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    Save the Children Reviews

    Updated September 19, 2017
    171 reviews

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    Full-timePart-time
    3.5
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    Save the Children President & CEO Carolyn Miles
    Carolyn Miles
    18 Ratings

    171 Employee Reviews

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    Pros

    • Employee friendly work environment and good team members (in 16 reviews)

    • work life balance is well maintained (in 8 reviews)

    Cons

    • Can be a lot of pressure from senior management to meet targets (in 8 reviews)

    • takes advantage of those lowest on the totem pole (temps /new hires), lots of upper management (in 8 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. "Program manager"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Save the Children full-time

      Pros

      Great organization, wonderful mission.

      Cons

      Too much red tape that gets in the way of fulfilling its mission

      Save the Children Response

      Aug 30, 2017 – Director, Talent Acquisition

      Thanks so much for your feedback! While you're no longer with us, it's good to know that you felt your time here to be worthwhile!

    2. "Great mission but management lacks"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Save the Children full-time

      Pros

      Great time off work and other employee benefits.

      Cons

      Management shakedowns to save costs on budgets within the organization sift out quality workers and leave lesser capable people to fill the gaps.

      3. Join the Save the Children team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. Helpful (1)

      "Great mission"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Save the Children full-time

      Pros

      Save the Children has a great mission and offers strong programs throughout the world. I also like that they work in the US. There is a professional working environment and the management has people with a lot of experience.

      Cons

      It seems like money coming in is the only thing that matters. They burn through senior positions very quickly and it causes a lot of instability and uncertainty for everyone else.

      Advice to Management

      Work on treating people with dignity and not as a means to an end. Either hire your senior staff better or be more reasonable with your expectations.

      Save the Children Response

      Aug 30, 2017 – Director, Talent Acquisition

      Thanks for dropping us a line to let us know your thoughts. We understand your concerns around the focus on fundraising... that's the way of the nonprofit world, and it does take some getting used... More

    4. Helpful (2)

      "Great ambition, execution needs work."

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Associate Director in Washington, DC
      Current Employee - Associate Director in Washington, DC
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Save the Children full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Overall mission is great and there seems to be genuine engagement and feeling from senior leadership in the issues. Great people to work with (for the most part) who are smart, dedicated, and there for the right reasons. Large reach globally with lots of in-house expertise.

      Cons

      Too many priorities focused on fundraising and not enough support for programmatic growth/excellence. Top-heavy with senior management. Some policies are standardized (like vacation time) while others are at the discretion of the manager (working from home, comp time) leading to inequity and unhappy staff. For salaries, it doesn't seem HR/hiring managers give offers based on years of experience and role against other staff at same level...leading to very different starting salaries. The value placed on salary history is frustrating when many people often inflate their past history. Career growth varies widely by department (finance, fundraising, new business, comms teams seem to promote staff quickly with limited years of experience, while programmatic teams tend to stagnate). New systems/focus rolled out without thinking through support that is really needed to make them effective.

      Advice to Management

      Streamline priorities as an organization. Properly resource big initiatives, or don't do them. Review policies and management procedures, including salary offers and increases, work/life balance, etc. and make more equitable. Happy workers who feel valued and treated fairly against others are more likely to stay and tend to work harder.

      Save the Children Response

      Aug 30, 2017 – Director, Talent Acquisition

      Thanks so much for your detailed feedback! This information is very important to us, and I hope you expressed these same concerns in your exit interview.

    5. Helpful (2)

      "Great work-life balance, but IT management can make your life miserable."

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Senior Specialist, Project Manager in Fairfield, CT
      Current Employee - Senior Specialist, Project Manager in Fairfield, CT
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Save the Children full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Some great co-workers, great benefits

      Cons

      IT Management is inept and they do not listen to advice. Any alternative ideas are met with extreme prejudice and they do not hesitate to threaten your job.

      Advice to Management

      It's OK to grow by listening to differing opinions

      Save the Children Response

      Aug 21, 2017 – Director, Talent Acquisition

      Thank you so much for your feedback. This is critical information, and we take your concerns quite seriously! Have you voiced your concern to your HR Business Advisor? While we can share this with... More

    6. "Great work being done by this agency overall."

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at Save the Children full-time

      Pros

      Committed people work here that have a deep passion for the work.

      Cons

      Has become bureaucratic as it has gotten larger and not all leaders held to agency stated values at the same level as other employees.

      Advice to Management

      Diversity issues need to be a priority.

      Save the Children Response

      Jul 17, 2017 – Director, Talent Acquisition

      Thanks so much for your feedback! You're correct... Diversity is absolutely of critical importance, and our leadership recognizes the need for additional focus and training on this very subject... More

    7. Helpful (8)

      "Great Cause Suffering at Hands of Irresponsible Leadership"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Director in Fairfield, CT
      Former Employee - Director in Fairfield, CT
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at Save the Children full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Incredible mission, many talented professionals.

      Cons

      Leadership/Management. CEO simply cannot make decisions, leading to high turnover among middle and upper management, leading to unstable work conditions and unhappy staff. CIO, CMO, CHRO, VP fundraising, VP digital, VP HR have all defected in past six months. Revenue has been on a slow decline for many years leading to re-orgs/re-structures/layoffs.

      Advice to Management

      Advice to board is to execute a rescue, starting with sweeping reform at executive level then down.

      Save the Children Response

      Jul 17, 2017 – Director, Talent Acquisition

      Thanks for your feedback. Have you had a chat with your HR Business Advisor to share your concerns? We'd love to know more about your observations regarding the instability and morale that you... More

    8. "Enjoy working here"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Project Manager in Fairfield, CT
      Current Employee - Project Manager in Fairfield, CT
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Save the Children full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Great culture, motivated colleagues, good benefits

      Cons

      Little room for growth, no accountability

      Save the Children Response

      Jul 17, 2017 – Director, Talent Acquisition

      Thanks so much for your feedback! Have you had an opportunity to share your concerns with your supervisor? If not, perhaps with your HR Business Advisor? We'd love to learn more about what you... More

    9. "Great place to work"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Senior Director
      Current Employee - Senior Director
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Save the Children full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      Mission, friendly staff, great place to learn and grow

      Cons

      structure can sometime be difficult to navigate

      Advice to Management

      invest in staff and ensuring they feel valued

      Save the Children Response

      Jul 17, 2017 – Director, Talent Acquisition

      Thank you so much for your feedback, and for all you do for Save the Children!!!!

    10. "My work experience"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Senior Technical Advisor in Washington, DC
      Current Employee - Senior Technical Advisor in Washington, DC
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Save the Children full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Great company to work for and very dedicated people

      Cons

      Offices are less than desireable.

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