability and growth. Career pivots often require job seekers to explain gaps in their CVs or shifts within a sector, but Harper urges job seekers to clearly and concisely contextualize such issues.
Read more: 10 resolutions to kick-start your job search in the new year (Career)
Top consulting and short-term jobs
1. Senior Hub Manager
Speak Up Africa
Kenya | Benin | Côte d’Ivoire | Senegal (remote)
2. Medicines Access Consultant
Resolve to Save Lives
Nigeria (remote)
3. Operations Advisor (Deputy Head of Office)
UNOPS
Finland
4. Associate Protection Officer
UN Refugee Agency
Rwanda
5. Team Leader and Principal Evaluator for Two MCC Evaluations
Socha LLC
Togo | Gambia (remote)
6. Senior Program Coordinator, Malawi
CDC Foundation
Malawi
+ For more opportunities, check out the weekly Devex Jobs Alert newsletter on LinkedIn and Devex’s Job board.
Turning crisis into opportunity
After peace and security strategist Kevin Melton lost his position with USAID in early March, he quickly found a way to turn his two decades of lessons learned on how to engage with the military in development work into something new.
“We used to have USAID people sit next to four-star commanders. … That’s gone now [and] pretty much why Pax exists,” Melton told Devex of Pax Strategies, the risk analysis consulting firm he launched earlier this year with several other former USAID personnel.
What they’ve created is a network of experts on standby to provide strategic advisory services to governments, commodity companies, private-sector clients, and international organizations in peacebuilding, conflict management, and investment more broadly.
For anyone else considering the entrepreneurship route, Melton stressed the importance of having savings and a plan in place, and not underestimating the time and effort you’ll have to spend on strategic communications.
Read more: How a former USAID staffer created a network of security experts (Career)
Around the watercooler
News and views from around global development worth knowing about.
• DFC reauthorization gains traction. After contentious debates, lawmakers have reached a compromise, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation looks poised to receive an extension of its authority to operate and expand.
Child deaths on the rise. An estimated 4.8 million children are expected to die before their 5th birthday this year — 200,000 more than last year, according to the Gates Foundation’s annual Goalkeepers Report. The increase comes amid steep cuts to global health funding.
UNEP warns of environmental decline. A U.N. assessment says environmental decline is accelerating faster than expected, draining trillions from the global economy as governments drift further apart on how to respond.
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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.
