With the development world's eyes on the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30, we thought it was a good time to check in on the job market for climate-focused professionals.
In this edition of Career Hub, I’m sharing some of what we learned from our latest job board data analysis, including how much green you can earn for helping to save the planet. Plus, the best new job opportunities from Devex’s board, from leading organizations such as UNOPS, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and many others.
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Top full-time staff jobs this week
1. Supply Chain Management Senior Officer
UNOPS
Denmark
2. Project Director — CDC Health System Strengthening Activity
IMA World Health
United States (remote)
3. Principal Specialist or Lead Specialist — Economics
Inter-American Development Bank
United States
4. US Executive Director
Mennonite Central Committee
United States
5. Private Sector Lead
CoST — the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative
Worldwide (remote)
6. Young Professionals Program
African Development Bank
Côte d’Ivoire
Devex Talent Solutions, our boutique recruitment agency, is assisting the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, in its search for an HR associate, employee relations, based in Beijing, China. This opportunity is open until Nov. 25.
+ See more roles DTS is helping to fill.
Data download: Climate jobs and salaries
As world leaders, organizations, and the media gather at COP30, we’re taking a closer look at the climate hiring landscape.
From Jan. 1 to Oct. 31 of this year, just over 1,000 climate-related jobs have been posted to Devex, which is a 26.4% decrease from the same period last year, when 1,374 jobs were posted. While overall opportunities are down, 297 of this year's postings across 106 recruiting organizations included public salary information, a 2.7% increase from 2024.
Of these nearly 300 postings, the average salary ranged from $65,105 to $81,567, a 13.2% drop from last year’s average salary of $74,988 to $101,941. Geographically, North America led the way with an average salary of $101,389 to $138,274, a 3.5% decrease from 2024.
Among salary-transparent organizations, the U.N. Development Programme ranked first, sharing salary information for 28 jobs with an average annual range of $50,689 to $76,772. Close behind were the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Asian Development Bank, each with shared salary information for 26 jobs.
The highest-paid climate job was posted by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for a U.S.-based director of global climate initiative position, offering an average annual salary range of $232,000 to $302,000.
Read: What you can expect to earn from climate jobs (Career)
Explore more: What you can expect to earn in M&E (Career)
Top consulting and short-term jobs
1. Global Programs Manager
AgriCorps
Worldwide (remote)
2. Individual Consultant: Technical Support for Program Data Collection
AGRA
Central Africa | southern Africa | eastern Africa | West Africa | North Africa and Middle East
3. Data Management Officer/Senior Data Management Officer — STADS
International Monetary Fund
United States
4. Sub-Saharan Africa Programme Coordinator — Temporary
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
France
5. Data Analysis and Visualization Officer — Displacement Tracking Matrix
International Organization for Migration
Afghanistan
6. Data and Program Analyst
Clinton Health Access Initiative
India
+ For more opportunities, check out the weekly Devex Jobs Alert newsletter on LinkedIn and Devex’s Job board.
What’s next for consultants?
“Consulting opportunities will outpace employment growth in this space simply because work still needs to get done.”
— Lauro Vives, cofounder and managing partner, Pacific Development ConsultingThe entire job landscape across global development is shifting, and consultants are not immune. But as the sector adapts to limited resources, subsequent change for consultants in 2026 won’t necessarily be a bad thing. Here’s a look at how this might play out for consultants in the coming year, according to experts who spoke with Devex.
Shifting nature of available roles. Professionals might see a shift in the scope of work as organizations merge multiple tasks to address budget constraints. “If you think about it in a positive light, it's promoting an understanding of intersectionality,” says Heather Brown, a Sydney-based specialist who focuses on gender equality and monitoring and evaluation.
Local consultants in demand. Local consultants will continue to be highly sought after in the year ahead, according to Brown. For international consultants, employers are looking for those who have networks of local consultants they can collaborate with and mentor. “It’s taking on more of that capacity-building approach as well as doing your consulting,” Brown says.
AI and new opportunities. Artificial intelligence will continue to grow in development, even replacing some aspects of work traditionally done by consultants. But it also presents new opportunities for consultants. “The work and the value that we as consultants have is when we know how to use AI in the right way,” says Lilian Medina Romero, cofounder of The Bridge Sisters.
Read: Development consultancy trends for 2026 (Career)
+ ICYMI: How to use AI in your job search. Luan Prinsloo, global talent acquisition manager at World Vision, shared how development job seekers can use artificial intelligence to support their job search — and how overreliance on these tools can hurt a candidate's chances — during a recent Devex digital event.
Around the watercooler
News and views from around global development worth knowing about.
• Are you down with DPI? Digital public infrastructure will be key to advancing global development, but a new Devex survey finds engagement has been limited: 61% of respondents report using DPI-related tools, while 39% admit to having little to no exposure.
• Philanthropies commit $300M at COP30. A major philanthropic push is giving new momentum to climate-health action at COP30, where 35 global funders have announced a $300 million commitment to accelerate solutions at this critical intersection.
• UK aid risks ‘strategic drift.’ The United Kingdom’s aid watchdog has warned that Britain’s development program is in danger of “strategic drift” away from its core mission of poverty reduction, amid questions about its independence.
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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.
