Humanitarian relief salaries: What you need to know

While the humanitarian relief sector is regarded as one of the most challenging and dynamic, it usually doesn’t score brownie points when it comes to salary comparisons across development sectors. Many humanitarian relief professionals will tell you that if you’re in it for the money, then it’s probably not the best place for you to be. A public-sector expert with Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst, also known as German Development Service, advised: “This is a very demanding and challenging sector which is not as highly remunerated as the private sector - think well about why you want to become involved.” In order to get a handle on the ever-shifting salary paradigm in humanitarian relief, Devex conducted a survey of our very own online community, targeting members with expertise in the sector. Here’s what we found. Various factors affect pay Salary levels in the relief sector vary based on a number of factors including experience, security risk, and work location. How much a relief worker makes also depends on which organization they work for. Individuals working with bilateral donors like the U.S. Agency for International Development, governments, and U.N. agencies generally earn more than their counterparts who work with non-governmental organizations. Within the NGO community, the rule of thumb is the smaller the organization, the lesser the pay. For example, those working as an expatriate or with an international NGO will likely earn more than those working with a national NGO or community-based organization. Organizations which rely solely on volunteers tend to pay the lowest, but usually assure considerable field experience, a key ingredient for launching a career in humanitarian relief. A program director for global medical relief group in northern Afghanistan reported that he earns $65,000 annually. Positions that focus on emergency assistance and early response in hotspots like Afghanistan typically carry higher salaries in comparison to lower-risk jobs in development and reconstruction. Benefits Another factor that greatly affects how much net pay a humanitarian relief professional receives is job benefits. While some organizations offer minimum benefits to all their employees, others do not. Benefits in the relief sector include health insurance, maternity leave, family and education allowance, hazard payments, vacation, sick leave, bonuses and retirement compensation. One mid-level professional with Geneva-based Action by Churches Together International reported earning an annual gross income of just below $105,000. While she’s eligible for a 16-week paid maternity leave, sick leave, and two days of vacation a month, among others, she said health insurance is not included in her benefits plan. What is available - should a spouse be unemployment - is a subsidy of about $100 per month, and a health subsidy of about $70 per month for dependent children. While this might seem like a good deal, the relief worker cautioned that tax obligations make it an entirely different matter. “Health care insurance is mandatory in Switzerland and very expensive,” she wrote. “For example I pay CHF250 [$242] a month for the most basic level of insurance and I still have to pay a deductible of CHF2,500 a year.” In addition, ACT International provides a taxable monthly allowance of about $350 for the first child until the age of 18. For second and subsequent children, ACT offers approximately $225 per month. Geneva laws also make allowance for a one-time “bonus” of CHF1,000 for the birth of a child. For international staff, the organization offers a round-trip sponsored family home leave package once every two years, as well as an education allowance of up to $15,000 a year for staff with children at the secondary level of an international school. Internships and volunteer positions Many humanitarian relief professionals set their careers in gear with internship and volunteer opportunities. While the bulk of internship and volunteer opportunities in humanitarian assistance might be unpaid, some programs offer remuneration. For instance, the Peace Corps and “United Nations Volunteers”: provide monthly stipends, as well as settling-in and resettlement allowances at the start and end of assignments, respectively. Some also cover room and board, and travel costs to and from program locations. A country director in Liberia, who now works for a U.K. medical relief agency, said he first joined the humanitarian sector as a volunteer in 1996, earning an annual salary of $10,000. Another professional started off as an unpaid intern in Colombia and Costa Rica. In 1995 he secured his first job in Bosnia and Herzegovina with Action Against Hunger, where he made $12,000 a year after tax deductions. In order to sustain themselves, individuals pursuing unpaid internship and volunteer opportunities seek out alternate sources of funding, such as fellowships, scholarships, loans and family support. One respondent, a self-employed water supply and sanitation specialist in the U.K. who currently earns as much as $70,000 in a “good year,” did just that. He wrote: “[I] first started in 1991 as a volunteer. Therefore, no salary as such, but [I] generated sponsorship in the region of $40,000.” While it might seem daunting to pursue unpaid opportunities, many seasoned relief workers advocate pursuing them nevertheless. High-paid jobs tend to go to those with a good number of years of field experience under the belt, and a proven desire to succeed in the sector. Salary brackets Entry-level positions Depending on job function, organization and location, among other factors, entry-level staff can garner anywhere between $10,000 to $64,000 annually, Devex members indicated. For instance, the current gross salary range for entry-level professionals at ACT International is the equivalent of between $54,000 and $64,000 annually, while DED offers a net income of between $12,000 and $24,000 per year for its entry-level staff. Mid-level positions Depending on the aforementioned conditions, mid-level professionals in humanitarian assistance can earn anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000 in the U.S. and as much as $110,000 in locations like Geneva. For its mid-level professionals, for example, DED has an annual net salary range from $24,000 to $48,000. High-level positions High-level professionals in executive and managerial positions earn as much as $140,000 annually, according to Devex survey respondents. However, these positions tend to be project-development and money-generating positions. ACT International offers its senior staff an annual gross salary of between $125,000 and $150,000, while DED pays senior staff between $48,000 and $72,000 after taxes. Consulting Just as full-time staff salaries depend on a whole range of conditions, remuneration for consultants in the humanitarian relief sector takes a number of things into account. Some of these include experience, project portfolio, contract period, U.N. position grade, market trends, and desired qualifications in a consultant. Generally, consultancy rates range from $100 to $750 per day. A U.K.-based consultant reported earning £200 [about $330] per day, while another survey respondent indicated that local consultants in Nepal earn $100 to $200 a day when under contract by U.N. agencies. While U.N. agencies typically have standard rates of daily subsistence allowance for field work, NGOs generally don’t. As a result, some consultants may decide to work for less in order to allow agencies to determine whether they would like to build a continued working relationship. One consultant explained his payment scheme: “Normally, I request an up-front payment of around 20 percent of the total consultancy; then an interim payment if the work is for longer than four weeks; and a final payment due on completion.” Read more of our humanitarian relief career stories: - Humanitarian Relief for Career Starters - Humanitarian Relief Jobs: What You Need To Know - Humanitarian Relief: The ‘Ideal’ Job Candidate - Top Employers in Humanitarian Relief: A Primer - Women in Humanitarian Relief: Challenges and Myths - Humanitarian Relief Jobs: Resume and Cover Letter Tips - 30-Second Checklist: Preparing for the Field Read more career advice articles.