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Danish Refugee Council

Engaged Employer

Organization with no future, particularly in the current funding climate - Senior Manager Danish Refugee Council Employee Review

1.0
Aug 29, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Org was able to establish itself as a credible refugee actor during the Syria refugee response, but has gone downhill since then. - Tries to adapt by following trends (e.g. localization, regenerative agriculture, displacement modelling, etc) but with limited success as its constantly following trends, no real strength in any field (including protection) - Association with MMC which as real value

Cons

- A job creation scheme for underqualified "humanitarians"... very few people with the intellectual and moral prerequisites for senior management (e.g. Country Directors that are inexperienced women or less than mediocre white men with no qualifications for the job but are Europeans) - extremely poor salary and benefit packages for national staff (e.g. below market pay, continuously offering 4-5 months contracts at a time, in some countries health insurance that doesn't cover critical illnesses like cancer). result is low retention, and low capacity level of national staff. - very inefficient and poor value for money, behind all the talk, little gets to target populations (most goes in salaries and benefits, car rentals, HQ and overhead, etc) - high tolerance for all-around mediocrity, little accountability at all levels, poor, weak leadership from area-level to Copenhagen - a literal revolving door of staff, both national and international - very poor retention - Though it tries to diversity donor sources, practically no flexible/core funding but Danida, which is dwindling - unlikely to survive the current funding climate.

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Danish Refugee Council Response
8mo
Thank you for taking the time to share such detailed and honest feedback – even though it’s hard to read, we know it comes from your experience and from caring about DRC. We really appreciate that. You’ve raised important points about leadership, contracts, retention and how we use our resources. These are real challenges for us, especially in the current funding climate. We’re working on them – for example, by trying to improve contract stability, reviewing national staff benefits against benchmarks, investing in leadership development, and doing more to diversify funding. But we also know we’re not where we want to be yet. We take feedback like this seriously, and we really appreciate your comments as honest input is what helps us reflect, make changes and hopefully do better – for colleagues and for the people we serve. If you would like to share additional details or suggestions, we would welcome continuing the conversation directly and confidentially. Please feel free to reach out to our HR team at talent@drc.ngo. Thanks again for speaking up and for the years you’ve given to DRC. /Iosif S. - People and Organization, HQ

Explore other reviews about Danish Refugee Council

5.0
Oct 31, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Broad spectrum of activities Flexibility to perform the duties Strong focus on innovation

Cons

Limited career development follow-up from HR

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Danish Refugee Council Response
4mo
Dear colleague, Thank you for your feedback. We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. We hope you have also shared your thoughts through the DRC Voices survey. /Iosif S. - People and Organization, HQ
4.0
Nov 24, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Wonderful environment to work in

Cons

Wish to have higher position in the future

avatar
Danish Refugee Council Response
4mo
Thank you for your feedback. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. We take all feedback seriously and continuously strive to improve our workplace. Your insights help us in that process. / Iosif S. People and Organization, HQ
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