Pros
I have worked at Surgo Foundation for over 3 years. In that time, I've been extremely fortunate to work with and learn from an amazing team of smart and motivated people from many different backgrounds, from global development and consulting to neuroscience and machine learning. What I've enjoyed most has been the opportunity to have real impact on solving problems such as: why don't people seek care for a certain disease? Why do healthcare workers prefer incentive X over incentive Y? Team members are given a lot of responsibility, and - this is rare - are trusted with experimenting and making informed recommendations. Can you make a convincing case of why you want to try and implement a new data collection method at scale? Or do something cool with data that is normally only used in a different sector? Or establish a new type of programmatic collaboration? More often than not, you will have the opportunity to try it out, test it, and take responsibility while being supported by leadership. If it works out, you may just have contributed to a change in (inter)national policy. Leadership genuinely care about the problems they are trying to solve; they lead with enthusiasm, expertise, and by example.
Cons
Being a smaller organization fits some people better than others, and the flip side of having the freedom to try new things is that sometimes directions change. As a young organization, some processes need standardizing, and the organization is now working on doing that - don't expect the culture of a large corporation. This can be a plus for some and a minus for others: if you thrive on freedom to try new things, taking responsibility, teamwork, and have some tolerance for uncertainty and changes, Surgo is a great place for you.