Senior Program Officer, Global Partnerships & Grand Challenges at Gates Foundation

What You'll Do

• In collaboration with local African partners and internal foundation partners including our Africa Regional Health team, shape and manage a portfolio of grants in line with the GPGC dual strategy, contribute to crafting the Science and Research workstream, support the Gates Foundation’s scientific programmatic priorities while strengthening the R&D ecosystem.
• Negotiate, implement, and manage a targeted portfolio of grants or performance-based contracts, including alignment of internal and external stakeholders, review of letters of inquiry and grant proposals, and clear, concise, and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding
• Consult, provide thought partnership, and support grantees and other partners to build a well-integrated execution strategy for R&D ecosystem strengthening, thereby increasing the impact of GP&GC’s investments
• Actively search for and create opportunities and bring forward innovative ideas to develop new partnerships that will advance program goals 
• Strengthen communities of practice on the continent and opportunities for intra-Africa collaborations by convening key stakeholders in creative ways that forge sustainable collaborations
• Work with African national governments and regional partners interested in joining existing Grand Challenges initiatives. 
• Collaborate internally and with foundation partners to build & maintain measurement and evaluation systems to track and capture impact.
• Represent the foundation and program to the external world as follows:
• Serve as the main point of contact and grant officer for some key grants in Africa
• Forge collaborations with key global partners
• Represent foundation interests in development networks
• As requested, represent the foundation in relevant R&D and innovation-related meetings, committees, and task teams.
• Collaborate with other members of the GPGC team to maximize strategic coherence and ensure that investments in each sub-domain are mutually reinforcing.
• Stay informed and participate in complementary global, regional, or national initiatives to guide or support GPGC goals, including STISA 2034
• Liaise with other foundation teams as they consider investments that might advance or interact with GPGC partners or priorities.
• Organize and prepare for high-level internal and external meetings; contribute to writing background documents, briefs, articles, and presentations, including relevant literature reviews, landscape analyses, and data analysis.    
• Identify and assess key portfolio risks and develop and manage mitigation/contingency plans at the portfolio level.
• Contribute to conceptualizing, planning, executing, and evaluating the impact of the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, a 1,000+ person scientific gathering that also attracts key decision-makers, with specific emphasis on LMIC (broadly) and African (specifically) participation.

Your Experience

• We are looking for people who enjoy working on complex projects and collaboratively creating solutions that have the potential to drive transformational change.  We seek self-starter who can integrate a diverse set of perspectives to build consensus, structure and drive forward progress on complex topics, and provide both strategic and operational capacity to the GPGC team.
• PhD in biomedical science 
• Minimum 10 years’ directly relevant professional experience in academia and Africa-based innovation & science programs
• Personal qualities of integrity, empathy, credibility, and commitment to the Gates Foundation ‘s mission
• Passion for and demonstrated expertise in low- and middle-income country R&D ecosystem strengthening
• Experience in coalition-building, transformational partnership and experience in putting together creative initiatives is a plus
• Tolerance for ambiguity and ability to apply structure to simplify complex problems
• Experience with grantmaking to scientific organizations, including identifying appropriate partners, setting ambitious but achievable goals, evaluating technical proposals, and operating as co-grantor with other organizations
• Significant experience working closely with partners in Africa including governments, bilateral and multilateral donors, implementing agencies, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, and academic institutions.
• Proven track record of adapting to the networking and coalition-building demands of a highly matrixed organization and collaborate in multi-disciplinary, diverse, and dynamic teams
• Strong judgment with a demonstrated ability to handle complex issues, multiple tasks and competing priorities with skill, discretion, strong attention to detail, flexibility, and diplomacy
• Exceptional listening, verbal, and written communication skills, able to effectively calibrate input and synthesize information to connect with diverse audiences
• Significant knowledge of the African Union’s innovation and health strategies and organs
• Knowledge of the prevailing funding ecosystem in Science, Research and Policy in one or more of the following African countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, or Senegal
• Ability to staff and advise senior leadership, being responsive to their concerns while giving them clear advice on the best courses of action.
• Project Management skills, including an ability to handle and prioritize a varied workload and strong organizational skills and attention to detail