In the flurry of activity that followed the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and subsequent sector-wide aid cuts, consulting work was a Hail Mary for many impacted professionals. While it didn’t offer long-term job security, it was a means of staying in the sector, earning, and utilizing the years of accrued expertise. At the same time, shifting donor priorities and organizations operating in survival mode reshaped the number and type of consultancy opportunities available. Today’s consultancy landscape looks different and remains in flux, said those working within it.
“I don’t know that I know what the ‘new normal’ is because it doesn’t feel like we have landed yet anywhere,” said Lilian Medina Romero, cofounder of the U.S. and Latin America-focused nonprofit consultancy, The Bridge Sisters. “A lot of pieces are moving, and we’re all trying to figure out what's going to happen.”
Consultants have long been a cornerstone of the global development workforce, undertaking specific time-bound tasks. Leading institutions, such as the World Bank, over the years have had consultants make up roughly 25% of their positions.