How to land a job with FHI 360

From leading clinical trials on a biodegradable contraceptive implant in the Dominican Republic to partnering on an injectable HIV prevention study and providing mental health support to kindergarteners in Ukraine, FHI 360 leverages data-driven solutions to tackle global health challenges. With 4,000 staffers, the organization works across project implementation and research publications, primarily in global health — its largest portfolio — while also working in other critical areas of development. Active in more than 60 countries, funding trends indicate the organization will continue to see an increase in work across Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, according to Kelly Busley, a senior recruiter at FHI 360. Consequently, language skills in French and Arabic, as well as Spanish and Portuguese, are sought after, alongside English. Busley recruits for funded projects and corporate positions, while her colleague Stephanie Schott, also a senior recruiter, focuses on proposal-based roles. These positions, contingent upon funding, typically require more senior expertise and experience with specific donors. Devex spoke to Busley and Schott to learn more about the skills and experience that can help candidates secure a role with FHI 360. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What priorities are driving recruitment for the organization? Busley: Global health is our largest portfolio, so we are frequently hiring in that space across all different areas, such as infectious diseases and emerging global health threats. Then the other sectors that we work in are either health-adjacent or not health-related — education, nutrition, water and sanitation. We are hoping to increase our work in the climate action space in the future, so hopefully [we will be] doing more hiring in that space as well. Schott: In the next couple of years, reducing global health threats, including emerging diseases, endemic and noncommunicable diseases, and mental health deterioration are examples of priority areas for proposal recruitment. Then, [there are] climate change challenges that we are looking at, as well as challenges around eroding social cohesion and growing inequality. “Value alignment and looking for a mission-driven organization to be a part of — while not necessarily a soft skill — is also important.” --— Kelly Busley, senior recruiter, FHI 360 What skills and experience level does the organization tend to look for? Busley: We're always looking for project management skills, like budget management, finance is always helpful, and communications. And as our largest portfolio is in global health, we're frequently hiring people across that area. The largest proportion of recruitment tends to be at the midlevel — people with six to 12 years of experience. We do hire at the senior level and a more junior level. We more rarely have truly entry-level positions, but we do have a very robust internship program. Schott: For proposal recruitment, we're looking for experience managing, for example, [U.S. Agency for International Development] or [Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office] projects, and experts that have technical experience in infectious disease, global health, nutrition, and early grade reading, among other areas. We're often looking for skill sets at the senior level because the funder usually requires us to name what they call key personnel, which would be the three to five of the most senior experts, on the proposal. Where can there be opportunities for professionals transitioning from other sectors, and how can they highlight their relevant experience? Busley: Some of the easiest positions to make that career shift would be [from] infrastructure or business management roles — so information technology, human resources, finance, contract management, and procurement. If you're looking to make a shift into the development space, make good use of your cover letter. That's a great opportunity to showcase why you're interested in making a career transition, what's interesting to you about the development space, and what some of your skills are from past roles that are relevant or transferable to the space, but that might not be readily apparent on your resume. What experiences can help a candidate get started in the sector? Busley: Definitely volunteering experience, and we see a lot of peace corps background in our candidates. And of course, internship experience and any past research experience, whether that's professional research or research that you did in higher education. Schott: A bit of advice that someone gave me when I was starting out in the workforce was to look into temping. In the Washington, D.C., area, for example, there are temp agencies that can place people in international development organizations. That's also a wonderful way to see whether the organization is a fit for you and vice versa. Which soft skills are in demand? Busley: Communication skills are important. In addition to hiring communications-focused positions, there are other positions that maybe don't have the word communications in the title, but where we look for written and oral communication skills. Value alignment and looking for a mission-driven organization to be a part of — while not necessarily a soft skill — is also important. People who tend to be more successful in their cover letters do a great job of explaining why they're interested in FHI 360 specifically, and what they would like to contribute to our organizational mission. Do you have any tips for candidates on making their application stand out? Schott: In our sector, unless you’re a recent graduate, I encourage candidates to go [with] two to three pages to show their depth of experience. One thing that I like to read when I'm reviewing CVs is the top paragraph, sometimes called the summary of expertise. When people write a clear and concise short paragraph summarizing their total years of relevant experience, language skills, and perhaps country work experience at the top, that’s quite useful. Busley: Tailor your resume and cover letter as much as you can to the position that you're applying for. Quality matters over quantity. Candidates who spend more time honing their resume and cover letter for the specific job tend to be more successful in their job search. AI tools can be helpful, but make sure that you're going back through and checking that what the AI bot has written is still accurate, true, and relevant to the position. Read the job descriptions thoroughly, to make sure that you don't miss anything, including things like salary range that can indicate whether it's a good fit for you. There might also be application instructions in the job description that specify a cover letter is required for consideration, so make sure that you include all the necessary pieces. And pay attention to the deadline and get your application in as soon as you can.