“It’s never too early to start thinking about your next move”. Following the trends of the development job market is key for professionals to understand where the opportunities might be in their native country and elsewhere in the world. Using data from DevelopmentAid, we have analyzed the sectors which have an above-average number of vacancies and opportunities and the regions where these are mostly found. This has been classified into five main categories to make it easy to explore.
According to the DevelopmentAid job board from June 2019, Macroeconomy, Statistics and PFM, Health, Humanitarian Aid & Emergency, Good Governance, Human Rights, Education, Employment and Social are the top sectors in international development with the highest number of jobs. Let’s take a look at where these opportunities can be easily found.
Macroeconomy, Statistics and PFM. Economic growth is a pre-condition for the development of a country. Accordingly, the primary goal of macroeconomic policies should be to achieve stable economic growth. The biggest number of job opportunities in this field are found in the Americas, followed by Africa and Asia. Most of the jobs involve working for a charity or an NGO, or for a global organisation such as the UN, WB, UNFPA amongst many others. Very large organisations require professionals to undertake diverse roles including financial management, statistics, public finance management, policy analysis and others.
Health. Employment opportunities in the healthcare system are many, and, through multiplier effects, they extend into the job market in other tangential sectors as well. Most positions in the healthcare system can be found in Africa, followed by Asia and the Americas. Providing healthcare has consistently been a major challenge for many African nations where child and maternal mortality rates remain high and life expectancy is low. The emigration of health workers, the highest rates of disease in the world and the lack of access to clean water or medicines are just a few factors affecting the healthcare systems in African countries. The need to address this situation has created job opportunities mostly by international organizations. The positions relate not only to health specialists, but also to medical suppliers and companies who have established themselves in Africa for training, family planning and immunization programs.
Humanitarian Aid & Emergency. The number of NGOs providing vital welfare services to people who have become victims of a specific emergency is constantly increasing. With regard to humanitarian aid, this sector refers to helping people who have suffered from a natural disaster or have been forced to become displaced because of conflicts and danger. Africa is the continent with the most positions available in Humanitarian Aid & Emergency. The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has caused the biggest displacement crisis in Africa. As a result of the successive failure of rainy seasons, millions of people in countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are suffering from drastic food, water shortages and face food insecurity. For years, EU humanitarian aid in emergencies in Africa has prioritized education, the provision of clean water, drought response, food assistance and combatting malnutrition. Asia also benefits from high assistance in these areas. In the southern part of Asia, one side is prone to annually flooding, landslides, droughts and earthquakes while the other side undergoes conflict and political challenges, both therefore often requiring humanitarian aid and specialists in this field.
Good Governance, Human Rights. Good governance and human rights are mutually reinforcing. According to OHCHR, the links between good governance and human rights can be organized around four focus areas: democratic institutions, service delivery, rule of law and anti-corruption. These create multiple employment opportunities in this sector, with the highest number of positions in Africa, followed by Asia and the Americas. Contributing most to the establishment of a human rights system in Africa are the United Nations and the African Union which have positively influenced the betterment of the human rights situation in the continent. Good governance is a current topic in Asia as well. The human rights situation in Asia is monitored by many governmental and non-governmental organizations, a few examples being the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and Human Rights Watch.
Education, Employment and Social. Education has a substantial impact on employment prospects. On average across OECD countries, 83% of the population who have undertaken tertiary education is employed. The situation is very different at the opposite side of the world. A less educated population suffers from high levels of unemployment. Africa is facing tremendous challenges in terms of job creation and sustainability, according to ILO. In addition, a large proportion of young people fail to find themselves in education, employment or training. In Asia, ADB’s Social Protection Strategy supports policies and programs that facilitate employment and promote the better operation of labor markets. Poverty, informality and vulnerable employment are amongst the persistent challenges of Asia-Pacific labor markets according to ILO.
Check all the available positions in international development on DevelopmentAid job board.
