Recently, many aid workers are admitting to having submitted hundreds of applications with zero interviews secured. In such a competitive market, job seekers must leverage all the information they can to land a role. On May 26, there were 4,815 open vacancies advertised on our job board – www.developmentaid.org. We have analyzed all of these so that we can share with you the latest hiring trends in the development sector.
The “First Great Step” to land a job
If you are looking for a development job in 2025, DevelopmentAid’s job board is the place to search. On May 26, 2025, there were 4,815 open vacancies advertised, and although that’s a huge number, competition is high. Over 115,000 professionals in the field are registered on our expert database, and there are also lots of job seekers online, so how can you set yourself up for success? Being well informed about the current job market trends is a great first step:
- Who is hiring?
- Which sector has the most offers?
- Are employers looking for long-term employees or short-term consultants?
These are all the questions you should be able to address by adapting your CV so that you have the best chance of securing a job in international development.
To help you on your job-seeking journey, we have analyzed all 4,815 open vacancies on our job board on May 26, 2025, and can now offer six valuable insights for you.
Insight #1: Entry-level roles are becoming harder to find
Currently, most employment opportunities are targeting midcareer professionals with two to five years of experience which mirrors our previous job market analysis in February 2025. But the number of jobs for recent graduates has reduced significantly from 900+ to 366 open roles in just three months whereas demand for senior professionals with over 10 years’ experience increased by 55%.
Insight #2: 81% of roles are long-term commitments
Recruiters are still favoring long-term hiring, with permanent positions and 12+ month contracts representing 81% of the open vacancies in the development sector. But if you are a freelance consultant, you should not be too concerned as the number of short-term positions (1 – 12 months) has increased by 16% since February 2025 so there is still plenty of work for you!
Open roles advertised in DevelopmentAid’s job board per required work experience and contract duration, with their respective variation (in %) since our last assessment, in February 2025. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira during May 2025.
Insight #3: Project management remains the sector with the highest demand
Despite an 8% drop in the number of available work opportunities compared to our previous assessment in February, project management continues to lead the hiring needs in the development sector. Finance and environment professionals remain highly sought, occupying the second and third positions in this ranking. Nevertheless, demand for these decreased by 19% and 20%, respectively. In fact, the number of jobs available decreased across all sectors, with three clear exceptions:
- Local, rural, urban, or social development, 27% increase
- Research, 18% increase
- IT & engineering, 8% increase
Insight #4: Transportation sits at the bottom of priorities
The bottom of the ranking remains unchanged since February 2025, with transportation, youth, and energy currently being the sectors experiencing the least recruiting needs. Transportation in particular showed the sharpest decline with the number of open vacancies slashed by 37%.
Number of open roles advertised in DevelopmentAid’s job board per sector and respective variation (in %) since our last assessment, in February 2025. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira during May 2025.
Insight #5: Asia is leading development hiring
Nearly one-third of the job opportunities analyzed for this article were based in Asia. Africa and Europe ranked second and third, respectively, but demand has dropped in both regions since February 2025.
Insight #6: The number of home-based roles increased by 150%
Home-based jobs are booming. Since our last analysis three months ago, the number of remote vacancies advertised on our job board increased from 121 to 313 roles.
Number of open roles advertised in DevelopmentAid’s job board per region and respective variation (in %) since our last assessment, in February 2025. Data collected by Sofia Oliveira during May 2025.
Final thoughts
This exclusive analysis should give you a high-level perspective of how the job market in the development sector looks right now but to be fully prepared to secure a job, you need to dig deeper:
- Which are the most popular sectors now in your location?
- What are the most common skills required for the positions you want?
- Which designations are the industry using for the roles you seek?
These are all questions that can help you to better prepare your next job application. And if you want to save time and get the most up-to-date data to answer those questions, you should consider becoming a DevelopmentAid Professional Member. This membership will offer you a plethora of tools and instruments to answer these questions. 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 aid-related job postings.
