Building a better world starts with you. Put your talents to use in a fast-paced, stimulating environment full of energetic problem-solvers. Our employees come from business, academic, scientific, government, and nonprofit backgrounds. What they share is compassion, commitment, and a desire to see a world where everyone has the chance to live a healthy and productive life.
Check out our job openings across the foundation, where we have more than 40 teams working on issues ranging from tropical diseases and vaccines to food security, sanitation, and family planning.
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“What I love most about my role at the Gates Foundation is the incredible diversity of our portfolio and the opportunities this creates for me to learn something new every day!”
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“On both a personal and professional level, I'm inspired by my team's drive, their passions, and the stories that led them to be who and where they are today! Not to mention, we all love food and fun, so we're bound to make a great team!”
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“The most important thing I have learned is collaboration and empathy are key to success. Over the last 15 years, whenever I ran into a problem, I would calm down, put myself in others’ shoes and try my best to understand their perspective. There is nothing that cannot be solved by working together with our colleagues!”
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“The day to day of getting to know our amazing grantees and partners, learn from their work, and see their impact is so incredibly rewarding.”
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“I am incredibly proud of the Latinos in Philanthropy employee resource group and our Latine colleagues across the foundation. We are actively working on increasing the number of Latine employees at the foundation, and ensuring we are creating a sense of belonging for current staff, and supporting their development and advancement. We also strive to support Latine communities outside of the foundation through some of the Gates Foundation’s program strategies, and through employee volunteerism and partnerships.”
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“Meeting some of the most exceptionally multi-talented people I have ever come across – only at the foundation can one work alongside an astronomer (who discovered a baby galaxy!), a Lithuanian Airforce pilot, a Catholic seminarian, and a nineteenth century rare stamp collector.”
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“Our compelling belief, all lives have equal value, energizes me to use my story, knowledge, and experience to make a unique difference in the lives of millions in Africa and Asia who depend on farming for their livelihoods.”
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“Returning to the foundation after a year pursuing other interests, I was immediately reminded of the extraordinary opportunity we have to tackle big problems alongside exceptional colleagues, and to have big impact.”
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“I chose to work at the Gates Foundation because of the values that the foundation has.”
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“I am extremely optimistic that we as a foundation will blaze a historical trail in bringing innovations to program delivery and contributing to disease elimination.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
To have the greatest possible impact, we make diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a priority, starting with the people we hire and how we work to retain them. As our workforce grows, so does our opportunity to truly reflect the communities we serve.
* Based on annual employee surveys
What we look for
Our employees come to us from many professional backgrounds—from business and tech to academia, medicine, government, and nonprofits. They are drawn to our foundation by the opportunity to fund and shape pathbreaking approaches to alleviating poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Many have never worked for a philanthropy before.
We value people who understand the nuances of working with governments, multilateral organizations, corporations, public health agencies, universities, and other donors.
We value people who understand the nuances of working with governments, multilateral organizations, corporations, public health agencies, universities, and other donors.
We look for relationship builders and people with experience that crosses sectors. We seek creative risk-takers who can also act with humility, given our foundation’s position of immense privilege and responsibility. Our grantees know best what their needs and constraints are, and our role is to support them, elevate their innovative approaches and ideas, connect them with larger networks, and learn from their on-the-ground experience.
On occasion, the process may be slightly different for certain roles. We look forward to getting to know you, and to you getting to know us!
Application
We recognize the time and effort it takes to prepare a resume and apply for a job with us. If your skills and experience are a good match with the job description and the identified needs of the team, one of our recruiters will email you to schedule a phone interview.
Initial interview (with recruiter)
Our goal during this phone call is to better understand your background, skills, goals, and values. Equally important, we want to learn how you could be a positive contributor to our organizational culture.
Second interview (with hiring manager)
The next potential step would be a phone interview with the hiring manager (usually the direct supervisor for the open position), who will seek to better understand your skills and experience and begin to get to know you.
Final interviews (with team members)
The final step would be a series of interviews with team leaders and key members of the team you’d be joining. Each meeting usually lasts 45 to 60 minutes. Your recruiter will let you know if we’d like you to prepare anything specific in advance.
Job offer
At the conclusion of the final interview stage, the team will get together for a structured discussion and the hiring manager will make a final decision.
Your recruiter will let you know if the hiring manager would like to offer you the job. If so, subsequent conversations will include details of the proposed offer, including salary and benefits, and preparing you to join the Gates Foundation.
What our employees are saying
We have offices worldwide
Our staff in the United States works with governments, nongovernmental organizations, universities, industry, and the philanthropic sector to advance the foundation’s global health and development goals and improve education and economic opportunity in the U.S.
Our London and Berlin staff work with grantees and partners across Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia to build and sustain donor government commitment to advancing our global health and development goals. These offices are also home to staff who work on specific foundation initiatives in global health, development, and education.
Our India-based staff work with the Indian government and other partners—including community groups, nonprofits, academic institutions, the private sector, and development organizations—on issues including health care, sanitation, gender equality, agricultural development, and digital financial services.
Our Africa-based employees work with governments, local organizations, and other partners to improve health and economic opportunity. We offer funding and scientific expertise to support programs spanning health and nutrition, gender equality, disease prevention and treatment, sanitation, agriculture, and financial services.
Our China-based staff provide financial and technical support to our Chinese partners so they can accelerate product, technology, and systems innovation to improve health, spur agricultural development, and reduce poverty in China and around the world.
More about the foundation
Learn how our foundation fits among the many institutions working to improve the world.
Learn about where we work around the globe and the programs we’ve created to address urgent issues in global health, global development, and education.
Read the latest stories, research, and news from across the foundation and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Optimist.