Devex Pro Weekender: USAID’s hiring spree, and the next UN relief chief

Who's it going to be? That's what a lot of people are wondering as U.N. relief chief Martin Griffiths has only about seven weeks left in his role before he steps down to take care of his health. An announcement of his successor has not yet been made, though there are a couple of names doing the rounds, including Barbara Woodward, the U.K.'s permanent representative to the U.N., and Tariq Ahmad, the British government minister whose brief includes MENA, the U.N., and the Commonwealth. After all, the U.N.'s most senior humanitarian role is traditionally reserved for a Brit. But amid strong calls for change — including from Griffiths himself, and other heavyweights in the world of British diplomacy — will we see a different approach this time? Reply to this email to let me know your bets. Coming up: We have not one but two exclusive events for our Pro members this week! First up, our next Leader Roundtable is taking place tomorrow, focused on all the latest trends and changes in the world of philanthropy — from new giving styles to how philanthropists are responding to increasing scrutiny of their work, and to issues like localization. Then on Wednesday, we’ll be diving into European aid — asking why budgets are being slashed and what upcoming elections could mean for aid. Please join us to put your questions to our expert panels! Also in today’s edition: USAID’s hiring spree, OACPS’ lakeside retreat, and the power of remittances. Bits and pieces Hiring spree. It’s no secret by now that USAID has been facing a workforce crisis. And the agency has said that staff shortages are one of the main issues holding back its localization plans — which, depending on how the election plays out, USAID Administrator Samantha Power might have less than a year left to achieve. My colleague David Ainsworth took a look at what the agency has been doing to tackle this issue. He found it’s been going on a bit of a hiring spree. In the past four years, the agency has hired 65 new foreign service officers and onboarded 27 new civil service contract specialists in the past year alone. It’s also more than doubled the number of foreign service nationals with administrative warrants — which allow freedom to perform a wide range of contracting duties — from 19 to 48. And it’s not over yet — it has plans to fill an additional 22 contracting positions over the next few months, particularly in its missions. Conference center. The International AIDS Society announced that it would hold its conference on HIV science next year in Rwanda, as it looks to diversify its locations to increase accessibility. IAS leads several key conferences on the global health calendar, including its vast biennial AIDS summits, and smaller conferences on HIV science. Like other Western-based organizations, IAS has come in for flak in recent years for often hosting in countries with tough visa regimes, particularly for people from the global south. After suffering significant issues at its AIDS 2022 in Canada, when many would-be attendees were denied entry to the country, IAS announced that it would start rotating the summit between five regions — Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the U.S. and Canada. Next year is Africa’s turn, and Rwanda seems an obvious choice. It allows citizens of all other African nations to enter visa-free and has also been working hard to attract conferences and establish itself as a major global health hub. But the next really big one — AIDS 2026, which is likely to attract many, many thousands of delegates — will be in Latin America and the Caribbean. IAS is still accepting and evaluating bids to host that one. Board change. Giles Fraser, an outspoken British priest, left the board of Christian Aid in unclear circumstances last week. There was some speculation on social media that it was to do with differences of opinion over Israel, but I’ve seen no evidence of that so far. Maggie Swinson, vice-chair of the board of trustees, told me it was “his decision to step back, and we wish him well”; Fraser himself hadn’t replied to a request for comment at the time of writing. That said, it’s notable that there was no public announcement; his profile page was quietly removed from the website. And Fraser is no stranger to sticking to his guns. He’s best known for having quit a prestigious job at St. Paul’s Cathedral when church officials decided to evict anti-capitalist protesters who had camped outside for months. Bills to pay. How are they paying for this? That's what we wondered when we saw last week that the beleaguered Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States had gone ahead with a multiday retreat for more than 60 ambassadors at the Chateau du Lac, a vine-covered chateau-hotel overlooking a lake near Brussels. They were there to discuss, among other things, the need for sound financial management. OACPS is tasked with managing the development relationship between the EU and countries in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific, and is part-funded by the European Commission. Years of financial trouble culminated in the commission paying €271,000 for two consultants to help the group get its books in order this year. We don’t know how much the retreat cost, or who paid for it — a commission spokesperson redirected questions to OACPS, which had itself not replied to a request for comment at the time of writing. But with less than half a million euros of its own members’ money in the bank in 2022, the retreat better have yielded some good plans. ✉️ Do you have insights into any of this week’s bits and pieces? Let me know by replying to this email. Moving on U.S. President Joe Biden appointed Frances Z. Brown as his new special assistant and senior director for African affairs. She takes over from Judd Devermont who stepped down in January to take up a role with an Africa-focused investment firm. Brown is expected to continue in the National Security Council role if Biden is reelected in November, Semafor reports. Daniele Nyirandutiye was sworn in as USAID’s mission director for Uganda. Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, will be the new director of Voice of America. Did we miss one? Is there a change on the horizon? Let us know at devexpro@devex.com. Stat of the week $669 billion --— That’s the estimated value of remittances to the global south last year — more than the value of official development assistance and foreign direct investment combined. Read more in our funding analysis for Pro members. Hot jobs Ready to take your career to the next level? Devex Talent Solutions is currently seeking applicants for high-level positions. Explore them below — or discover even more on our job board. • Director, Independent Evaluation Department at the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. • Senior Evaluation Specialist and Senior Evaluation Specialist (Private Sector) at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing, China. • Human Resources Regional Representative in the North America regional office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Washington, D.C., United States. Find out more about Devex Talent Solutions’ executive search experience. Up next US budget for Africa. The U.S. congressional subcommittee on Africa is convening a hearing to examine the fiscal year 2025 budget request for Africa. Witnesses will be Molly Phee, assistant secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs at the State Department, and Monde Muyangwa, assistant administrator in the Africa bureau at USAID. May 15. The 10th World Water Forum starts next weekend in Bali. There are various political sessions for ministers, lawmakers, and local government officials and a packed schedule of other thematic discussions, covering everything from finance to “hydro-diplomacy.” May 18-25. Future of global dev. This event from the Center for Global Development will present “a reasonable best- and worst-case” state of global development in 2050, based on in-depth research and data projections. Speakers include Melinda Bohannon, director-general for humanitarian and development at FCDO, and Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation (and of course, former CEO of Oxfam GB). You can tune in online. May 14. Human capital. Over in Dushanbe, the World Bank and government of Tajikistan are co-hosting the International Human Capital Forum. Despite the grand name, it’s an intimate affair — they’re expecting up to 250 delegates, mainly from Central Asia. Sessions will cover social protection, early childhood education, investing in nutrition, and more. May 14-15.