More than 110,000 experts and consultants have up-to-date professional DevelopmentAid profiles and are ready to apply for their next job in the aid sector. The competition is fierce, so if you are looking for your next role, you must keep up with the latest recruitment trends. And what could be a better source of information than a timely analysis of development job ads? Here is an article that will give you exclusive insights into today’s job market.
The analyzed data comes from DevelopmentAid, which operates the largest database of employment opportunities in international development. In 2024, a total of 138,000 jobs were posted on the platform with more than 110,000 professionals registered on the database. If you are reading this, you are probably one of those experts, and you are undoubtedly trying to keep up with the competition and latest trends. On developmentaid.org, you can also set-up free job alerts in the sectors that are of most interest to you.
In February 2025, we analyzed over 5,300 active ads to offer exclusive insights into today’s job market. How much work experience do you need to be one step ahead of the competition? Are recruiters filling long-term positions? You can find out all the answers in this article.
Insight #1: Most opportunities require 2 – 5 years of experience
Most recruiters in the development sector are currently seeking people for mid-level roles, requiring two to five years of previous work experience. Senior workers are also in demand with over 30% of the announced vacancies required six or more years of experience. For recent graduates, the struggle is real. Entry-level roles are a rare sight, representing only 17% of the recruitment volume.
Table I – Percentage of vacancies in DevelopmentAid’s job board per required work experience. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira during February 2025.
Insight #2: Over 80% of roles are long-term commitments
Most job opportunities in the development sector have an expected duration of 12+ months, making long-term commitments the sector standard. However, if you are a freelancer, there are also plenty of opportunities. Our analysis revealed 681 opportunities of a 4 to 12-month duration and 167 lasting less than 4 months.
Insight #3: Project management is the sector with the most open vacancies
Project management is leading hiring needs in the development sector, with 31% of open roles. Finance and environment professionals are also highly sought after, with these sectors comprised 14% and 12% of the jobs advertised, respectively. Marketing and fundraising close the top five sectors with the most demand, with DevelopmentAid having over 500 roles available in each category.
Table II – Number and percentage of open roles per sector. Only the 5 sectors with the most vacancies are displayed. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from the DevelopmentAid’s job board during February 2025.
Insight #4: Transportation is the sector with fewest roles available
Transportation-related roles were at the bottom of the hiring priorities, representing only 1% of open jobs. Similarly, youth and energy were not popular recruitment sectors during February with less than 150 ads in each of these sectors.
Table III – Number and percentage of open roles per sector. Only the 5 sectors with the least vacancies are displayed. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira from the DevelopmentAid’s job board during February 2025.
See also: Top-hiring sectors in international development in 2024
Insight #5: Most of the work opportunities are concentrated in Asia
Asia is the continent with the most employment opportunities in international development at the moment, closely followed by Africa. North America and Europe also have plenty of opportunities, with over 20% of job ads each. Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean account for less than 10% of the job opportunities.
Table IV – Percentage of roles in DevelopmentAid’s job board per continent. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira during February 2025.
Insight #6: Home-based roles represent 2% of the job market
Finding a remote job in international development is hard, but is not ‘mission impossible’. In February, we found over 100 home-based roles on the DevelopmentAid job board. You only need to land one.
Final thoughts
As competition to land a job in the development sector grows, experts need to ramp up their job search skills, refine and adapt their resumes, practice interviews, and position themselves strategically.
The final piece of advice is to constantly monitor data, look at the competition, and rethink your approach to the job market. Becoming a DevelopmentAid Professional Member will offer a plethora of tools and instruments to achieve these goals. You can also sign up for free to benefit from the DevelopmentAid platform and create a personalized free job alert to stay informed about the latest job postings on our platform.
