A program assistant in Zimbabwe

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 program assistant working for an international humanitarian organization in Zimbabwe. - Position title: program assistant - Seniority: midlevel - Position type: full-time - Year: 2012 - Sample tasks: render support in developing proposals and implementing programs, draft operational plans and budgets, coordinate impact evaluations, document lessons learned from activities, represent the organization in stakeholder meetings - Salary: $17,000+ per year Zimbabwe’s foreign aid job market Western bilateral aid to Zimbabwe has been largely coursed through nongovernmental organizations and multidonor trust funds following sanctions imposed against strongman Robert Mugabe and his allies more than a decade ago over allegations of human rights abuses and farmland expropriation. But the European Union decided in July to resume direct aid, and its delegation is working on a 2014-2020 country strategy paper; a technical team from Brussels visited the African country in late September. In 2010, donors committed $602 million for Zimbabwe, significantly less than in the previous year ($857.4 million), according to data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Foreign donors promised in August to increase assistance, but no amount was specified. The United Kingdom’s current plan is to provide 365.9 million pounds ($591.4 million in current terms) from 2011 to 2015. According to the United Nations Development Program, Zimbabwe will likely fail to achieve most of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Development needs are as high as is the demand for experts in water and sanitation, food security and children’s health, financial management, monitoring and evaluation. Check out vacancies in Zimbabwe and for program assistants. 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!