Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning & Management, Digital Public Infrastructure

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • Seattle, WA

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Foundation We are 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 Global Growth & Opportunity (GGO) division works to catalyze sustainable and transformative socio-economic change. In the face of inequities and market failures, GGO seeks to realize the potential of untapped markets, and ensure that economic and social benefits reach everyone. We focus on the areas of Agricultural Development; Inclusive Financial Systems; Global Education; Nutrition; Water, Sanitation & Hygiene and the newly forming Digital Public Infrastructure strategy. We seek solutions that are sustainable, transformative, and inclusive with an eye toward applying technology innovations as well as data evidence to drive change in the world’s developing countries. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is defined as foundational, re-usable digital building blocks—such as digital payments, ID, and data sharing—designed for the public benefit. The DPI team in GGO focuses on enabling a model for digital transformation that is inclusive, equitable, collaborative and helps accelerate the sustainable development goals. Like roads and railways, DPI enables countries to deliver essential services and create economic opportunity across many sectors, including finance, health, and agriculture. Across the foundation, digital is a core component of many global strategies. As a strategy, we seek to ensure that digital development in LMICs follows the DPI approach (e.g., interoperable, safe, inclusive, sustainable, scalable) as the default methodology. More consistently applying this approach across the foundation’s relevant digital investments can improve efficiencies internally by replacing development of bespoke, siloed tools and platforms with reusable, horizontal assets. Our functional team efforts can also reinforce the DPI approach for the external ecosystem by developing exemplar assets across the sectors in which we work. Your Role The Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning & Management, Digital Public Infrastructure (DDSPM) supports the new Digital Public Infrastructure team. As a DDSPM you will be responsible for leading the strategic, financial, and operational aspects of the team; serving as an advisor to the director and other leadership team members and providing the link between the team’s strategy and business operations. This is an exciting role – working with a newly forming team on an emerging strategy, and the first functional team in the division, with a role to provide DPI advice across the global programs. We are looking for an individual who enjoys the opportunity to work on complex problems in a start-up environment, and collaboratively create solutions that have the potential for transformational change in the lives of people around the world. The DDSPM will bring senior strategy, management, and global development expertise to guide portfolio-, initiative-, and investment-level decision making. You will lead a small team of business and operations professionals, ensuring excellence in strategy execution. This includes identification and implementation of process improvements, policies, and procedures that support the strengthening of team effectiveness, communications, and culture development, and leading the annual planning and reporting cycle processes. Additionally, you will provide framing and analysis on issues and investments central to strategy and execution, oversight of strategy planning and reporting, budgeting, and ongoing pipeline, and portfolio management. Responsibilities include leading strategy-level coordination with peers – both within the GGO division, and across other divisions. You also will be part of a community of practice linked to the Foundation Strategy Office and will be responsible for supporting and implementing foundation-wide strategic plans. This full-time role is located in Seattle, WA where our employees work a flexible, hybrid schedule, in the office 50% of the time. Relocation benefits are available for the offered finalist if they do not reside in the Greater Seattle, WA area. Applications accepted until 12 PM/Noon, Pacific Time, Friday, March 20, 2026. Must have unrestricted work authorization in the country where this position is located. The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. This includes direct company sponsorship and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (eg: H-1B, O-1, L-1, E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.).

Requirements

• The DDSPM must be a creative, passionate professional who has an outstanding portfolio of accomplishments in roles of increasing responsibility and leadership. You must be prepared to work across a diverse set of subject areas, bridging a wide range of expertise all the while being an excellent team player, with a demonstrated ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a fast-paced, challenging environment.
• We seek a senior professional with a minimum of 10+ years’ experience in international business strategy, business development and/or general management; likely experience will have been gained within top tier management/strategy consulting firms, or as a general manager or in-house strategy professional within a large, international organizations.
• You will have deep knowledge of strategy development and implementation and the design of performance management system(s) of goals, targets, and monitoring processes.
• Proven strength in systems thinking, structured problem solving, and strategic business planning, with the ability to easily identify and communicate frameworks to analyze issues.
• Experienced people manager and coach with demonstrated ability to manage teams to effectively achieve clear, yet complex goals and objectives.
• Ability to create structures and develop frameworks to increase clarity and transparency of decisions, trade-offs, and impact on financial and organizational resources.
• Action and solution oriented; ability to plan and implement, even when limited information is available; comfortable taking charge of a situation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven ability to lead, organize and prioritize multiple programs & projects.
• Meet deadlines within a fast-paced environment with multiple and competing demands.
• Demonstrated ability to work and lead with efficiency, diplomacy, and flexibility particularly as part of a team effort to ensure collective success.
• Experience in working on teams with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds.
• Must have unrestricted work authorization in the country where this position is located. The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. This includes direct company sponsorship and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (eg: H-1B, O-1, L-1, E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.).

Nice To Haves

• A broad understanding of and/or interest in international development issues and/or experience in key geographies, including Sub-Saharan Africa and/or India) is preferred.
• Experience in digital for development domains preferred.
• Demonstrated passion for the Foundation’s values with a commitment to deliver results against the Foundation’s mission.

Responsibilities

• Strategy development, refinement, management: Work closely with the team to define and articulate strategy and investment priorities, including developing the DPI team’s new strategy, refining theory of change and action approaches, and leading the process of strategic exploration. Support tracking performance against results framework, identifying risks and partnering with leadership to ensure outcomes are delivered. Lead content development for co-chair and CEO strategy meetings, learning sessions, and other materials – work collaboratively with the Director and program staff to define strategic goals and objectives, and oversee development of materials. Lead annual strategy review process, including articulation of strategic priorities, and development of execution plans as required.
• Strategy execution and operations: Partner with program managers and broader business teams on annual planning processes, defining priorities, lessons-learned, trade-offs, and forward-looking budget allocation. Partner with program managers and colleagues from financial planning & analysis (FP&A) team to manage overall pipeline of investments – tracking against team’s annual budget. Manage the investment idea generation process to ensure that investments align with the strategy and partnering with program officers to provide information required by Director to make decisions. Advise development of major grants, and other major cross-cutting programmatic work (e.g., MOUs / private sector partnership agreements). Navigate a wide range of operational issues with solid experience and understanding of core business and organizational fields (e.g., legal, financial planning, human resources). Develop and manage strong partnerships and relationships inside and outside the organization, manage conflicts, and build consensus. Develop and manage a rhythm of the business and associated modalities that enable clarity in communication, collaboration and synergies with other program teams and regional offices engaged in digital development initiatives.
• Serving as a trusted advisor to Director: Act as a ‘sounding board’ and thought partner to Director on a broad range of topics – including overall iterative refinement of overall strategic direction and priorities, co-chair engagement, team management and morale, cross-foundation partnership. Support relationship management with peer DDSPM's in other teams, with the foundation strategy office, and with the co-chairs’ advisors (where appropriate).
• Team development and people management: Lead business team of Strategy, Planning, and Management staff. Partner with HR and leadership teams to lead, recruit, develop, and train staff. Promote culture, values, and team effectiveness, including regular team health checks. Support Director with workforce planning.
• Cross foundation/cross-division improvement initiatives: Support cross foundation learning on DPI approaches and knowledge management. Actively engage with the foundation’s DDSPM community, and contribute to the design and execution of processes, policies, and strategic projects to improve efficiency and impact of foundation activities. Represent the team in foundation-wide continuous improvement efforts, supporting design, implementation, and change management associated with evolving how we work.
• Ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally.

Benefits

• 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.
• Relocation benefits are available for the offered finalist if they do not reside in the Greater Seattle, WA area.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed