Pact (Washington DC) Reviews

Pros

wonderful team that is supportive

Cons

Distances between offices in different countries

Pros

Transparent leadership, competitive salaries, cutting edge work, winning and implementing lots of exciting new work

Cons

The past group of senior leaders (all of whom were fired or resigned) left behind a number of problems for the current team to resolve. Change takes time and I feel like Pact is on the right path into the future. I hate to sound cliche, but people really do care about each other and the work they do.

Pros

Some progress in work life balance. Great project work and we have a lot of motivation in the field, Some teams have no culture

Cons

HR is horrible and lacks decision making and has poor leadership-No transparency or accountability at all and no support to global teams. Regional oversight is confusing for project teams. More leadership is needed BD should understand that decisions impact field work

Pros

Colleagues at Pact are committed and kind professionals that really want to make a positive impact in the world. It's a small organization and easy to feel at home.

Cons

Business Development at Pact has been going through constant changes, so process is (still) lacking. There is little to no onboarding, the team is siloed, and workload is poorly managed. High turn-over on this team, while other departments at Pact have great retention. Pact lacks internal mobility so BD staff get 'locked into' the job or have to move on when (not if) they get burned out.

Pros

Great team members, conducive work environment

Cons

Projects end and one is not assured of a placement.

Pros

Above all else, the people - dedicated, supportive, and welcoming - are what make Pact a great place to work. Transparent leadership, good benefits, meaningful work, reasonable remote/in person work policies, and some focus on employee wellness make for a healthy and constructive workplace.

Cons

Depending on the department, the workload can be quite heavy and portfolios can change with some frequency. However, the organization does make meaningful efforts to support employees in achieving some work/life balance.

Pros

Better pay than most comparable orgs Interesting programs Talented colleagues More diverse than most DC-based NGOs

Cons

Pact is heavily business-focused, not mission-focused. A lot of talk about money and growth and very little/nothing about impact and the communities served. HR is not supportive and hard to reach. Burnt out is common and accepted. The majority of the BD team has quit over the past year due to poor leadership and toxic team culture. Senior leadership is completely disconnected, in fact you’ll likely never interact with them.

Pros

Great mission and people. Good health insurance & professional development funds.

Cons

Work-life balance depends a lot on your manager. Some teams are way overstretched, others are ok. Management is doing a mandatory training but I'm not optimistic it will enhance skills much. I agree with one of the other reviews that the promotion & salary increase practices have been troublesome. HR has recently changed policies but they are applied differently by managers. Some are more supportive of growth than others.

Pros

Pact does amazing work around the world and I'm proud to work here. A lot of positive change going on. We have new leadership across the board who are making needed adjustments. I love our new SVP of Programs. She is smart, experienced, authentic, transparent and open with information and seems intent on finding ways for us to work together better and have greater impact. And she is inclusive (at least so far -- still new).

Cons

A lot of change over past two years which is good, but takes time, learning. I wish Pro and con -- work with people from all over the world so sometimes meetings are early or late.

Pros

Pact is at a really good place now, having recently won a number of large and significant awards, and brought on some good new staff. There is (finally) a sense that we are all moving in the right direction. Some of the smartest and most committed people I have ever worked with are at Pact. Their governance and capacity development/localization staff are really cutting edge. And the benefits package is excellent!

Cons

There were significant problems with the past leadership team, which created long term deficits, but new leadership is proactively working to address these. It will take time for all the positive initiatives to be felt, but it is clear things are moving in the right direction. It is true that several staff have left in recent times, but that is happening at all of the organizations like ours in DC so it doesn't feel specific to Pact.