NGO jobs in India....

Nan and Curry

In addition to the Language Specialist opportunity I posted a thread earlier on, I would also be interested in pursuing an NGO job in India or greater South East Asia.

Here are a few curiosities I have about them:

How plentiful are NGO organizations/jobs in India? Where are they usually based out of; UK, USA, locally??

Do they generally pay well (of course depending on the role) and
offer good benefits?

Happen to know of any good web sites for NGO jobs in India as
well as greater South East Asia?

Again, I would appreciate input from those of you with NGO experience.

Thanks.

ranjan154

First of all you need to clarify the motive behind joining the NGO. I am afraid I could not understand if you want to join NGO for benefits or you want to serve some cause ?

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Nan and Curry

Hi Ranjan,

My priority for joining and NGO is for a cause. Specifically, Environmental/Conservation, Education, or some type of community work. Of course I would like benefits to go along with it.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

shashank.aggarwal

I am sorry Nan, even I get a feeling that its just a career option for you rather than a cause..

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capt_mahajan

Speaking from experience of helping run a NGO...

There is nothing wrong with an NGO as a career option, provided it is an honest career. There are too many NGO's in India who are saying 'cause' while lining a few pockets- without paying any salaries. So, if somebody wants to do some good and make an honest living at the same time, more power to them.

Nan and Curry, most NGO's don't pay well. A few do, but they are the high flying ones, heavily funded from abroad or the UN and are ones I usually avoid. Too much bullshit and too many prima donnas.

Many Indian NGO's may have foreign partners for funding- in fact, that is a salivating prospect for most of them; in my experience these are often dishonest, but not always. The real good ones are those which accept foreign funding on their own terms, if at all(to remain independent, because many foreign donors are too enamoured of buzzwords like children, HIV-Aids, sustainability etc and so NGO's slant their work towards that) while pursuing a holistic approach to all community problems.


I would suggest shortlist areas first where you would want to look, visit some NGO's there (look up indianngos.com, a far from comprehensive website) and decide what suits you and then seek employment in those places.
Talk to locals in the business.

If any NGO will do for you and if you don't want to visit, then using Indian employment sites like naukri.com or the indian monster.com besides others may get results. Keeping your last post in mind, strong suggestion to visit, see what they are doing, go through their financial statements etc .. before you decide.

Else you risk being attached to an unscrupulous NGO. And many of them are either a milch cow, or feel-good vacuuous socialite playthings, or both.

PS and Disclaimer: As partly indicated elsewhere on IM, I will not divulge any details of what we do, including by PM, out here.

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brishti

why can't working for a 'cause' [euckhie word, but i cant think of any other right now] and earning money go hand in hand?
the only reason [personally] i am unable to work in rural areas [as i'd prefer to] is, because it wont pay my rent. and whats wrong in wanting to be paid for work done? i really am curious.

:brishti

shashank.aggarwal

its not about getting paid, but getting paid well and other benefits..

I guess when you talk about Dan-Dharm ..(Donations etc) or you work for some charitable cause you do not expect the payments in return, its only for the karma...or maybe that is the way that I have seen it growing up in India..

If its about money then anyone could go and get employed (barring some very specialized people..), there is lot of unemployment here..

brishti

shashank:
to quote the cap'n [who is always ever so succinct ] "somebody wants to do some good and make an honest living at the same time"... was i talking of benefits etc etc etc

so... most teachers in regular schools here in india [barring the lah-di-dah schools] are basically doing it for karma? being underpaid is a privilege then, is it? nothing wrong with the system?

:brishti

shashank.aggarwal

I was not referring to you..please read the OP..

What do you think they are doing it for, they are doing it because either they have no other option OR they do not want to leave the 'secure' government job. Yes, they are doing something good, however its a part of the system and we are talking about NGO here. If you are talking about teachers, then I feel that each and every individual is doing this part on the society, what abour those auto/taxi/truck drivers, they are helping in transportation. OR what about Airtel/Relinace/Hutch they are helping in communication. We are talking about NGO here, essentially they are not part of everyday system of life for most of us.

brishti

ok - i got all them wires crossed shashank... yup
i was replying to ranjan's post. i thought another way of saying salary was, as the OP said it - benefits. oh whatever...

next round of masala peanuts on me

:brishti

Nick-H

Random thoughts (as ever)

There is nothing wrong in being paid for one's work, and it is doubly satisfying if that work also does some good for someone.

There are Govt-employed doctors in India that never do govt practice, or use it as commission source for referrals.

There are Govt-employed teachers in India who never do an honest, committed day of teaching.

There are Many people in India, in public and in private employment, who do have a sense of purpose and passion about what they do.

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Nan and Curry

Hey Capt,

My intent is to work for an NGO within Education/Environmental Conservation/ or community type work that has a sincere, effective mission. Ultimately, I would like a decent salary along with benefits and pursue this as a career if it proves to be a feasible option.

I am starting to think since I lack direct NGO experience, I may need to start out as a volunteer initially until I gain a bit of experience and network into a paid opportunity.

Any Suggestions? As I mentioned before, I would like to do this in India but would also consider greater South East Asia.

By the way, I appreciate all the responses to my thread. I thought it was going to develop slowly.

Thanks

machadinha

That could indeed be one approach. If so, you could start doing this at home. Where it would be easier to find your way around, perhaps try a few different organizations or positions, and so on. You could then look into developing this into an overseas position once you are more acquainted with the field, also with its finer intricacies and so on, and of course, there are so many different groups out there. Could well take you a couple of years, no doubt.

This is no criticism, but seeing how you seem to be unclear on what and where precisely, maybe this beats trying to align yourself with just any NGO abroad from scratch.

Depending on your overall background and skills and experience, there may well be a paid position out there waiting for you right now, of course.

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capt_mahajan

I think you should first

a) search Indian jobsites
b) Narrow down which part of India you would want to work in


Many have US liason offices, and many have major donors from the US. Another way would be for you to tap into those and see if they have any requirements.

Nan and Curry

Thanks Machindha and Captain!

I would prefer to have a paid job, but would consider volunteering to start.

Education is my primary experience, but since the environment is quickly becoming a prominent issue (as well as being interesting)I would consider that as well.

Anyway, I will do a bit more homework.

Thanks again!