What Salary Should You Expect In An NGO Entry Level Job?

The NGO sector is one loved and coveted by many job seekers. From frequent travel, relaxed working schedules, fat paychecks and a multicultural environment, the benefits are endless. But as you enjoy the perks, you must also be qualified enough to match the high quality talent that most NGOs look for when hiring. And to learn more about what it takes to work for an NGO, you can read this article here.

But as people look forward to working for NGOs and earning a good pay, is the salary as good as people say? To answer this question, how much you earn working for an NGO will depend on various factors that include the nature of the organization (is it international or local? Who funds it?), your profession, the position you hold, your experience history (most experienced will receive higher pay) and how educated you are.

That notwithstanding, if you are looking to venture into the NGO industry and are starting at entry level but not sure what kind of salary to expect in your role, pay attention to the information below.

What Is The Starting Salary For An NGO Job?

“With NGO jobs, you cannot put a figure to the salary to expect as they are all different depending on the various projects and funding for each organization. There is also the fact of international funded programs and locally funded which makes all the difference,” says Muthoni Ndegwa, a Client Services Manager at Corporate Staffing Services.

According to Muthoni, the one thing that you might find constant with NGO jobs is that they will always pay a higher amount than what other private companies will pay for the same position. For example, you will find a position requiring very little experience paying at least KSh 60,000 with others going all the way to KSh 100,000 – all at entry level.

These figures are hardly possible with private companies, unless we are talking multinationals that will invest in training their new employees first hand. So, if you are going to interview for an entry level job with an NGO, always do your research on the organization. Is it an international organization? Who is funding the project in question? Browsing through their previous positions, which is easily available on their websites, may give you a range to use if the salary question comes up during the interview.

But just because NGOs are said to pay a higher salary than most companies does not mean that you go quoting an outrageous salary when you do not have experience. Some local NGOs do pay as normal SMEs do, with some graduate level positions calling for as low as 25K when international NGOs will pay more than 50K for the same position.

To be on the safe side, do your due diligence and research extensively. The internet will be a good place to start, and if you know someone who works with an NGO, even better because you will have insider information.

Do you work for an NGO? What more can you tell job seekers? Leave a comment.