Since the start of the year, more than 2,000 postings for consultants of various types have been listed on Devex’s jobs board. And when the list is expanded to include short-term contracts of all sorts in the development sector, that list grows to reach tens of thousands.
So what’s behind this rise in the ranks of consultants? And is the trend likely to continue?
Consultants, according to the United Nations, are individuals engaged in an advisory or consultative capacity as an “authority or specialist in a specific field.” Such work is typically short-term and results-oriented. In the context of the U.N. system, roles usually involve “analysing problems, directing seminars or training courses, preparing documents for conferences and meetings, or writing reports on matters within their area of expertise.”