Steer Clear. Do yourself and your family a favour, don't work here.
Pros
Birthdays off. Good benefits, especially for those who negotiate better packages and special privileges than their colleagues and co-workers. Negotiation is common rather than standard staff policies and practices. If you're a good negotiator and a self-promoter, you'll do well for yourself. Anyone interested in a workplace where staff are treated equally and fairly, steer clear. Good benefits for families, however those benefits (and any others) can be stripped away at any time. You and your family will be at the mercy of an organization that treats its employees like slaves. Anyone who protests will be swiftly threatened or given the boot and made an example of to others who might raise concerns. Self-promoters and non-performers will feel right at home here. Anyone with any moral decency, look elsewhere. Anyone with integrity who actually wants to focus their efforts on working towards the organization's mission will be disappointed and not recognized for their achievements and hard work. The mission of the organization attracts a lot of decent, intelligent, and fantastic people. However, after working here for some time, these same people either turn into bullies themselves, leave the organization, or are sacked.
Cons
The last thing someone wants to worry about after working in an organization for 20 years is showing up one day and being told they’ve been sacked with no warning, no notice, and no explanation. But this is common practice at CIMMYT. Staff are regularly expected to work 60-70 hours a week, are poorly compensated, and are terminated without notice or explanation. Bully mentality is common especially among senior management and filters down throughout the organization. Under-performance and gross non-performance of responsibilities are consistently ignored for preferred employees. Nepotism and favouritism are rampant throughout the organization. Save your talent, energy, and hard work for another organization that has a modicum of consideration for its employees. Staff are expected to dedicate their entire life to the organization while anyone can be let go at any time regardless of their contract. Staff who decide not to work weekends or evenings will not last long. Upper managers don't have a personal life and expect staff to be virtually on call. Work/life balance is poor. If you don't comply, you won't have a job. Horrible management and treatment of staff have been well documented and raised as a concern by oversight bodies and independent councils. However, there are no real mechanisms to hold management accountable. Minorities, women, and certain nationalities are targeted and treated especially unfairly. With no real mechanisms in place to rectify poor treatment of staff, unethical practices go unchecked and are common.