Why Save the Children US prioritizes donor engagement skills in hiring

Last year, Save the Children US — like many other U.S.-based international NGOs — laid off hundreds of staff following the U.S. Agency for International Development funding cuts that began after President Donald Trump took office for his second term in January. It was a challenging time, especially early in the year when the majority of contract terminations happened, said Douglas Mercer, managing director of talent attraction and acquisition with the organization, during a recent Devex event. The first wave of layoffs at Save the Children US, which involved just over 300 positions, largely impacted the organization's international programs division and positions in award management, new business development, and programming, Mercer explained. Global health programming was significantly impacted, as well as international education, child protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene, or WASH, programming. A second wave of layoffs followed in the summer, affecting many more positions tied to USAID funding. “The least impacted positions were our fundraising and marketing positions,” said Mercer, and this “is where our regrowth starts to happen.” Going forward, these teams and their approaches will look different. Mercer explained that restructuring the organization’s marketing, communications, and fundraising teams has been a priority as the organization, like many others in the space, adopts a more “private-first approach” and moves away from depending on grant funding. “We always had a stable, strong philanthropy program, but it needs to shift a lot further for sustainability in the future and to be able to support, especially our global programs,” said Mercer. The private-first model involves individual giving, direct response fundraising, and mass market fundraising. Corporate and foundation funding is also essential today, said Mercer, but very competitive. The focus now is on identifying, attracting, and engaging new audiences — something his team is hiring for. “We're trying to rebuild those positions, and actually, they're very competitive. It's one marketplace … where we're struggling to hire.” That’s not the case for programming and operations positions, said Mercer, adding that his team receives thousands of applications from former USAID workers, sometimes for positions that aren’t a good fit. However, former U.S. government grant writers or award managers, among others' profiles, are among those with relevant sector knowledge and donor engagement experience, while professionals with chief of party or project management experience could offer value as organizations look for new project leaders, potentially on a consultancy basis, to manage marketing teams. Right now, “it’s all about transferable skills around donor engagement,” said Mercer.