Does UNHCR pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, UNHCR employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at UNHCR. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at UNHCR?

73% of UNHCR employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated UNHCR 3.4 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at UNHCR?

Intern (84) , Protection Associate (30) , Senior Protection Assistant (22) , Internship (21) , Protection Assistant (20) , Registration Assistant (20) , Protection Officer (18) , Rsd Associate (18) , Associate (13) , Consultant (12) , Interpreter/Translator (12) , Administrative Assistant (11) , Interpreter (11) , Officer (11) , Associate Protection Officer (10)

What are the pros of working at UNHCR according to real employee reviews?

"Salary is good and high." ((in 81 reviews)); "Colleagues were great team players" ((in 46 reviews)); "Great people to work with and learn from" ((in 40 reviews)); "Great team and you give back to people in" ((in 29 reviews)); "good working environment and very respectful" ((in 23 reviews))

What are the cons of working at UNHCR according to real employee reviews?

"No job security since our contracts where only for a year" ((in 23 reviews)); "Plus, no career progression (you have to basically apply for a job that is higher than your position to climb the ladder, THAT IS if there is a vacancy)" ((in 7 reviews)); "seekers thus get sacrificed regularly on the altar of this revolving door of international managers." ((in 6 reviews)); "not much work to do" ((in 5 reviews)); "Challenging work culture and bureaucratic." ((in 4 reviews))

What are employees saying about UNHCR layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about UNHCR layoffs and their outlook for job security at UNHCR in 2026.

UNHCR reviews

3.9

73% would recommend to a friend

(843 total reviews)

António Guterres

76% approve of CEO

60% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (843 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

UNHCR has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 843 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The UNHCR employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Non-profit e ONG industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

843 reviews

3.0

Sep 10, 2021

Was okay for temporary job

Frontliner

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Shift availability, pro rata oay

Cons

Unreliable, Pressure and quite hard to keep motivated

5.0

Sep 2, 2021

no regrets

Human resources associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Work is ethically/morally driven Respect for transparency

Cons

High intensity, high pressure environment Work-from-home is still not well seen

3.0

Aug 31, 2021

Amazing mission, great work, does not appreciate staff

Associate protection officer (unv)

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Carries out extremely important, life saving work. An incredible mission and super rewarding. Lots of opportunities to really be in the thick of it, great career development, amazing coworkers that have dedicated their lives to this work, and a lot of prestige that comes with the role.

Cons

UNHCR will work you to death if you let them. Everyone that works there is an absolute workaholic and expects the same from you. There is absolutely no work-life balance. Any talk about self-care is complete lip-service. They also claim to be a human rights organization that cares about labor rights, but most of their contracts are for UN "volunteers" or UNOPS. They abuse this system to not pay their staff what they are entitled to and to avoid giving them benefits. Staff will put up with this for years (and even decades) because they love the mission and because of the prestige of working for the UN. This leads to an incredibly competitive work environment and it can be quite cut throat.

Viewing 553 - 555 of 843 Reviews

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UNHCR reviews

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Was okay for temporary job

no regrets

Amazing mission, great work, does not appreciate staff

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