• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • COVID-19 Trends Tracker

    Independent consultants hit hard by job losses

    Around 14% of development professionals tell Devex they have lost their job, with independent consultants hardest hit as work dries up.

    By Emma Smith, Vince Chadwick // 16 June 2020
    An increasing number of professionals say they or someone they know has lost their job as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by: Dan Dimmock on Unsplash

    GLASGOW, Scotland/BRUSSELS — Almost 14% of global development professionals say they have lost their job as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with independent consultants among those hardest hit.

    That is according to the latest Devex COVID-19 Trends Tracker survey, conducted from June 1-10, which asked more than 560 development professionals in 113 countries how the pandemic is affecting them.

    The COVID-19 Trends Tracker:

    ► Local professionals step in to fill delivery gap amid questions over resources

    ► COVID-19's unequal impact on global development professionals

    ► Development pros brace for more needs, less money post-pandemic

    An increasing number of professionals say they or someone they know has lost their job — 39% in the latest survey, compared with 34% in the first round of the survey in April. Of those who are still working, almost one-quarter are “very concerned” about their long-term job security.

    Independent consultants appear to be hardest hit, making up 43% of those who report having lost their job, saying the contracts they usually rely on have been canceled or are hard to come by.

    Since the first week of the survey in late April, there has been an increase of 10 percentage points in the proportion of independent consultants saying they have lost their own job or know someone who has lost theirs.

    Professionals working on short-term and consultancy contracts or facilitating workshops and meetings have been worst affected, said one U.S.-based consultant. Another U.S. consultant who provides training in Africa, mainly on projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development, said travel restrictions had left them without any work contracts at all.

    Source: Devex COVID-19 Trends Tracker survey

    Job prospects threatened

    Travel bans have been one of the biggest challenges for consultants in the sector, forcing some to cut in-country missions short and quickly return home.

    “Expected contracts have not gone ahead due to travel [restrictions] and country closures,” said one consultant, with many other respondents sharing this sentiment. Another said that they had lost a “lucrative” yearlong assignment since they were unable to travel and that local professionals had been hired instead.

    “Most development professionals I know, mainly consultants, have not had any contacts with their clients since the advent of the pandemic.”

    — A Zimbabwe-based respondent to the COVID-19 Trends Tracker survey

    But in-country consultants have not been immune to these job losses and have had to contend with domestic travel restrictions. One professional based in Kenya said his colleagues had consultancy work canceled or put on hold due to the restrictions.

    Program disruptions and the diversion of funds for the pandemic response have also impacted the demand for consultancy expertise. A Jordan-based consultant who lost their job said that they had been working on women’s economic empowerment but that donor priorities had changed.

    Others have been luckier and able to continue their work from home. One Canada-based consultant said that while there are “simply less opportunities at the moment for myriad reasons,” being able to adapt to remote work was helping.

    Layoffs across the sector

    It is not just independent consultants who have been affected. The survey revealed that 18.5% of those who had lost jobs were staff members of nongovernmental organizations, while 15.4% were employed by development consulting companies.

    The head of a consulting agency in the Oceania region said that “once the implications [of COVID-19] became apparent, three out of four consultancy assignments were cancelled or permanently suspended.” Another respondent said they had to lay off staff from their Kenya-based development consulting company.

    Source: Devex COVID-19 Trends Tracker survey

    Would you like to find out more about how global development professionals are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic?

    Get in touch with surveys@devex.com to explore a partnership.

    “Most development professionals I know, mainly consultants, have not had any contacts with their clients since the advent of the pandemic,” said one professional based in Zimbabwe, who worked for a development consulting company but has now lost their job. “The nature of their work involves community and farmer trainings and on site consultancies. … Most of them have not had any income at all since then, and aren't sure about the way forward post-Covid.”

    NGOs have also been forced to lay off staff, including consultants. “While we have retained all our full-time HQ, expat, and country program staff, some of our consultants have seen their work interrupted and/or cancelled, which must be tough,” said one respondent who works with a U.S.-based NGO.

    Another NGO staff member, based in Uganda, said many development professionals have lost their jobs or are facing potential job losses due to interruptions to funding and uncertainty around development work in the next few years. “We [believe] the amount of [donor] funding is likely to reduce almost to 50%,” they said, adding that this means organizations will “have to reduce staff.”

    On the other hand, one field-based professional said the ongoing situation was creating additional work opportunities. Indeed, some respondents to the COVID-19 Trends Tracker survey have reported increased workloads.

    • Careers & Education
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the authors

    • Emma Smith

      Emma Smith@emmasmith_bcn

      For four years, Emma Smith covered careers and recruitment, among other topics, for Devex. She now freelances for Devex and has a special interest in mental health, immigration, and sexual and reproductive health. She holds a degree in journalism from Glasgow Caledonian University and a master’s in media and international conflict.
    • Vince Chadwick

      Vince Chadwickvchadw

      Vince Chadwick is a contributing reporter at Devex. A law graduate from Melbourne, Australia, he was social affairs reporter for The Age newspaper, before covering breaking news, the arts, and public policy across Europe, including as a reporter and editor at POLITICO Europe. He was long-listed for International Journalist of the Year at the 2023 One World Media Awards.

    Search for articles

    Related Jobs

    • Human Resources Analyst (Talent Management) - HRDTM
      Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States | District of Columbia, United States | United States | North America
    • Translation Coordination Analyst/Senior Translation Coordination Analyst - Language Services Translation Coordination Center - Corporate Services and Facilities Department
      Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States | District of Columbia, United States | United States | North America
    • Student Finance Administrator
      London, United Kingdom | United Kingdom | Western Europe
    • See more

    Most Read

    • 1
      How low-emissions livestock are transforming dairy farming in Africa
    • 2
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 3
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 4
      How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs
    • 5
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters

    Trending

    Financing for Development Conference

    The Trump Effect

    Newsletters

    Related Stories

    Devex Career HubDevex Career Hub: The impact of the aid freeze on jobs

    Devex Career Hub: The impact of the aid freeze on jobs

    CareerHow development consulting jobs fell 25% — and how to adapt

    How development consulting jobs fell 25% — and how to adapt

    The Trump effectThe US aid freeze in data: Mapping an unfolding catastrophe

    The US aid freeze in data: Mapping an unfolding catastrophe

    The Trump EffectUS aid tracker: Following Trump’s cuts to international development

    US aid tracker: Following Trump’s cuts to international development

    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement