National Democratic Institute Reviews

I have been working at National Democratic Institute full-time

Pros – NDI is full of talented, friendly, and interesting staff; allows even junior staff to take on responsibility quickly and create opportunities; encourages travel even at junior levels; seeks to learn and grow and examine its own work; offers great work-life balance options; is very mission driven and at the same time is connected to politics and focused on long-term development; has high standards of quality for its products.

Cons – NDI is definitely an overgrown worldwide mom-and-pop shop that is still experiencing some growing pains. Struggling to balance organization and efficiency against flexibility and political realities around the world.

Advice to Senior Management – NDI should impose more accountability at senior levels, provide more support to administrative teams, encourage more experimentation and risk taking not just in programming but in management.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at National Democratic Institute full-time for less than a year

Pros – The organizations does some interesting work, you have access to events at think tanks and at NDI itself.

Depending on your team, you will meet some great people.
It's an office setting so it's a lot less stressful than some other jobs you could be doing in the meantime.

Cons – The pay! Most project assistants have Masters degrees, so it is ridiculous how little you get paid.
A lot of people are lured in by the prospect of moving up, but you need a lucky break for that to happen. The truth is that most project assistants leave for better pay (i.e. living wages).

People at the lower levels don't really get to do work that they are more than capable of doing. A lot of the hire-ups don't have a background in the country/regions they are directing. It falls on contractors, and project assistants with real regional expertise to pick up the slack.

Advice to Senior Management – Project Assistant salaries should at least be bumped to 15 dollars an hour... so we can live!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at National Democratic Institute as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Free coffee and tea! (Salary in calories), other interns were nice, good camaraderie.

Cons – Teams are segregated. Interns are not given meaningful work.

Advice to Senior Management – Be more down to earth, encourage all to voice their opinions and feel a part of the organization.

I have been working at National Democratic Institute full-time

Pros – Good coworkers, always something to do, you run in to a lot of politicians, sometimes the President comes by, right next to metro, focus on getting things done, everyone agrees with your politics

Cons – Hectic work environment, unpredictable hours, long-term employment subject to elections, non-profit salaries, decreasing benefits

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at National Democratic Institute full-time for less than a year

Pros – -very structured and organized, there's a team or department dedicated to every aspect of project management so unlike some of the small shops out there, you don't have to do everything beyond your job description
-more non-partisan (seemingly) than it's sister organization IRI, which wears the Republican party on its sleeve
-flexible work hours
-paid internships
-beautiful office

Cons – -pay not competitive with other democracy-promoting organizations, be prepared to take a pay cut
-way too many (and unnecessary) positions for a given program team--too many job titles whose responsibilities overlap which blurs the lines of accountability and authority; this also makes moving up in the organization misleading because though you may get a promotion, it's almost in name only because you'll have 4 or 5 other positions above you you must go through before even being considered a senior staff member
-offices provided only for directors, leaving other senior staff to work on desk stations like assistants

Advice to Senior Management – get rid of some of the extraneous job titles and positions

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at National Democratic Institute

Pros – Great people
Great mission
Respected organization
Great learning opportunities

Cons – VERY hierarchical
Staff development is not a priority
Few opportunities for professional advancement
High turnover rate among junior staff
Poor communication and management systems

Advice to Senior Management – Provide more opportunities for staff development
Let junior staff know that you value their work

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at National Democratic Institute

Pros – NDI works at the intersection of politics and international development. If you are an activist and believe in helping build democratic institutions, there is no place that does it better. Great place to work for 2-3 years if you're just out of college.

Cons – The downside is that, if you are working at headquarters and your job title doesn't include the word "director," you may find a lot of frustration and not much opportunity for growth or advancement--especially once you've mastered your position. Project managers have very little authority on their projects.

Advice to Senior Management – NDI has stellar and dedicated employees in headquarters who often leave out of frustration. The frequency of exceptions to institutional policies results in no policies at all, leaving mid-level staff without the tools to do their jobs.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at National Democratic Institute

Pros – Paid internships! Youll meet tons of interesting people. Travel is great.

Cons – All the work of a full time person (including the hours!) but none of the trust. Opportunities for advancement present, but elusive. At the end of the day, youll still go home and have to make easy mac for dinner, because this salary isnt paying the bills!

Advice to Senior Management – Help your people grow, dont treat interns and project assistants like slaves doing repetitive, non-important tasks.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at National Democratic Institute

Pros – The opportunity to work on international issues that are making a difference in people's lives around the world. Smart people with an array of international experience from election monitoring to Peace Corps to graduate study field work.

Cons – Low pay. Bureaucratic red tape to finesse when trying to accomplish small tasks.

Advice to Senior Management – Foster opportunities for people outside of the traditional international development route to join NDI. It's very tough to get hired at NDI without a Masters degree but with the reality of today's economy, it may be the case that more young people may put off getting a graduate degree with school being so expensive. Their experiences living abroad, however, may be more suited for NDI work than anything learned in a classroom.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at National Democratic Institute as a contractor for more than a year

Pros – Respect and appreciation for Staff members and individuals was commendable, excellent work culture, and good moral standards.

Cons – Targets for deadlines at times appear too short.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep up the commendable job NDI does and please do contact former staff members on job available in the country or region.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company