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      Global Knowledge Initiative

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      Global Knowledge Initiative Reviews

      4.0

      74% would recommend to a friend

      (4 total reviews)

      50% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      4.0

      Senior management

      4.0

      Career opportunities

      3.7

      Culture and values

      2.7

      Work/Life balance

      2.7

      Compensation and benefits

      Reviews by job title

      4 reviews
      1.0
      31 July 2017

      Committed employees; toxic environment and founder

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      The junior staff is committed and have an incredible work ethic.

      Cons

      (1) An organization suffering from founder syndrome run wild. (2) GKI presents itself as an innovative organization but only repackages old and clumsy tools to deliver traditional consultant-type products that have negligible impact, if any. (3) Their trainings don't build capacity as they are designed to have participants sit through PowerPoint after PowerPoint, delivered in a paternalistic and "western-centric" way. (4) The work culture is toxic with staff expected to work nights and weekends, take lunch at their desks, and aren't even allowed to send an email to clients without the sign-off from the founder and COO. Micromanagement is the status quo. (5) A non-profit without an actual board, only token names listed on the company website. Only two of these stay involved but don't have any decision making authority or knowledge of its activities. The founder and COO runs the organization like her own fiefdom with zero transparency into the organization's financials.

      5.0
      20 Dec 2017

      Wonderful staff and great opportunity!

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Close-knit, hard working, and caring staff. Variety of work to be done and topics to work on. Abundant opportunities for professional growth and to gain new experiences. Quickly growing and gaining a strong reputation in the field.

      Cons

      Definitely a demanding company, but worth the work.

      5.0
      16 Dec 2017

      Innovative organization transitioning from start-up to mature non-profit

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      GKI is a great organization for people who want to work hard, have a diverse porfolio, experience opportunities for growth, and make a difference. It launched me on my career, and gave me opportunities I never would have gotten elsewhere: for travel, program design, program management, business development, and monitoring and evaluation. If you are willing to stretch yourself, GKI can be a great place to grow.

      Cons

      My sense is that this has changed since I was there, but pay and benefits were a bit below what its larger competitors often offered (as is often the case for young non-profits). It faced some of the other challenges small teams face: funding feast or famine, a staff with more energy than experience (I would include myself in that group), a somewhat informal HR and benefits system (by the way - each of these things improved while I was there, and have improved more since I left). This is not a con, but for some people it might be: there was a lot of work, and team members were expected to step up - and were rewarded for doing so. This wasn't an organization where someone could just punch the clock and wait for 5 PM. But that was attractive to me, as it was to most other team members.

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      ReviewsGlobal Knowledge Initiative reviews

      Glassdoor has 6 Global Knowledge Initiative reviews submitted anonymously by Global Knowledge Initiative employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Global Knowledge Initiative is right for you.