I applied through an employee referral. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at DFID
Interview
They are very interested in candidates' understanding of the political economy of the sector/country/context. I had a written test that involved writing a Business Case for a hypothetical case study. Followed by an interview with a 3 person panel. Questions were a combination of technical and behavioural - and they asked me to give examples from my experience. Overall, they were encouraging, friendly. I struggled with the writing bit - but the interview went more smoothly.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How would you approach political economy analysis for a given sector?