Program managers play a crucial role in guiding complex projects, aligning teams, managing resources, and ensuring that strategic goals are met within organizations. Hiring the right program manager means finding someone with not only the technical know-how but also the leadership skills, communication abilities, and strategic vision necessary to oversee multifaceted programs successfully. Crafting the right interview questions is essential to uncovering these qualities. This article provides an in-depth guide to strategic interview questions explicitly tailored for program managers. These questions help assess candidates across key competencies such as leadership, project execution, communication, stakeholder management, risk mitigation, and strategic thinking. By using these targeted questions, hiring teams can better predict which candidates will excel and drive organizational success. Leadership And Team Management Questions Program managers must effectively lead diverse,...

African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) has surpassed its funding expectation. AIIM was launched to “invest long-term institutional unlisted equity in African infrastructure projects,” its website mentions. The company’s investments extend across Eastern, Western, and Southern Africa, with $2.8 billion in assets under management. Now, AIIM will scale its work in light of reportedly raising $954 million, which comprises $748 million in commitments and $206 million in co-investments, Shoppe Black reports. Marking its fourth pan-African infrastructure fund, AIIM surpassed expectations by 50% with the backing of 29 investors from all over the world, such as pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, and family offices, with half of the commitments coming from Development Finance Institution (DFI) investors. “Given the challenging global fundraising environment, we are delighted to have outperformed the targeted fund size. We received strong...

Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has been a rollercoaster experience. The purchase of the social media giant came with significant changes including massive layoffs and payments for the once-coveted blue check. Not to mention, AfroTech reported that one of the significant shifts with Musk as CEO was the closing of Twitter’s Africa office. The Ghana office had only 20 employees but was closed just days after officially opening. Surprising moves like the layoffs and added restrictions have been back to back as Musk navigates his power leading the company. A recent development in the shake-up is the dissolution of its corporate development team that supported minority-owned venture capital firms. According to Forbes, Twitter could be backing out of its promise of millions to venture capital firms and small businesses.

One year after the release of Emmy award-winning Netflix docuseries “When They See Us,” filmmaker and director Ava DuVernay launched her online learning platform, ARRAY, to encourage conversations around diversity and social justice. Now she’s taking her mission for inclusivity in Hollywood a step further with a joint venture alongside Warner Bros. Television chairman Peter Roth. Both DuVerynay and Roth have joined forces to announce the launch of Array Crew — a division of Array Alliance — which will act as a diverse database to highlight below-the-line talent in Hollywood, Variety reports. According to their announcement in the Los Angeles Times, the purpose behind assembling Array Crew is to offer Hollywood a solution to their diversity problem. The platform will ultimately bridge the hiring gap for women and people of color in the entertainment industry. Why do most film and TV sets look the same? The industry often tells us they’ve looked for Black folks, people of color and...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a wave of transformation, reshaping how organizations adapt and compete — making it essential to foster a culture of innovation and adaptability to navigate disruption and ensure long-term success. At AFROTECH™ 2024, Temi Soleye, the senior director of learning & performance at Merlin Labs, and Ashley Gatewood, the change & transformation leader at Google, came together to discuss the opportunities and challenges AI presents for businesses, how to lead effective transformations and what it takes to build a future-ready workforce. When it comes to AI and transformation, Soleye noted that AI has productivity tools, such as support for coding and coders — but its challenges and opportunities go hand in hand. “High performance culture depends on the people, but it also depends on the processes and the systems,” Soleye said. Adding that, to streamline workflow, people should consider what the person currently does and how artificial intelligence...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. AI and its effect on current and future employment has been a focus for employees and employers alike, and a main topic of conversation in the media since ChatGPT came out over two years ago. ChatGPT made people think about what the future of work would look like, especially when it comes to things a person typically would have to outsource. They saw how they could do it themselves by leveraging AI. The first types of jobs that came to mind for using AI were ones that have a black-and-white approach to the work and follow a series of steps. For example, a bookkeeper who puts the same inputs and outputs into QuickBooks could be replaced by automation leveraging AI tools. These tools can build a bridge between your bookkeeping software and your accounting software and route the entries where they need to go automatically. The belief about which type of jobs could be automated/reduced seems to have...

The modern workplace is becoming much more diverse, equitable, and inclusive . However, neurodivergent individuals — those with conditions such as autism , ADHD, dyslexia, and other cognitive differences — still face significant barriers to employment . Despite their skills and potential, many struggle to secure jobs or advance their careers due to systemic challenges, bias, and a lack of accommodations. Research shows that unemployment remains a pressing issue in the neurodivergent community. Up to 85% of adults with autism in the U.S. are unemployed, according to Golden Steps ABA . This statistic highlights the urgent need for more inclusive hiring practices and workplace policies that recognize neurodivergent talent. A Misunderstood Segment Of The Workforce Although “neurodivergent” is gaining recognition, many Americans still lack a clear understanding of what it means. A recent YouGov poll found that only 32% of Americans can define the term without prior explanation, while 56%...

Will Packer knows a thing or two about spotting a good story. With films like “Ride Along,” “Think Like a Man,” and “Stomp the Yard,” he’s turned everyday moments into box-office gold, built characters we root for, and created cultural blueprints that stick. But when the call came offering a confidential shot at owning a piece of an NFL team — no details, no guarantees — this wasn’t a plot twist in a film. This was real life. And it didn’t come with a pitch deck or press release. It came with a non-disclosure agreement and the vaguest of possibilities. “I said, NFL? National Food League?” Packer joked. “Because I know the NFL doesn’t just let people in.” The terms? Mysterious. The team? Unknown. The risk? High. But Packer signed the NDA anyway. That moment — unflashy, uncertain, but undeniably bold — set off a chain of events that would lead him not just into the NFL ownership circle but into a growing movement to rewrite what power and equity look like in professional sports. Fast...