Officer, Strategy & Implementation Management, DPAF

Gates Foundation•Washington, DC

4d•Onsite

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 Policy & Advocacy (GPA) division shapes development financing and public policy debates, builds partnerships, and supports advocacy efforts to advance our mission. Within GPA, the Development Policy & Finance (DPAF) team focuses on economic and financial expertise to strengthen policy and advocacy strategies across the foundation’s key priorities, including economic growth, public finance management (PFM), fiscal policy, development financing and capital mobilization in Africa. Your Role The Officer, Strategy & Implementation Management plays a critical role in enabling the DPAF leadership team to translate strategy into coordinated execution across a matrixed organizational structure. Working in close partnership with the Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning & Management (DDSPM), this role supports strategy development, portfolio management, and the rhythm of the business, ensuring alignment across functions, initiatives, and partners. This is a highly collaborative, cross-functional role that requires strong systems thinking, organizational judgment, analytical rigor, and the ability to influence without formal authority. The Officer, Strategy & Implementation Management serves as a trusted partner to DPAF leaders, helping connect strategy, priorities, resourcing, and execution in service of DPAF’s goals. You are an organized, curious, and proactive problem solver who brings clarity to complexity, drives disciplined planning and follow-through, and helps teams work more effectively together in a dynamic, evolving environment. This position is a limited-term position for 18 months. This role will be in our Washington, DC office and eligible for relocation support.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience (5+ years) supporting strategy development, planning, and portfolio or program management in a large, complex organization.
Strong ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative information into clear insights for senior leaders.
Proven success managing multiple, interdependent priorities with competing timelines.
Experience influencing outcomes and building alignment without direct authority.
Comfort operating in ambiguous environments and proactively identifying solutions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas clearly and succinctly.
Strong facilitation skills, including leading planning sessions, reviews, and cross-functional discussions.
Proficiency with common productivity and analysis tools (e.g., Microsoft Office) and the ability to present information visually.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
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.).

Responsibilities

Strategy & Planning Support Partner with the DDSPM to support DPAF-level strategy development, refreshes, and ongoing strategic reviews.
Translate strategic priorities into clear planning frameworks, milestones, and success measures that can be applied across a matrixed structure.
Support preparation of materials for annual planning, strategy reviews, and leadership decision-making forums.
Help articulate and refine DPAF’s strategic narrative, ensuring consistency across internal communications and planning artifacts.
Portfolio Management Support the design and operation of DPAF’s portfolio that enables prioritization, sequencing, and trade-off discussions across teams.
Maintain visibility into the portfolio of DPAF teams, including scope, status, dependencies, risks, and resourcing considerations.
Conduct regular portfolio analysis to surface insights on progress, capacity, alignment to strategy, and emerging issues.
Prepare integrated views and dashboards to support leadership decision-making and course correction.
Provide advisory support to initiative leads on planning, execution, change management, and cross-team coordination.
Rhythm of the Business & Governance Support the rhythm of the business (ROB) for DPAF, including planning cycles, progress reviews, and leadership forums.
Coordinate preparation of agendas, materials, and follow-ups for key DPAF strategy and portfolio discussions.
Help establish and continuously improve governance norms, decision rights, and operating cadences that work in a matrixed environment.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Change Enablement Work across foundation functions, regions, and teams to foster alignment, shared understanding, and effective collaboration.
Identify gaps, friction points, and opportunities to improve how work flows across DPAF.
Support change management efforts related to new strategies, operating models, or ways of working.
Promote clarity, prioritization, and disciplined execution through strong processes, tools, and communication.
Thought Partnership & Continuous Improvement Provide clear, forward-looking analysis and recommendations to the DDSPM and DPAF leadership.
Apply a continuous improvement mindset to planning, portfolio management, and internal processes.
Bring structure to ambiguous problems and help leaders navigate trade-offs in a fast-moving environment.