Ventajas
With a few notable exceptions, the people at PHR are what will keep you sane for your short stint at the organization. PHR has found a way to hire some of the most exceptionally qualified and decent people you will have the pleasure of working with.
Desventajas
I’d like to first flag that the Research Associate review dated October 2017 on this site is fake. The beauty of working at a small organization is that you get to know your coworkers pretty well. I knew the people who held this position and they without a doubt did not write this review. It’s fake—and there will be more. If you are a potential candidate, do your research and contact an actual human being (outside of management) who worked at PHR before applying. The fact that management wrote this review, or asked someone to write it on their behalf, sums up the organization. It’s smoke and mirrors. Management measures success by Twitter followers and dollars, as opposed to actual impact, programmatic (let alone organizational) stability, or lasting partnerships. I’d also like to flag that the Chief Development Officer, who wrote such a glowing review of PHR, resigned…after three months. You don’t have the right to say that you can’t imagine anyone (current or past) writing a negative review when you last at an organization for one quarter. Their first week was the staff retreat where, unlike what they claim, management tried their hardest to avoid addressing organizational issues by lumping them into a discussion on vicarious trauma. Insulting for staff actually grappling with vicarious trauma to say the least, but done specifically so the ED and management could avoid discussing any specific issue in depth. The strategic plan mentioned has still not been completed and this would be fine if it was management’s first stab at putting together a strategic plan, but it’s not. They can’t draft a strategic plan because management (the ED) does not have the requisite knowledge or experience of the human rights field to know what to do, let alone how to do it. Management has no clear vision or mission for the organization, which they would like you to believe is normal and how all well-governed, functioning nonprofits operate. As a result, the organization has no strategic plan and goes into each year without a clear idea of its programmatic goals or priorities. They instead follow the whims of donors for a year or two before funding runs out. The CDO review does bring up a good point—if you’re friends with the ED you are treated well. However, unless you are in this small cadre of trusted confidents—a group of roughly three people who have carved out a cushy existence by saying yes or having connections, you will be treated poorly and eventually leave or be pushed out for daring to have integrity, morals, or the desire to have a life outside of your job. Until there’s a change in leadership there is no reason to join this organization unless you want to set your career back a couple of years. There are many organizations working in the field that are more deserving of the exceptionally qualified staff who are fooled into taking positions at PHR.