Gates Foundation Program Manager Interview Questions
& Process

So the process was basically hurry up and wait. I first had a call with the recruiter, who mentioned they're looking to hire ASAP. The call itself was brief, about 15-20 minutes, and the recruiter seemed pretty disengaged. Two weeks later, I got an email saying he'd meet with the hiring manager that week and update me. The following week, I got a request for a phone interview with a team member who had very limited availability. I was told it had to happen that week because the hiring manager wanted to hire quickly, so I rearranged my schedule. The call with the team member was good, and she said she'd meet with the hiring manager the next day and I should hear back from the recruiter by the end of that week. But by the middle of the next week, after hearing nothing, I followed up. Turns out, the recruiter hadn't met with the hiring manager yet and also mentioned I shouldn't expect an update that week because it was employee appreciation week. He said he'd reach out the following week. Unsurprisingly, I never heard back from him.

I applied online and heard back from a recruiter who is contracted by IT HR. My first interview was with the hiring manager, and I felt like we connected well and I understood the role. The next step was an all-day onsite interview with all the teams I'd be working with. At the end of the day, I met with the Department Head. When asked again about my 'strategy' for the position, I got the feeling I wouldn't be selected. I could only base my answer on the job description and what the team members told me. I've had this type of subjective question before, which led to the same outcome.

I went through a lengthy and rigorous interview process that involved 8 different people over 7 hours. It was quite intense and seemed designed to really probe deeply into my qualifications. The interview was also very technical in nature. I was repeatedly informed that the role I was interviewing for was a level or two below my current position. Despite this, I saw it as a good chance to get into development work from the donor perspective.