I enjoyed most of my time even though it has huge and avoidable challenges.
Pros
In theory, this is supposed to be the peak of human rights work. You are at the centre of some very exciting world affairs. If you are a International law groupie like me, this is very exciting. You meet some very interested people. Great place for women to work. Good salary and benefits.
Cons
It is not a meritocracy. It lacks vision, focus and its impact is very suspect indeed. It has a strange internal politics which excludes people who are not from a couple of western European countries. It is in need of proper management and some checks and balances especially within middle management. There is a huge number of people with unstable contracts while there are people who do nothing but could never be fired because of their contractual status. Often middle managers abuse and bully those with unstable contracts because they have little practical recourse to justice or other avenues for protection. All in all, it is a good example of an organisation not living up to its core mission.