employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

International Rescue Committee

Is this your company?

International Rescue Committee reviews

3.8

70% would recommend to a friend

(1,406 total reviews)
avatar

David Miliband

71% approve of CEO

42% positive business outlook

International Rescue Committee has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 1,406 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The International Rescue Committee 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

1K reviews
2.0
Jan 22, 2018

IRC

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Large NGO with strong global presence. -Dedicated staff with many exceptional staff members, particularly field staff ("local" staff). - Great resettlement programs. - Great for getting your start in emergencies and getting exposure to multiple different contexts and countries.

Cons

- The IRC is quickly becoming a hollowed out brand. - Miliband has established an increasingly corporate culture that is driving bloated HQ staffing, at the expense of programs. - As others have noted, there are shockingly few people of color in the global offices or in leadership positions and no attention to diversity and inclusion. - Boys club culture still reigns, particularly at the field level and in some departments. Organizational blindness to sexual harassment. - Deep inequalities between staff - VPs and CEO in the top 1% income bracket, assistants in the lower 50%. - Often toxic work environment and hyper-competitive culture.

2.0
Jan 23, 2017

The Decline of IRC

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You will meet the smartest and eloquent staff and leaders in the forefront of refugee resettlement and conflict resolution. The field staff are very committed and their passion is unquestionable. Even just talking to them gives you a certain kind of awe. You will have a humbling experience interacting with them as you learn about the lengths that they go to deliver aide and other resources to the most vulnerable people in the world.

Cons

While you will meet the most competent and passionate people especially field staff, you will also encounter the ugly face of corporate America - its greed, selfishness, and uncaring face in the IRC headquarters. It is really quite ironic being that it is a charitable organization that's supposed to show compassion and care. Now more than ever, because of the dire political climate imposed by the Trump administration, IRC leadership should have taken more action in saving the organization especially the lowest paid employees. Instead, they are ready to downsize almost without care, even if the senior officers all make 6 digit salary. If you look at the IRC's financial records, open to the public via the website and IRS or even Wikipedia, you will know that the CEO makes $600k - that's more than the salary of the US President. This alone, makes me so shameful and frustrated with the organization. There is always talks of budget cuts and it is quite tangible, but it never seemed to be an option for management to take a budget cut themselves for the good of the company. I think that's why IRC is on the decline because while it is still a prestigious organization, its resources are not efficiently allocated. There are more consultants hired than lower to mid-entry staff who "actually does the work", the very limited training funds are mostly allocated for the management (so bizarre - train the leaders but no program for staff), perhaps only 5% is allocated to staff. regretfully, there is no career growth in IRC unless you start in a senior position. Silo mentality is also a huge problem. There is no synergy between departments and is almost always fighting for resources instead of coming up with a joint resolution. Leaders only listen to other leaders, undermining the confidence and competence of staff. Currently, 1 or 2 people quit every month in the HQ.

1.0
Jul 12, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay is decent after 2 weeks

Cons

For a nonprofit that positions itself as empathetic and. caring, that mentality doesn't extend to Field Fundraisers. I have only worked here for a week but I've been forced to take lunch with my manager when I just wanted to sit in my car and charge my phone. There's also this weirdly delusional culture where joy and happiness should be used as the primary way to draw people into some of the most tragic stories I've ever heard in my life. People experience a full gamut of emotions when discussing things like displacement. You don't have to approach them like a ray of sunshine every time. I'd argue that doing so is actually pretty inauthentic and disrespectful to those who are experiencing these tragedies. So now let's talk about the cruel quotas that everyone must reach each week or literally be put on probation. I informed this organization that I had a class on Tuesday and Thursdays very early on in my training and they just decided that despite this, I have to hit my weekly quota or I'm terminated. I don't think even corporate America is a cutthroat and heartless as that.

Viewing 4 - 6 of 1,406 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,213 International Rescue Committee reviews submitted anonymously by International Rescue Committee employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if International Rescue Committee is right for you.