FINCA International reviews

- Mission - International team - Talented colleagues

Global team and mission. At FINCA you get to work with a truly diverse, global team where, despite such different backgrounds, everyone shares the same goals and mission. That may seem like a platitude, but at FINCA you will hear several languages spoken in every office (including D.C.) and will work with people from a couple dozen or more countries, but the mission is very clear and everyone is unified towards it. FINCA is also at the leading edge of the microfinance sector, as well as in new, related areas, so it is an exciting place to work, especially now. Kinda kumbaya, in a good way. Precisely because FINCA is such a tight-knit group with a unified mission to improve lives, FINCA is one of those rare “feel-good” places to work. There is very definitely a strong family feel here. Not in an overwhelming or cloying way, but in a supportive, warm, trusting and friendly environment where you could very likely develop some life-long friendships. (I felt like I was leaving home when I departed.) At the same time, everyone works very, very hard. But hard work well done is definitely rewarded and acknowledged throughout the organization. Continually new perspectives. In most positions you will have the opportunity to interact with staff working all over the world, often in remote areas of developing countries. (Literally 99% of FINCA’s staff are based “in the field” on four continents.) That global interaction is an irreplaceable, culturally enriching experience that will make you see the world in a new way. Talking with my comms and marketing colleagues in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Latin America, and learning how each of them thought about or approached any given issue (work-related or otherwise) was fun, fascinating, eye-opening, and instructive . . . and almost a daily occurrence at FINCA. I deeply cherished that constant diversity of interaction and perspectives at FINCA, and in those interactions I made friends from around the world. Professional development. FINCA goes beyond most orgs to provide unique professional development opportunities that are related to the job, such as temporarily assigning staff (should they desire) to other countries to gain local experience and bring new skills to the region. FINCA has also implemented an extensive women’s initiative with very real deliverables to help women staff grow professionally. For example, they recently held an interactive webinar with about 100 FINCA staff from 20 countries exchanging ideas during an online presentation by a renowned women’s empowerment coach (who donated her time to FINCA). The Harvard of NGOs. FINCA hires only the very best. You will find some of the brightest minds in international development, microfinance, and the respective fields of each employee here. So while the hiring process may be extremely selective and require hard work to make the final cut (in some cases, if you are a finalist candidate you may be asked by the department manager to complete case studies or fairly extensive screening assignments), the result is one of the most high-performing teams of professionals you will ever work with or meet, in any field. This makes for an intellectually stimulating environment, but it is not for the faint-hearted. (See “Cons” #1 below)