Principal Officer, Measurement, Learning & Evaluation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation•Washington, DC

1d•$212,800 - $362,800

About The Position

The U.S. Program (USP) is pursuing Ambition 2045, an initiative to accelerate equitable upward mobility through educational attainment. This requires a significant change in how the division makes decisions, allocates resources, and translates evidence into action across a complex, interdependent portfolio. The Office of the President (OOP) supports the U.S. Leadership Team (USLT) in operating as a cohesive, high-functioning decision-making body. Within OOP, the Measurement, Learning & Evaluation (MLE) function serves as the enterprise capability for synthesizing insights across portfolios, strengthening division-wide coherence, and ensuring that forward-looking evidence informs critical strategy and resource allocation decisions. As a Principal Officer, Measurement, Learning & Evaluation (PO) within OOP, you will define and steward the division-wide MLE system that enables the U.S. Program Leadership Team (USLT) to make high-quality, evidence-informed decisions. You will be accountable for translating signals from across investments and portfolios into a coherent, decision-ready view of progress, performance, and risk against Ambition 2045. This involves defining what must be measured, how it is standardized and interpreted, and how it informs leadership decisions, ensuring MLE is both rigorous and actionable, driving changes in strategy, investment, and execution across the division. You will collaborate across all priority pillars and strategies to establish division-wide standards, guardrails, and leadership-level metrics aligned with Ambition 2045, define how portfolio- and program-level signals are aggregated, compared, and interpreted, and ensure underlying data, tools, and processes support consistent, reliable inputs into the system. You will synthesize cross-portfolio insights to inform USLT tradeoffs, prioritization, and resource allocation, provide visibility into division-level progress, risks, and opportunities, and ensure decision-grade evidence is available at the right time to support invest, scale, pivot, and stop decisions. Additionally, you will identify and elevate emerging insights and MLE opportunities that materially improve decision quality. You will partner closely with OOP Strategy, Planning & Management leadership, Program-level DDMLEs, and Directors to strengthen integration across strategy, learning, and decision-making.

Requirements

Advanced degree in economics, public policy, education, statistics, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
12+ years of experience in measurement, evaluation, research, analytics, or related discipline, with increasing levels of responsibility.
Demonstrated experience designing and leading complex measurement, performance, or learning systems at scale.
Deep expertise in impact measurement, analytics, evidence generation, and the application of data to inform strategic decision-making.
Proven ability to synthesize complex information and translate technical findings into actionable insights for senior leaders.
Strong track record of influencing decisions and driving alignment across diverse stakeholders in matrixed and ambiguous environments.
Experience balancing methodological rigor with practical decision-making needs in fast-moving or resource-constrained contexts.
Exceptional communication skills, including executive-level presentation, facilitation, and storytelling.
Enterprise mindset with the ability to connect insights across portfolios, functions, and systems.
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 (e.g.: H-1B, O-1, L-1, E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.).
Employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Nice To Haves

Experience in philanthropy, education, public sector, or other mission-driven organizations preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the design and stewardship of the division-wide impact model, including shared outcomes, leading indicators, and performance expectations aligned to Ambition 2045.
Define and maintain the "ladder of outcomes" connecting BOW, PST/FST, and division-level goals.
Establish and govern shared measurement standards, definitions, and reporting norms across portfolios.
Oversee development and continuous improvement of division-wide dashboards and analytical tools that enable cross-portfolio visibility.
Advance enterprise approaches to impact accounting, predictive modeling, and scenario analysis to inform strategic decisions.
Integrate program signals with broader context signals to surface patterns, tradeoffs, and risks that inform strong division-level decisions.
Translate complex evidence into clear, decision-relevant insights for USLT and senior leadership.
Provide forward-looking, decision-aligned analysis to inform division-level decisions on prioritization, sequencing, and resource allocations.
Surface cross-portfolio implications early, particularly where strategies are interdependent or competing for resources.
Serve as a trusted, independent voice in decision-making forums, bringing an evidence-based perspective and constructive challenge to consequential decisions.
Design and facilitate structured forums that embed cross-portfolio learning throughout the strategy and investment lifecycle (e.g., start, scale, pivot, stop).
Monitor external field signals, research, and emerging trends, synthesizing them into strategic foresight that tests assumptions and surfaces risks.
Define expectations for core MLE deliverables (e.g., learning agendas, dashboards, evaluation approaches) and partner with program-level DDMLEs to ensure consistency with context-specific flexibility.
Provide leadership across the MLE community of practice, driving coherence, quality, and shared standards.
Influence hiring, talent development, and performance expectations to strengthen enterprise MLE capability.
Partner with OOP and SPM leadership on planning and governance rhythms, and with the AI Enablement hub on AI-enabled learning systems.
Model and reinforce a one-division mindset, balancing respect for portfolio ownership with enterprise-level coherence.
Promote intellectual honesty, constructive challenge, and transparency in decision-making forums.
Foster a culture that values rigorous, inclusive evidence—elevating diverse perspectives and interrogating bias in data and decision-making.
Ensure MLE practices reflect principles of equity and inclusion, including non-extractive data collection, incorporation of lived experience, and rigorous attention to bias in analysis and interpretation.
Operate effectively in a highly matrixed environment, influencing without direct authority over distributed teams.