Vantaggi
There are good benefits, namely good health insurance, financial support for dependents (children, unemployed wife/husband, or dependant parent), grants to cover children's education including university fees, 30 days of holidays plus 2 days of personal affairs, relocation grant. Working at WHO provides a great overview of the architecture of global health and the political forces that govern and shape it, a fantastic opportunity to work with and learn from some of the greatest experts in diverse health topics, and opportunities to establish connections with organizations across the world. The multicultural environment of the organization is very enriching.
Svantaggi
WHO is a very bureaucratic, hierarchical, political, antiquated, and risk-averse organization. There is poor job security and very limited options for career development, especially for junior employees. Its processes are very inefficient and transversal departments (e.g. human resources, administration, communications) provide poor support to technical employees. Advancing new ideas and innovating is extremely difficult. The recruitment process can easily take up to 9 months for regular technical staff (or more for the highest-level positions) and recruitment processes are so slow that is very difficult (or impossible) to hire people to cover for employees on sick or parental leave. Accountability is very poor at all levels.