Academy for Educational Development Reviews

Cons

Needed to go to leave to go to graduate school and come back to improve professional growth opportunities.

Cons

Lots of work and internal change

Cons

The competitive environment between centers inhibits collaboration and lowers the quality of work we are able to do. Senior management are only interested in new business development or when there are problems. There seems to be little or no concern for the quality of our work. Positive performance is not recognized. But when there are problems, you can be attacked. Management is top-down with little focus on a person's humanity. There are no mechanisms to communicate up the chain. There is a culture of self-censorship that seems to arise from a fear of reprisal Promotions are handled first from a political perspective. Senior management states that technical excellence is AED's most valued asset. However, all promotions and recognition are provide for people in management positions with little or no technical capacity. Some teams are really dysfunctional. Performance assessment process is a joke and purely an administrative task. The disparity between the lowest salaries and the highest are embarrassing for a non-profit. If someone needs to be paid over $300K for the privilege to make a positive difference in the world than something is really wrong and they should go to the private sector. We cannot be dedicated to our mission if we have to paid so much.

Cons

It's a large place and easy to get stuck with a less-than-forward-thinking manager who does not always see the big picture. They have major leadership pipeline issues: many upper level staff get too bogged down in administrative or programmatic tasks instead of being strategic leaders. Some senior managers have work-life balance issues and expect the same level of commitment from their underpaid staff. Compared to other organizations, there are very few opportunities for international travel for lower and mid level employees. The organization does not have a strategic communications strategy- neither internal nor external, and could benefit from some better reflection on the way that they talk to their employees.

Cons

Overall chaos and disorganization prevailed at AED even prior to their being banned from receiving further USAID funding. After that, even worse conditions developed. Payment of reimbursements and postal allowances (for working in a dangerous foreign environment) were delayed or denied for no apparent reason. Communication between management and employees became adversarial and fraught with mistrust. Promises had been made by middle managers in conflict with AED policy and resulted in employee disenchantment. Employees' adverse reactions to being lied to were not validated. A bait & switch approach to salary information was used to attract employees to positions as contractors, then they were switched to regular employees at greatly reduced salaries. Employees were expected to develop educational programs without access to libraries or textbooks. Orders for materials were delayed by months due to bureaucratic inaction. Employees in a country known for terrorist activity were housed in unsafe conditions and transported without safety precautions as recommended by their own emergency insurance plan.

Cons

Serving in a technical role (web and database developer for one of AED's projects) I feel too far removed from having a direct positive impact on any of the areas in which AED works. I've also been frustrated by the IT department, which is inflexible when it comes to their policies. For example, Remote Desktop Connection is also blocked, which makes it very difficult for me to work from home. I'm sure that inflexible IT policies are not unique to AED, but it's new to me, coming from a college environment that was much more permissive. Working in a technical role in this organization can be isolating, because there is no network amongst other staff doing similar work for other projects. In my job, I have no technical mentor or anyone who can review my design decisions.

Cons

AED management is surprisingly weak considering its success in the industry - probably a reflection of growing up with its main source of funding (US government agencies). Incentives and compensation do not address the needs for development of the organization nor its staff, but rather compensate giving "110% because management messed up." Local staff in field offices are second-class citizens with few chances for advancement in the organization. Overall the organization is wasting the huge potential of its staff and knowledge.

Cons

Usually when you get hired, they low-ball your offer. You can talk them up however. They also offer full benefits, but watch out for the medical plan that the doctors you want to see are covered. Many of the popular doctors under the larger health plans in DC are NOT in the health plan they offer. Also watch out if you're a short timer -- retirement doesn't kick in until one year on the job.

Cons

Currupt Human Resources, serious violations of funds expenditures, very high hidden bonus to management, manipulation of budget structiures in several bids, Manipulated reports to USAID regularly on project expenditures. Senior manager taking positions overseas but still receiving the same high salary as Senior VP plus expat benefits.

Cons

Salaries are significantly lower than competitors, mandatory 9 hour days impede work life balance. Benefits were just OK. My particular supervisor was TERRIBLE and their HR processes weren't at all prepared to deal with grievances about a supervisor, only about subordinates