Program Officer, Development Policy and Finance (12 month LTE)

Gates Foundation•Washington, DC

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Program Officer works across the Development Policy and Finance team’s Policy Function and its work on innovative financing and domestic capital mobilization. Reporting to the Deputy Director, Development Policy and Finance, the role coordinates analytical work, supports a defined set of investments and portfolio activities, and works closely with the Senior Program Officers leading these areas. The position is based in a hybrid arrangement from the foundation’s Washington, DC office and is limited to 12 months, not extending beyond December 31, 2027. Relocation is not provided. The role responds to policy and analytical requests, conducts research and quantitative analysis, and produces concise, decision-ready materials for leadership and other audiences. It contributes to policy analysis and thought leadership concerning private capital mobilization and domestic resource mobilization, and supports the management of grants and investments across their lifecycle. The role also provides transaction analysis and coordination, maintains reusable knowledge products and analytical workflows, supports the Policy Function’s operations and learning activities, and applies AI-assisted and Microsoft data tools where appropriate and consistent with foundation data-governance requirements. The Program Officer co-manages relationships with external partners and represents the foundation in relevant working groups and convenings. The position collaborates across foundation program teams, regional offices, and external partners to align work with health and agriculture sector strategies. Applicants must have unrestricted work authorization in the country where the position is located; the foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship.

Requirements

Advanced degree in economics, finance, public policy, international development, or a related field, ideally with substantive economics coursework, and at least 6 years of relevant experience in development finance, investment, financial sector development, or economic policy; alternatively, a bachelor’s degree and at least 8 years of relevant experience.
Solid understanding of the external financing landscape for low- and middle-income countries, including development finance institutions and multilateral development banks, blended finance and impact investors, local capital markets and institutional investors, and sovereign and sub-sovereign financing.
Working knowledge of at least one other DPAF priority area, such as official development assistance, sovereign debt and fiscal policy, domestic resource mobilization, MDBs and the international financial architecture, country macroeconomics, or non-DAC finance.
Familiarity with innovative financing instruments and transaction structures, such as guarantees, blended finance vehicles, local currency lending, bonds, and securitization.
Experience managing complex projects, with strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
Ability to work with quantitative data, interrogate sources and assumptions, and translate results into clear, policy-relevant conclusions.
Strong Excel skills.
Excellent writing, editing, and synthesis skills, with a record of producing clear, concise materials for senior and non-specialist audiences.
Judgment to work quickly while keeping sight of the broader policy question, determine when more rigor is needed, and clearly surface risks, assumptions, and trade-offs.
Ability to build strong, trusting relationships with internal colleagues and external partners and work effectively in a matrixed environment across economists, policy specialists, and data and technology colleagues.
Demonstrated ability to take ownership of ambiguous tasks, create structure where little exists, and manage several priorities through completion with minimal direct supervision.
Experience working in or with Sub-Saharan Africa and/or South Asia.
Sound judgment in handling internal and pre-publication material.
Unrestricted work authorization in the country where the position is located; the foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to transaction advisory, investment analysis, or deal structuring.
Familiarity with the health or agriculture sectors.
Experience with statistical or programming tools.
Hands-on experience building or administering SharePoint sites, including information architecture, permissions, and publication workflows.
Hands-on familiarity with AI-assisted research or analytics and with Azure Databricks and Power BI, especially to improve repeatable analytical or knowledge workflows.

Responsibilities

Respond to analytical and policy requests from foundation leadership, program strategy teams, regional and country offices, and Global Policy and Advocacy colleagues.
Conduct rapid research, quantitative analysis, literature and evidence reviews, and targeted data pulls to answer policy questions.
Lead research on blended finance structures, local currency financing, capital market development, credit enhancement, and sovereign and sub-sovereign financing.
Synthesize research into clear, decision-ready products, including talking points, meeting and travel briefs, policy notes, investment memos, presentations, and analytical memos.
Translate technical economic material for senior and non-specialist audiences while preserving analytical rigor and important caveats.
Draft and contribute to policy papers, briefs, and thought leadership on private capital mobilization and domestic resource mobilization.
Support management of a defined set of investments in innovative financing and domestic capital mobilization, including agreeing outcomes with grantees.
Co-manage investments across the grant lifecycle, including concept development, due diligence, budget and proposal review, results frameworks, monitoring, reporting, and close-out.
Contribute to portfolio strategy through landscape analysis, opportunity identification, and translation of insights into priorities.
Track portfolio performance and emerging evidence, and identify investment risks.
Analyze deal structures, financial models, and term sheets; assess risk-sharing and credit enhancement mechanisms such as guarantees, first-loss capital, and securitization.
Coordinate with transaction advisors, investors, and co-financiers to advance transactions from concept to close.
Support management of the Policy Function’s reusable knowledge products, including datasets, charts, analytical tools, templates, reference materials, and country and institution profiles.
Curate policy notes, presentations, data products, and prior analysis so relevant intelligence can be reused.
Standardize recurring analytical workflows, including data refreshes, chart production, source documentation, and quality-control checks.
Support the design and maintenance of the Policy Function SharePoint site, including its information architecture, taxonomy, file naming, permissions, and publication workflows; document processes for continuity.
Maintain a tracker of incoming analytical and policy requests and prepare status updates that make demand and bottlenecks visible.
Track internal advisory contributions and external policy voice, and compile periodic summaries for staff review.
Support the DPAF learning series, including materials, presenter coordination, and archiving recordings and supporting content; support knowledge-sharing on the innovative financing portfolio.
Apply AI-assisted research, synthesis, and knowledge-management tools where useful and consistent with foundation data-governance requirements.
Improve analytical workflows in the Microsoft environment, including Power BI and, where relevant, Azure Databricks, for data preparation, analysis, visualization, and repeatable reporting.
Prototype efficient workflows for recurring data and policy products, including responsible automation and structured quality assurance.
Co-manage relationships with external partners, including development finance institutions, multilateral development banks, co-funders, and capital market actors, and represent the foundation in related working groups and convenings.
Engage grantees and partners, including preparing for and following up on meetings, working groups, and convenings.
Coordinate across teams to align the body of work with health and agriculture sector strategies.