A monitoring and evaluation specialist in Cambodia

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 internationally hired monitoring and evaluation expert working on an aid project implemented by a nongovernmental organization in Cambodia. - Position title: monitoring and evaluation specialist - Seniority: midlevel - Position type: full-time - Year: 2013 - Salary: roughly $4,000 per month - Benefits: $1,200 a month goods and services, $200 monthly housing supplement, $300 monthly transportation, $150 monthly utilities, full health insurance, one-month home leave per year including 20 days leave, ticket to U.S. worth up to $1,500 and $500 for expenses, $300 one-time recreation bonus, local taxes paid, paid language lessons - Sample tasks: oversee monitoring and evaluation for a multimillion-dollar project funded by a bilateral donor - Key qualifications for the job: master’s degree, five years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation, international experience Cambodia’s foreign aid job market Despite Cambodia’s controversial elections held in late July, a spokesperson for the U.S. Agency for International Development recently confirmed that the agency plans to stay in the country, one of the least developed in Southeast Asia, where former guerrilla leader Hun Sen has been in power since 1985. But even if USAID had discontinued its work, Cambodia would have continued to enjoy aid from China and others. Beijing has pumped as much as $2.7 billion in development assistance, soft loans and grants (excluding military aid) into the country since 1982, and is now Cambodia’s top bilateral donor and main political ally in the region. Other foreign donors include Australia, the European Union and Japan. The United States continues to pledge assistance, although less than in past years. Aid groups operating in Cambodia have lately been looking for experts in fisheries and livestock, economic development, education, democracy and governance, according to the Devex jobs board. Check out the Devex jobs board for more vacancies in Cambodia and for monitoring and evaluation 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!