• 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
    • Career
    • Career

    What experience can help you land a job with USAID?

    Bob Leavitt, chief human capital officer at USAID’s Office of Human Capital and Talent Management, talks about career opportunities in the foreign service and civil service, as well as in-demand skills.

    By Emma Smith // 15 April 2021
    The civil service and foreign service offer two very different career pathways to work with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Both are part of the agency’s direct hire mechanism and, combined, make up approximately a third of the overall workforce. There are distinguishable features between the two fields, but both contribute to the advancement of the agency’s mission, said Bob Leavitt, chief human capital officer at USAID’s Office of Human Capital and Talent Management. Foreign service Staff in the foreign service can be assigned to job postings anywhere in the world for a number of years. Overseas, they can be deployed to a critical priority country, such as Afghanistan or Iraq, or in regions facing more traditional development priorities. “The availability to serve where needed is absolutely critical, [whether] overseas or in Washington,” Leavitt said. Within the foreign service there are 13 technical areas, or backstops as they are known in the agency. These include agriculture, environment and climate change, economic growth and trade, global health, education, gender equality, democracy and governance, and humanitarian assistance. Four additional support backstops — executive officer, financial management, legal and contracting — provide administrative and managerial functions Procurement and contracting is an area of significant demand as these skills are “absolutely essential to [the] agency’s mission,” Leavitt said. In the last year, other urgent hiring priorities have included executive officers, health specialists and regional legal advisors, he added. Hiring doesn’t tend to focus on senior positions but all FS positions, except for financial management and engineering, require a master’s degree “Our work is ever-changing in many ways, and we need the workforce and the talent in ... new emerging areas to respond.” -- — Bob Leavitt, chief human capital officer, USAID’s Office of Human Capital and Talent Management Civil service Civil service positions are primarily based at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., or in a few cases, through remote work elsewhere in the United States. “These positions work in tandem with the foreign service,” Leavitt said. The bureau for management, for example, is one of the largest within the agency and includes several hundred career civil service positions — from procurement professionals to information technology specialists, to general management specialists. “It is these positions that help support the work of the broader agency in moving our mission forward,” he said. Other “mission critical” civil service positions are in human resources, contracting and procurement, and health. The past year has seen an increase in hiring in these areas as well as for country desk officers for all regions and for people to support the management of humanitarian programs from Washington, D.C. Civil service hiring spans all position grades and is “wide open with regards to opportunities to enter into the workforce,” Leavitt said.

    The civil service and foreign service offer two very different career pathways to work with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Both are part of the agency’s direct hire mechanism and, combined, make up approximately a third of the overall workforce.

    There are distinguishable features between the two fields, but both contribute to the advancement of the agency’s mission, said Bob Leavitt, chief human capital officer at USAID’s Office of Human Capital and Talent Management.

    Staff in the foreign service can be assigned to job postings anywhere in the world for a number of years. Overseas, they can be deployed to a critical priority country, such as Afghanistan or Iraq, or in regions facing more traditional development priorities. “The availability to serve where needed is absolutely critical, [whether] overseas or in Washington,” Leavitt said.

    This article is exclusively for Career Account members.

    Unlock this article now with a 15-day free trial of a Devex Career Account. With a Career Account subscription you will get:

    • Full access to our jobs board, including over 1,000 exclusive jobs
    • Your Devex profile highlighted in recruiter search results
    • Connections to recruiters and industry experts through online and live Devex events
    Start my 15-day free trial
    Already a user? Sign in
    • Careers & Education
    • Humanitarian Aid
    • USAID
    • United States
    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 author

    • 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.

    Search for articles

    Related Jobs

    • Team Leader
      Serbia | Eastern Europe
    • Key Expert
      Serbia | Eastern Europe
    • Key Expert
      Serbia | Eastern Europe
    • See more

    Most Read

    • 1
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 2
      FCDO's top development contractors in 2024/25
    • 3
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters
    • 4
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 5
      How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs

    Trending

    Financing for Development Conference

    The Trump Effect

    Newsletters

    Related Stories

    The Trump EffectUSAID foreign officers to be repatriated, local staff fired by Aug. 15

    USAID foreign officers to be repatriated, local staff fired by Aug. 15

    The future of US aidScoop: USAID issues staff guidance on DEIA, foreign aid pause orders

    Scoop: USAID issues staff guidance on DEIA, foreign aid pause orders

    The Trump EffectDreams deferred: USAID's dismantling leaves aspiring diplomats in limbo

    Dreams deferred: USAID's dismantling leaves aspiring diplomats in limbo

    Devex Career HubDevex Career Hub: Skills to help you pivot out of the aid freeze

    Devex Career Hub: Skills to help you pivot out of the aid freeze

    • 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