1. How do I apply for a fellowship position?
Please see our
Recruitment Overview for details about the fellowship application process.
2. What happens after I submit my application?
Once the application period closes for a specific fellowship, our recruitment team will review all application materials and refer the most qualified applicants to the cognizant hiring manager. That cognizant hiring manager will review the referred applicants and select some for interview. GHFP-II will contact all individuals selected by the hiring manager to arrange interviews. Once interviews are complete, GHFP-II will notify the finalist(s) of their selection pending satisfactory reference checks and a satisfactory background check. Once these steps are complete, GHFP-II will notify all applicants of the hiring decision.
3. Should I call or email GHFP-II to follow up on my application?
It is not necessary for you to call or email to follow up so long as you received a confirmation email from our online recruitment system acknowledging receipt of your application materials (this email is automatically generated by the recruitment system when you submit your application materials).
To receive email updates on the fellowships to which you’ve applied, be sure to include
ghfprecruitment@ghfp.net on your email’s safe list. This will ensure that your spam filter does not erroneously filter out GHFP-II’s messages. If you still do not receive an email update from us after changing your settings, please contact us at
ghfprecruitment@ghfp.net to inquire about the status of your application.
4. Why haven’t I heard back from GHFP-II after submitting my application online?
Due to the volume of applications we receive, it is not possible to individually update every applicant of their application status as often as we would like to. However, GHFP-II does send out two emails during a fellowship’s recruitment period to all applicants: (1) a confirmation email acknowledging receipt of your online application as soon as you’ve submitted it, and (2) an email notification about the final outcome of your application.
Also, we will contact you if you have been selected for an interview.
5. How is the fellowship different from being an employee of USAID?
Most fellows work inside USAID offices in Washington, DC (the Agency’s headquarters) or in the Agency’s missions throughout the world. While GHFP-II Fellows work within the Agency, they do not have a direct employer-employee relationship with the Agency itself. Rather, GHFP-II Fellows are employees of the Public Health Institute (PHI) and are bound by the rules and guidelines of PHI pertaining to salary, leave, benefits, travel, promotion, discipline and ethics, among others. GHFP-II Fellows are legally supervised by a
senior PHI staff member, and receive day-to-day operational direction, technical guidance and mentoring from an Onsite Manager at USAID. Working in close partnership with the Onsite Manager and other senior Agency staff, all personnel-related actions are ultimately determined and taken by PHI as the sole employer of the fellow.
Headquartered in Oakland, CA, The Public Health Institute (
www.phi.org) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. As one of the largest and most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, PHI is at the forefront of research and innovations to improve the efficacy of public health statewide, nationally and internationally.
Each fellow has a two-person GHFP-II support team – a Participant Support Specialist (for logistical support) and a Professional and Career Development Advisor (for performance management and professional development) – dedicated to supporting the fellow during his/her time with GHFP-II.
6. How is salary determined?
As a private sector employer, PHI establishes a salary range for each fellowship level based on market principles and the terms of its cooperative agreement with USAID. Based on the fellowship’s required skills, abilities and duties, each fellowship is placed within a
fellowship level and its corresponding salary range. Individual salaries are negotiated within the applicable salary range with each finalist based on his/her salary history, fellowship for which he/she is being hired, location of the fellowship, among many other factors considered.
7. What types of benefits do fellows receive?
Please see our
Benefits and Allowances page for details.
8. If I apply for one fellowship, will I automatically be considered for others?
Since each fellowship has unique qualifications and requirements, you must apply for each fellowship to be considered. Each time you apply, you will be required to submit a cover letter which describes how your background and experience relates to that specific fellowship.
9. How are fellowships developed?
New fellowships are developed based on USAID's need for technical expertise in a specific area. GHFP-II staff work closely with USAID counterparts to develop scopes of work that meet the technical needs of the requesting division or team within the Agency. If you are a USAID staff member interested in developing a fellowship, please contact Susan Masse at
smasse@ghfp.net.
10. Why do GHFP-II fellowships require US Citizenship and/or Permanent Resident (Green Card Holder) status?
All our fellowships, working with the US Government, require security clearances that only a US Citizen and/or US Permanent Resident is eligible to attain. The citizenship or permanent resident requirement is mentioned in all our fellowship postings where applicable.
11. Why are some fellowships open to US Citizens only, while others are open to both US Citizens and US Permanent Residents?
It depends on the level of security clearances required for the fellowship, as well as the fellowship's location/office and whether they are in a restricted/unrestricted area. Certain security clearances (for restricted areas) are limited to US Citizens; while other clearances (for unrestricted areas) allow both US Citizens and/or US Permanent Residents.
