Catholic Relief Services reviews

There is a tendancy to take on very large programs that are sometimes beyond the capacity of the organization to implement well. There is sometimes a conflict between CRS policies intended to promote good quality programming and pressures to execute projects that are donor driven (both public and private donors are at fault in this). Thus policies and practices in place are not followed fully in the field. Some environments are high-pressure and the workload is high, thus maintaining a good work-life balance is difficult. CRS frequently has difficulty staffing positions for highly technical work or in difficult environments thus staff who are in place have high work loads. As a large organization, CRS can be slow to innovate.

Executive leadership aren't held accountable. Serious program quality issues as well as staff wellbeing are not being adequately addressed. DEI efforts are a sham. Executive leadership have poor communication and poor decision making that fails to align with prioritizing needs of most marginalized populations (per its Catholic mission) and loses the trust of staff. Career opportunities seem to be most easily accessible for those who are white and fit the "development worker" profile, and are unwilling to rock the boat. Not very progressive in how they manage people or resources.