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Gates Foundation

Is this your company?

So much that's good with a couple of fatal flaw - Program Officer Gates Foundation Employee Review

3.0
25 Sept 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Inspiring mission with ability to connect your work every day to that mission -Opportunity to do interesting and novel work constantly; if you are willing to lean in to it, you can find tons of ways to add value -Amazing benefits - frankly, I can't imagine finding better ones anywhere -Smart and motivated colleagues -Decent work/life balance (somewhat depends on your team but if you're willing to set personal boundaries, people generally respect them) -Senior leadership's priorities are in the right place

Cons

-No clear or logical pathways for promotion -Job title in the program officer family can feel arbitrarily assigned -Visible voices and charisma are valued over quality of work execution; translates into a culture where men are systematically valued over women -You need a manager who values your work and advocates for you to move ahead; if you don't have that, you are out of luck -They over-hire and hire often without a clear idea of what folks will do when they get there -Senior leadership priorities don't always get translated to action that makes sense

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Gates Foundation Response
7y
Thank you for your clear and specific feedback and advice. We will feed this into the current workstream concerning clarifying roles profiles and career pathways. -chris.ernst@gatesfoundation.org

Explore other reviews about Gates Foundation

5.0
24 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Everyone is aligned to the mission. Fantastic benefits.

Cons

These could be pros for some but travel and ambiguity are things to deal with

3.0
8 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Mission-based work Diverse, passionate employee base Healthcare benefit Parental leave and support Unlimited PTO

Cons

Poor work-life balance Perfectionist culture Unreasonable expectations with working hours High levels of burnout Retaliation for setting boundaries with working hours Culture resistant to prioritization of work

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