Development Alternatives Reviews

Pros

Nice benefits package (for ID), great place to start a career, great potential to travel, can be promoted within the first year.

Cons

Limited growth potential between years 2-4. You'll get a quick promotion (a year), and then get stuck in the same position (coordinator) for ages before you can make it to Business Manager - most people leave after a year or two because of this.

Advice to Senior Management

Talented people are leaving because there doesn't seem to be any growing challenges, travel promises are made in interviews but not always fulfilled.

Pros

Amazing technical staff, extremely friendly work environment, good employee benefits, good morale. Senior level staff very open to development of junior staff.

Cons

Have to pay your dues before moving on to what you would really love to do (from admin to technical work).

Pros

The employees are very friendly and enthusiastic about their jobs. Lots of opportunity for junior staff to grow.

Cons

The location is not in close proximity to its main client. Project coordinators are often only limited to doing administrative work. It would be nice for them to have more of a mix of technical work.

Advice to Senior Management

Management does do a great job in choosing their employees. However, it would be a good idea to attract more senior-level associates to strengthen proposal bids.

Pros

DAI is a leader in USAID-funded international development, has strong technical expertise, and increasingly good project management. As an employee-owned company, there is a sense of shared ownership and responsibility--and a sense that employees do have some influence over the direction of the company and the work environment. In comparison with it's largest competitor, Chemonics, DAI has a great benefits package and a good work-life balance (partly because DAI bids more selectively). I have worked at several companies and organizations in international development and DAI is where I want to stay.

Cons

The downsides are minor, but occasionally I do find that--in the name of ongoing improvement--DAI actually makes a step backward by discarding things that work.

As part of DAI's performance-based evaluation approach, there needs to be consequences when people do not perform--particularly when someone puts the company at risk.

Advice to Senior Management

Improving staffing in the field is critical--particularly in project management and finance. If these individuals are not performing, there needs to be accountability. I know the home office is working on this, but I consider this one of our major risk areas.