Deputy Director, Digital Transformation and AI Policy & Advocacy

Gates Foundation•Seattle, WA

About The Position

The Foundation is the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally. The Team The mission of the Global Policy and Advocacy (GPA) division is to understand and shape the public policy debates affecting the foundation's work, build support for its major program and policy objectives, and develop partnerships and alliances that can advance the foundation’s objectives nationally and globally. GPA works in close partnership with our colleagues in the Global Health, Global Development, Global Growth & Opportunity, and Gender Equality Divisions to build the environment in which all people have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives. Within GPA, the Program Advocacy & Communications (PAC) team partners directly with program strategy teams—such as Digital Public Infrastructure and Inclusive Financial Systems—to define and advance their policy and finance goals. The Deputy Director, PAC. Digital Transformation and AI Policy & Advocacy, will advance the policy and advocacy goals of two teams as well as support cross-cutting work on AI policy and advocacy: The Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) team supports country efforts to design, scale, and govern safe and inclusive digital public infrastructure, including digital ID, data-sharing, and verifiable credentials. The team also ensures that AI-enabled services are built on trusted DPI foundations, and that people in underserved communities can access these services in local languages and contexts. To advance these goals, the DPI team invests in open-source digital public goods which countries can adapt and deploy to build DPI; technical assistance to help countries implement DPI and AI-enabled services underpinned by strong regulation and safeguards; research and measurement to inform policies and practical implementation strategies; and experimentation to demonstrate how DPI and AI can advance use cases in health, education, agriculture, social protection, and other sectors. The Inclusive Financial Systems (IFS) team works to accelerate the buildout of inclusive financial systems by 1) helping governments and central banks craft policies and regulations which support the expansion of inclusive financial systems while also protecting users; 2) supporting the design, implementation, and regulation of inclusive instant payments systems (IIPS); 3) driving scale and economic sustainability by promoting pro-poor use cases, including government-to-person payments, wage payments, digital merchant payments, and productive credit; and 4) closing the gender gap in the usage of formal financial products. In addition, the position holder will provide strategic advice and support efforts across the Global Policy and Advocacy division with regard to AI. This includes contributing to GPA’s AI work across financing, policy, and technical assistance—focused on connecting fragmented efforts, clearing regulatory bottlenecks, and building government capacity to evaluate, test, implement, and govern AI at scale. Application Deadline: Friday, August 7, 2026 Your Role We are looking for a dynamic and well-connected leader to shape the future of digital public infrastructure, inclusive financial systems, and AI policy. As Deputy Director, PAC, Digital Transformation and AI Policy & Advocacy, you will work at the intersection of government, technology, and global development to accelerate the adoption of safe and inclusive DPI and AI—two of the most consequential levers for public service delivery, financial access, and inclusive digital economies.

Requirements

Recognized global professional with sector expertise in DPI, IFS, and AI policy and deep experience in policy, advocacy and communications skills.
Advanced degree preferred in public policy, business, international relations, development or a related field, with 10+ years of senior-level experience in financial inclusion, DPI, AI, or related fields, ideally spanning both the public and private sectors.
Strong understanding of how digital ID, payments, and data systems—increasingly powered by AI—are designed, deployed, and governed to deliver impact at scale.
Demonstrated success designing and executing policy and advocacy strategies that influence policymakers, donors, and ecosystem leaders across government, civil society, and the private sector.
Deep familiarity with the regulatory frameworks, safeguards, and risk mitigation approaches needed to ensure DPI systems are safe, inclusive, and rights-respecting.
Understanding of the policy and regulatory enablers and safeguards for DPI and IFS.
Understanding of how AI can amplify DPI and IFS across sectors such as health, agriculture, social protection, education, and women’s economic opportunity and the policies required to guide its responsible use.
Practical knowledge of policies and delivery approaches needed to close gender gaps in financial inclusion and ensure women can access and benefit from DPI.
Ability to connect DPI, AI, and finance to broader development goals, including public service delivery, social protection, and regional economic integration.
Experience leading or coordinating cross-divisional, cross-sectoral efforts around emerging technology and policy challenges, including sequencing work across financing, regulatory reform, and capacity building.
Demonstrated experience building government technical-assistance capacity on complex policy and technology issues, including helping officials evaluate and negotiate sophisticated technical solutions.
Strong understanding of how digital policies are shaped at the national level, and the influence of regional and global bodies in setting norms and standards.
Familiarity with the role of donor financing and blended finance in scaling DPI and financial inclusion efforts.
Excellent strategic thinker and strategy development experience.
Demonstrated ability to organize/prioritize work and meet deadlines within a fast-paced environment with multiple and competing demands.
Demonstrated ability to question and challenge colleagues in a constructive manner.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, able to effectively synthesize information to reach diverse audiences and create consensus.
Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people and a deep commitment to development issues and high standards of personal integrity.
Ability to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the foundation’s DPI, IFS, and AI policy and advocacy strategies, while elevating DPI as a global priority for inclusive digital development.
Manage a world class team of DPI, IFS, and AI advocacy and communications professionals.
Serve as a trusted advisor to governments including central banks, ICT ministries, and ID authorities on the design, implementation, and governance of DPI and AI-enabled systems.
Represent the foundation with global, regional, and country forums and agencies (e.g., G20, G7, UN, World Bank, IMF, ITU, AU) influencing the global policy agenda and positioning DPI as the default model for digital development.
Serve as strategy advisor and help to coordinate GPA’s AI policy and financing work across divisions, connecting fragmented efforts in DPI, IFS, and other sectors to help build the external financing architecture and policy infrastructure needed for responsible AI adoption at scale in LMICs.
Partner with the foundation’s Africa Regional Office, India Country Office, and South/South-East Asia Office to build vibrant South-South peer-learning platforms that enable countries to exchange practical lessons on deploying and regulating DPI and AI.
Serve as an internal expert on DPI, IFS, and AI policy and advocacy connecting internal teams and external partners and shaping conversations across the ecosystem.
Support the DPI, IFS, and PAC teams in designing, negotiating, and managing a portfolio of investments, ensuring clear outcomes and measurable progress toward safer, more inclusive digital systems.
Cultivate a diverse, high-performing network of partners and grantees to accelerate global momentum around DPI.
Partner with our DPI/IFS Resource Mobilization lead to unlock donor financing to support country efforts to advance financial inclusion and build DPI more broadly.
Produce clear, high-quality analysis and recommendations to guide investment decisions and strategy.
Develop compelling briefings, reports, and updates on global DPI policy, financing trends, and emerging issues for senior leadership.