Pros
I've had a very good experience thus far. - Transparent salaries and expat terms of employment, which are posted publicly online. - I thought the pay was pretty good and the benefits were decent, especially as compared to domestic jobs in the US. - A lot of freedom to pursue initiatives without interference from HQ. - Higher-ups, at least on the mid-level, are accessible and understanding, even if they don't always agree with you. - Important work to help refugees and other displaced people. - Very strong reputation internationally.
Cons
I can see where some of the other reviewers are coming from, however. My region is perhaps less political than some others and we've had very good people in HQ. But I can see why the other reviewers may be upset, especially if they are not used to a Danish management style or if there was a different constellation of personalities in their area. - Leadership in Copenhagen is a small cadre of people who have worked at DRC forever and tend to be insular and self-regarding. - Decisions at the upper management levels tend to be taken without much input from the field, but then sold as "bottom-up". - Have grown fast, but still act like a small Danish NGO. Need to start acting like the bigger international player that they are. - Tough for non-Danes to be considered for HQ jobs. - Too focused on Denmark for private fundraising to exclusion of much bigger markets, i.e. US, UK, anywhere else. - No formal mechanisms for field staff retention. - Too dependent on major institutional donors. - Flip side of the above, while they give managers lots of freedom, they also don't give them much help, especially as regards proposal writing. - Agree with another reviewer: too obsessed with turnover, but not doing enough to broaden the funding base.
