What it does: Provides free quality education to the less privileged.
Best known for: Being Pakistan's largest privately-owned non-profit organisation that focuses on education, and for building more than 1,500 low-cost formal schools in 24 years.
Staff stats: Up to 10,000 employees worldwide, with offices in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and more.
The good bits: Employees are entitled to medical and pension plans and paid leave.
The not so good bits: The salary is not at all competitive.
The movement that became The Citizens Foundation (TCF) began in 1995 with six individuals who agreed that providing quality education can make a world a better place and solve a wide range of social problems. The following year, support for TCF poured in and the organisation opened up its first five schools in Pakistan.
Between 1996 and 1998, TCF opened 3 primary schools in Punjab and began venturing into secondary level education. Into the 2000s, TCF established its UK, USA, and Canada Chapter and built its first school in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu, and Kashmir. During this time, the organisation started awarding scholarships to its alumni.
During the 2010s, TCF joined the Clinton Global Initiative, started a Career Counseling Program, and began publishing its own books. It is also during this time when TCF opened its Australian, Swiss, Norwegian, and Italian chapter, won Asia's Nobel Prize, The Ramon Magsaysay Award, and built their 1000th school.
From 2015 and beyond, TCF has opened its first college in Karachi, adopted schools in Pakistan and continues to provide quality education to the less privileged and making it accessible to anyone in the world.
Employees in The Citizens Foundation do a lot of travelling—going from one low-cost formal school to another. Everyone has a get-up and go attitude and every employee is expected to keep a positive environment in the classrooms.
Apart from its efforts in making education accessible to children, The Citizens Foundation also has literacy programs for adults called the Aagahi program. To date, the program has produced more than 93,000 learners in more than 4,300 Aagahi learning centres.
TCF has also been working with other organisations to provide healthy drinking water to schools in Pakistan since 2015. Over 41,000 children die from diarrhea in Pakistan every year, and this initiative helped ensure that communities have clean drinking water. TCF has a total of 22 basic filtration plants all over Pakistan today.
The organisation also launched an initiative that seeks to help Pakistani women achieve financial independence through its Vocational Training Projects. The organisation partnered with various institutions to equip women with the necessary skills to lift themselves out of poverty and give families a better chance in life.
Travelling from one learning centre to another is just a day in the life of an employee in The Citizens Foundation. Employees in TCF work with some of the most dedicated professionals and educators, and the vibe is always child-friendly and professional. According to its employees, the organisation is managed professionally and employees work in a family-oriented environment
Applicants who wish to work for The Citizens Foundation can submit their CVs and application letter to the organisation's offices, through its Careers Portal, or via job boards.
The organisation's HR department will call in chosen candidates for a competency test conducted by a branch principal. Those that pass the test will be called in for an interview with a regional manager. Candidates that get the nod from the regional manager will be asked to do a teaching demonstration. Candidates that pass this phase will be offered a job with TCF. The entire recruitment process will take at least two weeks.
A career in The Citizens Foundation presents young professionals an opportunity to learn about the positive impacts of quality education on societies around the world. Employees in TCF can start their careers in Pakistan and work their way through its chapters around the world. To work for TCF is a great way to see the world and make a positive impact on various communities.
Interns at The Citizens Foundation are paid at least PKR 10,000 per month. For employees in particular departments, they are paid at least PKR 30,000 per month.