It’s way more than just a job
WE is a positive, vibrant community of people who care about each other and about making the world a better place.
WE is a people-first organization
Over the past 23 years, WE has grown from a volunteer-run group started by 12-year-old school kids into a thriving organization with more than 1,000 employees in North America, the UK and our country offices in Africa, Ecuador and India. In addition, the WE family of employees has expanded to include over 1,400 staff alumni who have gone on to their next career or returned to school, and who continue to stay connected to each other and to our organization through our active alumni network. Our goal as an organization is to build a rewarding employee experience where people love coming to work, are provided with the tools and support they need to be successful, and strive for excellence to drive WE’s mission of empowering people to create positive change in their communities and around the world.
All staff benefit from the training sessions led by our People Operations and Culture Team, which include giving and receiving feedback effectively, diversity and inclusion, maintaining sustainable high performance through self-care and strategic work processes, and working productively with Lean Six Sigma concepts.
If I work at WE, what will my colleagues be like?
Because WE is a youth empowerment organization, our organization does attract a large proportion of young people—many of them seeking their first jobs out of university or college without prior formal work experience. For those employees who sign up for entry-level roles, WE is committed to providing one to two years of training, support and mentorship that will allow them to go on to employment in their area of education. Of course, some of those staff will stay with us and progress through several years of their careers within WE Charity, ME to WE social enterprise, WE Day—or any combination of the three. Staff are encouraged to grow their skills by shifting into roles with different teams or in different departments, making for a stimulating, rich and varied career.
WE is also a large and complex organization and, as such, needs to employ experienced staff as Managers, Associate Directors and Directors, and as Senior Management at the Head level. Some of these roles are promoted from within, and we also hire external candidates who bring strong experience and connections from other industries, such as media, business development, product development, marketing and technology.
“I helped grow the WE Day team from four full-time staff to over 50, and helped scale WE Day from two events in one country to 14 events in three countries. Being able to work on so many different projects with so many different people and teams at WE helped me learn what my talents are and what energizes me—where I can create the most impact and feel I’m getting the most value out of my work. [I learned] the power of community and collaboration—I left with the mantra of ‘hire the best and most talented people, and then get out of their way!’”
Leah Meers, Leadership Facilitator & Speaker, and former WE Day Head
“I joined WE in 2015 and am extremely proud to have been part of the team. During my time there, I forged many strong friendships and personally grew as both an individual and a business professional. I truly felt WE enabled me to bring my best self to work every day and I will always be grateful for my time working for the organization. The service-driven, inclusive culture at WE is amazing and helped drive the organization’s ability to attract and retain both young and mature talent. I was thankful for the organization’s efforts to ensure the minds of all employees were fed with new learnings and experiences through unique programs and experiences. As a former HR executive, I was impressed with the organization’s ‘promote and grow from within’ policy and supporting programs. It was refreshing to see many young people hold extremely important roles within the organization. In my many years of working, I’ve never experienced an organization where, without exception, all employees were bonded by a common purpose and working tirelessly toward a greater good.”
John Grange, Director
“I started at WE almost immediately out of university and it gave me the chance to grow my professional career into many areas. I was given the opportunity to build departments and disciplines within the organization, and the autonomy to pursue my passion and output incredible work. It was really entrepreneurial that way. In addition to the work, the people at WE are some of the most brilliant and compassionate individuals, who were amazing colleagues, friends and family. I am proud of helping to develop and grow our marketing discipline. When I first started at WE, marketing wasn’t a priority and over the years we developed a mature department that created world-class campaigns and initiatives. In addition, I am also really proud of the departments I was able to build and teams I was able to lead. Being a part of the beginning of young peoples’ careers, supporting their passions and seeing them grow was such a fundamental part of my time at WE.”
Angelique De Montbrun, Director, Brand and Integrated Marketing
How are we doing?
How does WE’s culture measure up, in the estimation of external consultants that specialize in workplace best practices? In 2018, the HR management firm Knightsbridge was engaged by WE to conduct a third-party culture pulse check for the organization. Their findings included the following observations:
“Employees of all tenures described WE as a unique culture with contagious energy stemming from employees’ unified passion to make a difference, both in their local community and world wide. The organization is highly mission-driven; employees’ personal values align to the organization’s mission, they are able to live their values at work, and they feel as though the work they do at WE is more meaningful than it would be elsewhere (especially at a for-profit organization) because of its focus on making a positive impact. Employees appreciate that WE’s organizational norms and cultural attributes are collaborative, and describe a culture of generally high appreciation of employees. They report experiencing an entrepreneurial culture that provides them with unique opportunities for personal and career growth, and they appreciate the travel perqs, participation in WE Days and other events, and above all the fulfillment they experience by making a difference. Employees derive high value from being a part of an organization where they can make a significant impact, locally and globally. It is primarily these attributes that draw people to the organization and retain them.”
Job Rewards
WE is deeply committed to staff well-being, and staff at WE enjoy numerous benefits and rewards—starting with a suite of health care benefits provided at no cost to employees, which include prescription drug co-pay, dental coverage and basic life insurance, and a Employee Assistance Program that offers mental health, wellness and work-life balance services 24 hours a day.
In addition, WE offers some of the most unique and exciting perks for team members, including travel opportunities, special discounts and free sustainably grown ME to WE coffee at work.
Some of WE's most popular staff rewards include:
• Professional Development fund, for which all staff can apply after one year of employment, offers $500 toward outside training
• Onsite in-office yoga, aerobics, wellness and meditation classes and a fully stocked gym at the WE headquarters
• Free physiotherapy sessions in a private space physiotherapy room within the gym
• Free external gym memberships at GoodLife, Energie Cardio and 24-Hour Fitness
• Get your birthday off and enjoy the office shutdown between Christmas and New Year’s (time off that does not count toward your vacation days)
• Travel opportunities to visit WE’s projects overseas: traveling on a staff trip to Kenya, India or Ecuador (with all on-the-ground costs covered by the organization), with the option to bring a family member or close friend along at greatly reduced cost
• Staff discounts on ME to WE products and experiences, including Trips and Take Action Camp
• Opportunities to interact with and learn from WE’s celebrity ambassadors
• Invitations to WE Day events, staff socials and parties, as well as special experiences when working WE Days across North America and the UK
• Bike parking in-office, and showers in-office
• Part-time barista serves free sustainably grown coffee for staff and visitors
• Days off/recovery days post-travel (and post-execution of WE Day shows)
• Healthy meal and snack options at staff retreats and other functions
• Option to work from home or remotely
Interested in working at WE?
We have opportunities open with both WE Charity and ME to WE. Click on the link below to explore all the current openings!