A gender adviser in Pakistan

International development is as much a business as it is a labor of love, and chances are you won’t choose your next assignment based on the money. That said, compensation is an important part of human resources management, and comprehensive data on salaries and benefits is hard to come by. That’s why Devex is shedding light on the salaries and work of those holding jobs that international development organizations commonly hire for. It’s part of our mission to help aid professionals do good and make informed decisions about their careers. Today’s spotlight is on a locally hired gender expert working for an international nongovernmental organization in Pakistan. - Position title: gender adviser - Seniority: senior-level - Position type: full-time employment on a long-term contract, hired locally - Year: 2013 - Salary: roughly $22,500 per year - Benefits: health insurance, child care facilities, maternity and paternity leaves, official travel logistics - Sample tasks: help analyze the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of existing gender quality programs, support the collection and analysis of sex- and age-disaggregated data, help build capacity of field staff and partners in gender-sensitive programming, facilitate and support the integration of gender perspectives in strategic planning and programming, provide technical support to develop relevant advocacy and communication materials focused on promoting gender equality - Key qualifications for the job: postgraduate degree in women or gender studies or any relevant field Pakistan’s foreign aid job market Pakistan has numerous pressing development challenges; it ranks toward the bottom of 186 countries on the latest Human Development Index. Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of foreign aid, the bulk of it in the form of grants. The United States, Pakistan’s largest bilateral donor, says it ”sees a prosperous, secure, and stable Pakistan as vital to regional peace and security.” The World Bank, meanwhile, is the biggest multilateral donor. It provides aid to help improve the country’s economic governance, human development and social protection, infrastructure and security as well as other areas to reduce the risk of conflict. As such, and also based on vacancies posted on the Devex jobs board, there is a wide variety of expertise needed for aid projects in Pakistan. Check out the Devex jobs board for more vacancies in Pakistan and for gender experts. Compensation isn’t everything The details provided in this article were derived from a survey of select development workers stationed in various parts of the globe. Due to the sensitivity of the information, we are keeping the respondents’ identities and organizations confidential. Compensation varies greatly from one job, country or organization to another. Even for the same position, differences in remuneration occur based on educational background, experience and an applicant’s most recent salary, an organization’s need and the sector it operates in, as well as whether it is hiring locally or internationally. Also, some organizations offer more generous benefit packages than others, or they offer perks such as regular travel, training or other career development services that should not be discounted. For senior-level international hires, in particular, benefits such as housing and education allowances often amount to tens of thousands of dollars per year. At the end of the day, aid workers tell us that the chance to help alleviate suffering and lift people out of poverty are well worth any pay cut they may have encountered switching from the private sector. Read more Devex Salary Spotlights!