Facing a bleak job market at home, some global development professionals based in the United States and other donor countries may be considering their career opportunities overseas.
These positions once typically came with a relocation package and other attractive perks. However, such roles are increasingly scarce. After months of budget cuts across the sector, organizations are looking to save money on hiring, leveraging local talent instead.
According to Fatema Z. Sumar, Harvard Kennedy School adjunct lecturer in public policy and executive director at the Harvard Center for International Development, the old model, which involved expensive contracts for overseas hires, is declining.