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Pan American Development Foundation

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Toxic and competitive work environment - Program Coordinator Pan American Development Foundation Employee Review

2.0
30 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good salary and benefits compared to the rest of the INGO market. Managed to stay somewhat afloat after the foreign aid cuts in 2025. Junior staff passionate about the work they do.

Cons

1. Structure of the organization creates an atmosphere of competition between teams, fighting for bids, encroachment of thematic areas by certain teams, and opaque and shady actions to try to get an advantage over others. There is no sense of the whole organization working together towards a common goal. Just in-fighting, backstabbing, and bad mouthing between teams. 2. So much favoritism. Different policies applied across employees based on preferential treatment, often even within the same team. Some staff were allowed to be 100% remote and work from wherever in the world they want to. Others are forced to be in DC and some even forced to come into the office certain days of the week. No transparency, no policy, no rules. Just favoritism from HR and supervisors for certain staff. HR has no measures/metrics in place that explain what the path is for promotions, leading to promotions and raises depending on if your supervisor likes you or not, regardless of performance. 3. Observed several cases of harassment, offensive behavior, and sexual misconduct reported to supervisors and HR which were not addressed. Toxic and even unethical behavior is often rewarded by executive leadership. No real safeguarding training or measures in place to protect junior staff or beneficiaries. HR is just there to protect senior leadership at the expense of junior staff.

Explore other reviews about Pan American Development Foundation

5.0
3 Dec 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Professional growth, kind people, good benefits

Cons

I can't think of any! I wasn't there long enough.

3.0
15 Aug 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Hybrid work schedule: you're only expected to come to the office once or twice a week - Opportunities for international travel to LatAm and the Caribbean - Gain experience doing research and writing federal grant applications (for U.S. foreign aid projects) - Very international organization: even at HQ in DC, most of your colleagues will be foreign nationals - Variety: you will design and manage projects across many different countries and thematic areas

Cons

- Org leadership, particularly HR, are kind of terrible. Try to interact with them as little as possible - They don't allow fully remote work, so if getting to Foggy Bottom once or twice a week is a problem for you, this won't work. Also your days in the office will probably be your least productive. - Lack of salary and promotion process transparency: HR doesn't clearly communicate how salaries are negotiated or how it's decided when a person will be promoted or why. Performance evaluations are done once a year on paper - though you will probably have to remind your supervisor to do it - but in reality, the metrics listed aren't real, and the evaluation itself seems to have little to do with promotion decisions. - Lack of role differentiation: While in theory coordinators, managers, and senior managers have different roles and levels of responsibility, in practice they often are doing the same job for different salaries. When it can take years to be promoted, this can create a feeling of unfairness.

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