Good Experience, Management Needs Work... - Anonymous employee UNHCR Employee Review

4.0
Jan 15, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

--Given big responsibilities which enabled me to develop my skill set --Having creative license to present my ideas and have them accepted --Learning firsthand about the international and local coordination mechanisms in place to protect refugees --Meeting interesting people (government officials, journalists, development and humanitarian workers) --The challenging environment of field work tests your character (pro in this case) --Good pay and benefits

Cons

--Little to no work-life balance --Lots of days working 12+ hours --Lot of consecutive all-nighters --Stressful in the field, navigating the local context --Inefficient way of working (averse to technology and time-saving methods) --Better training and orientation needed once you enter into duty --Burn-out is common (seen it in many colleagues), but nothing seems to be done to make things better or ensure it doesn't happen again

Explore other reviews about UNHCR

5.0
Nov 3, 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Best Mandate to see people of Concerns benefit. opportunity to be in an international team

Cons

instability of employment contract and job opportunities

3.0
Apr 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits, you really do help people

Cons

Human Resources takes a highly specialized approach to talent management. In that you cannot really change functions easily in UNHCR. You have to hyper-specialize in one area. So if you are a protection staff, you tend to burn out from trauma without an internal mechanism to alleviate the burnout. The higher you go in UNHCR, the crazier you become.

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