WaterAid Reviews

3.9

68% would recommend to a friend

(173 total reviews)
avatar

Tim Wainwright

85% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

WaterAid has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 173 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The WaterAid employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Non-profit and NGO industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

173 reviews
3.0
16 Mar 2026

Mixed bag

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Purpose led work with global reach, made some friends, worked on some interesting projects and had great feedback/ enjoyed what I did for a while. Lovely office space and good pension. In a lot of teams there is genuine goodwill and understanding. Middle management are trying hard to address things, and generally line managers are really good. Good systems (IT etc always worked well). Very fast paced environment which can be good if you thrive in those spaces.

Cons

Really unfortunately and as others here have said, this organisation does have (historic) cultural issues, resulting in what can be a very challenging working environment day to day. While it does seem to happen only in/around certain teams, if you find yourself in close proximity to it, it can be incredibly difficult in all honesty. This way of working does appear to have mental health/wellbeing impacts. Like a lot of NGOs/charities, priorities can change very quickly - this can be difficult for teams to adapt to! Like a lot of NGOs/charities, career progression is limited (although some teams do this well) and this isn't unusual in the sector.

2.0
16 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Good for WASH-driven professionals, especially engineers, who can learn many things in a short period of time.

Cons

- Heavy pressure, but work is mostly carried by a few employees while others spend time in meetings. - Endless meetings for simple issues with no clear decisions; decisions often change, creating pressure on the execution team. - No work–life balance; a 9 AM–9 PM culture is openly encouraged by senior management. - The organization is dominated by one director, and employees fear speaking up. - Senior management often shows power play and unprofessional behavior. - Recognition goes to pleasing management rather than real hard work. - Skills matter less than appearance or connections; favoritism is common. - Very high employee turnover, with several people leaving almost every month. - Graduates from a particular engineering university seem to receive preferential consideration for leadership roles, possibly because one of the directors is also an alumnus of that university. - Poor salary structure compared to other INGOs. - Salary increment rate is less than the country inflation rate.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 173 Reviews

Glassdoor has 214 WaterAid reviews submitted anonymously by WaterAid employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if WaterAid is right for you.