What's Next for Global Development Talent

When we started Devex as a student project more than 20 years ago, the development sector was a very different place than it is today.?

To put it plainly, global development was much more an insiders’ game. Sure, job ads for exciting positions in far-flung locations were posted in the Economist and other print publications. But too often that open process was theater: they already had someone, a trusted friend or professional associate, in mind.

When roles were filled less on merit and expertise than having the right network, it’s no surprise that women, people of color, and people from the countries where the work was being done were not included. At a time when the corporate world was talking about people as the most important asset in a company – and even using the word talent – one global development recruiter memorably told me she didn’t need to look beyond “the rolodex in my mind.”

The result was that global development efforts were far less effective than they could—and should—have been. We simply weren’t fielding the best team.

A big part of the reason we started Devex was to address this. We began trying to democratize the way jobs got filled by opening-up the process online. The Devex job board and candidate database have grown to be the largest and most popular in the world, and we’ve helped many thousands of mission-driven professionals get a job – something we’re immensely proud of.

If you follow Devex, you probably know something about the recruitment and careers services we provide online. What you may not know is that we also operate a one-of-a-kind recruitment boutique called Devex Talent Solutions (DTS), where we personally do the hands-on work of finding top talent for roles, what’s known as Executive Search. Today, I want to share some exciting news about DTS.

DTS has recruited for foundations, social enterprises, donors, you name it – from the African Development Bank to 联合国儿童基金会 to global NGOs big and small. We’re a major recruitment partner of the World Food Programme , and it’s our phone that rings when there’s a crisis and humanitarian experts are urgently needed.?

I don’t know of any other news organization with an in-house recruitment firm, but it really works. Our loyal community of global development professionals and leaders is an unmatched resource when looking for top global talent. Since we created DTS two decades ago, our dedicated recruitment colleagues have – without fanfare – quietly helped fill over 1,000 top positions all over the world.?

As Devex has grown, DTS has too, and we’re ready to tell the world about it. So here’s the news: I’m thrilled to share that we’ve brought on Mariya Chetyrkina, PMP as DTS’s first Managing Director. Mariya comes to Devex from Accenture, where she was a senior talent strategist and has had an impactful career in the development and HR space (including as a Senior Project Director for the Fulbright Program and a leadership role at SHRM).

Mariya and our entire DTS team believe strongly that if you want to make an impact in the world, it all starts with people. Thankfully, the sector has changed a lot since Devex started and we like to think we’ve played a small role in that change. In this time of enormous global challenges, there is an unprecedented opportunity for organizations to meet the moment with talent. We’re here to offer our unique expertise and network to help.

Devex’s mission is to “Do Good. Do It Well”, and we’re excited to help others do more good, too. If you or your organization wants to learn more, check out the DTS website and reach out to us directly. We’d love to talk about how we can help you drive change through talent.