Salary Spotlight: An M&E associate 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 monitoring and evaluation associate working for a development firm in Pakistan. ● Position title: monitoring and evaluations associate ● Seniority: entry-level ● Position type: full-time ● Year: 2014 ● Salary: approximately $450 monthly ● Benefits: equivalent to approximately $350 monthly ● Sample tasks: assist the team in developing and writing data entry programs for all M&E activities in targeted value chains, conduct beneficiary interviews, lead group discussions and verification visits to project sites, evaluate the statistical methods and procedures used to obtain data in order to ensure validity, applicability, efficiency and accuracy ● Qualifications: bachelor’s degree or equivalent degree in statistics or other relevant subject with concentration in statistics, demonstrated experience working with statistical applications, excellent communication and writing ability, fluency in English and a willingness to travel to all provinces of Pakistan Pakistan foreign aid job market Pakistan ranks toward the bottom on the list of 187 countries included in the latest Human Development Index. The South Asia country 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, considers 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. 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 jobs board for more vacancies in Pakistan 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, check out more career advice stories online, and subscribe to Doing Good to receive top international development career and recruitment news.