International development offers a wide range of career opportunities. IDS postgraduates have gone on to work as ministers in national government, high-level officials in development organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, civil servants, leaders of civil society organisations, and high profile academics at universities across the world. What unites them is their commitment to make a real difference in the world and bring about transformative change.
Where could you work?
There are myriad jobs within the sector. Some require thematic specialism, most require a deep understanding of the complex links between poverty and inequalities. Here are just a few examples of places you could work, listed by sub-sector:
Academia
- Beijing Normal University
- BRAC University
- China Agricultural University
- Harvard University
- University of Oxford
- University of Sussex
NGOs (non-governmental organisations)
- ActionAid International
- Christian Aid
- Concern Worldwide
- Mercy Corps
- Plan International
- SightSavers International
Development consultancies
Multilateral, bilateral and international organisations
- Asian Development Bank
- International Fund for Agricultural Development
- World Bank
- World Trade Organization
- United Nations Development Programme
- UN Women
Foundations
- Fondation Hirondelle
- Ford Foundation
- Hewlett Foundation
- Mastercard Foundation
- Open Society Foundations
- Rockefeller Foundation
Government aid agencies
- China International Development Cooperation Agency
- DANIDA
- Department for International Development, UK
- IDRC / CRDI
- Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
- USAID
Research institutes and thinktanks
- Brookings Institution
- Chatham House
- German Development Institute
- Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
- Institute of Development Studies
- Korea Development Institute
Where are development jobs advertised?
Here are just a few examples of where you could start your job search.
