International Rescue Committee Reviews

Pros

- The mission statement and philosophy
- Fellow coworkers
- Well managed organization
- Staff provide direct service to people who need it most

Cons

- It can be emotionally draining to work with clients who have experienced so much suffering in their lives

Pros

The IRC is great for people into non-profits. The refugees are sweet and the office environment is good. Management tends to be flexible with time off.

Cons

Horrible pay, constantly busy, too many interns without experience, poor inter office communications. There is not a good source of work-life balance.

Advice to Senior Management

Definitely chill out the office a bit. There is no need to hire so many (unpaid) interns. Work on communications.

Pros

You get the chance to really help people. Great vacation and benefits package. IRC is a leader among other resettlement volags. If you're going to work in refugee resettlement IRC is definitely the best one to work for. Some of the field staff are fantastic people to work with.

Cons

There is a major disconnect between the field staff and the headquarters. New initiatives are typically ignored unless you make them successful. IRC cares so deeply about branding and marketing it feels the core values are forgotten some times. It's difficult to transfer from US Programs to International Programs.

Advice to Senior Management

Connect headquarters with field. Pay more attention to US Programs. Stop sending HQ people to criticize the field and actually see how they can help the field.

Pros

The IRC is definitely much more structured/organized than many smaller NPOs. This can be both good and bad (see cons). The clients and staff are typically great to work with.

Cons

Given the size of the organization, it can often feel overly bureaucratic. US programs seem to receive far less attention that international programs (this can be good or bad depending on where you work).

Pros

International experience. provide needed services to needy populations. benefits are fine

Cons

lots of travel. conditions difficult in countries

Advice to Senior Management

none

Pros

My coworkers were great and management was very supportive. The organization does work to be proud of.

Cons

The particular department required extensive travel which can get tiring and the scheduling can be erratic and mercurial, more due to the nature of the work than the staff.

Advice to Senior Management

Go back to Cigna.

Pros

-Opportunity to interact with all types of refugees
-Open, supportive office environment
-Friendly co-workers
-Never a dull moment in the office

Cons

-Work routine and repetitive (shop at Walmart, drive refugee to appointment, etc.)
-No sense of how to advance professionally
-No pay

Advice to Senior Management

Dedicate some time to talking to interns about how to leverage interning into career in non-profits

Pros

Well know and organized charity organization.
Good benefit package.
possibility of promotion on job

Cons

The contract last depending on grant. There is no proper fund for the organization

Advice to Senior Management

Encourage the organization its proper fund, and stop comply only on grant.

Pros

Great ideals, emphasis on sustainability and lasting improvements are a plus. Recruit people with impressive experience and dedication. Go where many organizations don't.

Cons

Bureaucracy can be a bit stifling. Need to hire more people to support at the HQ level. Security policies can be a bit haphazard in my experience which is unsettling.

Advice to Senior Management

On the whole great job, but trying to fuel professional development will make your employee base more dynamic. Don't let organizational ego/politics get in the way of making the IRC a lasting and successful presence in the space.

Pros

IRC's mission is extraordinary. Its core values - which include making decisions based on input from the communities it services - and its commitment to hiring people from the countries and communities it serves are spot on. It's easy to come to work (even at headquarters) and feel that you are making a difference in other people's lives.

Across the board, those who work at the IRC are bright, committed to the work, and invested in making a difference in refugees lives. They are often well-traveled and well-educated and come from interesting professional and cultural backgrounds.

Cons

Here are three, based on limited exposure to the organization (8 years, but obviously I didn't work in all departments/programs):

1. With such a large agency, sometimes information fails to flow down from the executive offices. There's an effort being made to get information about strategy and values and guiding principles to line staff and middle managers, but there's still work to be done.

2. There are advancement opportunities in headquarters, but the structure of some (especially smaller) regional offices and country programs makes it hard to advance. Some very bright, talented, hard-working people have had to leave the organization, because they didn't want to relocate but didn't want to stay in their jobs past a certain point.

3. In some units and departments, staffing capacity means that data analysis is not always as rigorous as it could be. With more quantitative people on board, the organization could look at the data it collects to see what is driving its outcomes. This would allow the organization to provide even better services to clients.

Advice to Senior Management

Be transparent and honest with staff - create a set of guiding principles, and share it across the organization. Compile and share annual or biannual plans for each department across the agency. Seek key staff's input (from line staff to senior management) in creating these plans, and be explicit about how staff's input is driving decision-making.

Create a virtual drop-box and other tools for staff to share ideas and solutions.

Create a mentoring program to match senior staff with long-term entry/mid level staff - this would keep senior staff connected with the "reality on the front lines" and would create a venue for professional development for the entry/mid level staff.