Does Innovations for Poverty Action pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Innovations for Poverty Action employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Innovations for Poverty Action. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Innovations for Poverty Action?

58% of Innovations for Poverty Action employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Innovations for Poverty Action 3.4 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.6 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Innovations for Poverty Action?

Research Associate (45) , Field Officer (26) , Research Manager (15) , Research Analyst (12) , Senior Research Associate (9) , Intern (8) , Research Assistant (8) , Field Manager (7) , Project Associate (7) , Manager (6) , Researcher (6) , Associate Research Manager (5) , Project Coordinator (5) , Senior Field Officer (5) , Associate Director (4)

What are the pros of working at Innovations for Poverty Action according to real employee reviews?

"You get to work with incredibly smart, fun, motivated people." ((in 16 reviews)); "IPA provides a great place to learn and grow, with an enjoyable office culture and great colleagues." ((in 11 reviews)); "Great working environment" ((in 7 reviews)); "A great opportunity to do work that you can be proud of." ((in 6 reviews)); "Great benefits as well and a very supportive/caring team." ((in 6 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Innovations for Poverty Action according to real employee reviews?

"Salaries are low and the ranges between staff who do the same amount of work can be absurd." ((in 26 reviews)); "Management is poor and disorganized" ((in 19 reviews)); "Long hours; Lots of travels to the field;" ((in 10 reviews)); "Compensation is very low." ((in 7 reviews)); "There is a high turnover rate, compensation low, and an expectation of extended work hours." ((in 5 reviews))

Innovations for Poverty Action reviews

3.6

58% would recommend to a friend

(245 total reviews)

Annie Duflo

70% approve of CEO

51% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Innovations for Poverty Action has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 245 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Innovations for Poverty Action employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the ONG y Organizaciones sin fines de lucro industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

245 reviews

4.0

Nov 17, 2025

Great exposure in the research world

Research associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You get to work for the top researchers in the world.

Cons

Career Growth is limited, and the workload can sometimes become intense.

3.0

Oct 14, 2025

Impactful work, great learning, but room for growth

Research manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Exposure to high-impact research projects and global development work. Collaborative environment with smart, mission-driven colleagues. Strong emphasis on evidence-based approaches and learning.

Cons

Compensation and benefits are not always competitive for the workload. Work-life balance can be challenging, especially during project crunch times. Career growth paths and promotion structures can be unclear. Decision-making can be slow due to organizational bureaucracy. Limited flexibility in some country offices.

4.0

Sep 9, 2025

Great culture and people -tough business model

Chief research and policy officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

amazing people - smartest, hardest working and FUN; amazing impact for a relatively small org ($40m annual revenue)

Cons

Painful business model - dependent on lots of tiny grants and operationally dependent on implementers - means IPA has very little space to operate indpependently or take advantage of economies of scale. So hard to fix longstanding operational issues in HR, grants, etc

Viewing 127 - 129 of 245 Reviews

Jobs at Innovations for Poverty Action

(Senior) Director of Philanthropic Partnerships

(Senior) Director of Philanthropic Partnerships