Pros
Time off and scheduling flexibility. IHS is a fairly popular place to work for mid-career folks looking for a more relaxed gig. Staff can take extended time off (maternity/paternity leave, long vacations, etc.) and schedules are extremely flexible. If you’re productive then you won’t have a problem with an 11 - 7, 7 - 3, or even a 9-4, though you may be looked upon as lazy for leaving early each day even if you arrive early (more on that in cons). Flexibility to create, innovate, and pretty much do whatever you want if it fits the mission. Some reviewers have vehemently disagreed because at the same time, the new CEO has pushed the staff to have a sharper focus on the mission, thus making the organization feel more constrained. On the whole, you’d be hard pressed to find a better place to work if you pride yourself as an innovator or if you enjoy autonomy in the workplace. Professional development opportunities: conferences, networking events, courses, etc. If you can explain why an opportunity will further your career, IHS is always happy to invest in you. I’m speaking beyond tuition reimbursement at GMU to things like private courses to improve your coding or marketing skills, or to fly to San Francisco to network with other database admins. IHS is happy to invest thousands in developing your skills if you demonstrate that you’ll use those skills, in addition to giving you the time off to take a semester-long course or attend a conference. Learn from/connect with academics. IHS seems to be a popular place for young professionals contemplating graduate school, probably because staff will meet academics and professionals from a number of fields. Great vantage point to consider a variety of professions. Travel. If you like traveling for work, you’ll be able to travel upwards of half a dozen times a year to college campuses or large US cities for conferences. If you don’t like to travel, IHS will likely accommodate as well. One of a kind opportunities to discuss and develop classical liberal ideas via the job itself, unique opportunities to connect with faculty, staff discussions (both formal and informal). If you understand how classical liberalism differs from conservatism, there’s no better place to cultivate your own ideas than IHS.
Cons
Not for profit. Mission is honorable but there’s no good way to measure individual contributions to the team. As a result, as others have mentioned in detail, politicking can seem like an unofficial measuring stick. The problem is not unique to IHS and is inherent in most non-profits (and other businesses too), but you should be aware of what non-profit work entails. Aside from a few bad examples of undue and unearned influence, the politicking usually doesn’t cause many problems as far as organizational decision making goes, just petty decisions like who attends a meeting that’s a waste of time anyway. Constant changes, as mentioned, by others. The new CEO started at about the same time I did and I really liked the direction she took the organization. I didn’t agree with every decision or the way she (more so the Exec Dir & COO) went about enacting them, but on the whole her vision is solid and she’s worth following. Others clearly disagree which raises a related concern but drastic change always has a cost. Young and idealistic staff: even some folks in their 30’s seem to fit this bill but ideological non-profits attract young, idealistic staff. There’s some literature on this issue (within ideological non profits) and they explain the issue far better than I can, but the result often is a large group of disgruntled 20-somethings who cannot fathom that leadership would make a drastic change to something they’ve worked so hard on. Staff often take these changes as a personal insult to their work and work ethic and fail to see how one CEO or director is simply correcting the mistake of her/his predecessors. Communication breakdowns exacerbate these issues but the IHS staff are passionate and id imagine IHS will always rely on a handful of young idealists to succeed. Based on the recent reviews from my former colleagues, though, it looks like a lot of the children (maybe all of them?) have left IHS recently - it looks to be a better environment now. Dwarfed by other organizations and the little sister in partnerships. Academics are in hot demand and IHS has been outspent and outcompeted the last decade.