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

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation•Washington, DC

4d•$157,300 - $235,900•Hybrid

About The Position

The Program Officer will work across the Development Policy and Finance (DPAF) Policy Function and its innovative financing and domestic capital mobilization work. Reporting to the Deputy Director, Development Policy and Finance, the role is based in a hybrid arrangement from the Washington, DC office and collaborates closely with the Senior Program Officers leading each area. The position supports analytical work, investment management, external partnerships, and internal knowledge systems. It is a limited-term position for 12 months and will not extend beyond December 31, 2027. Relocation is not provided. DPAF applies economic analysis, development-finance expertise, and policy judgment to foundation strategies, investments, advocacy, and engagement with governments and other partners. Its work addresses development assistance, sovereign debt and fiscal space, resource mobilization, multilateral development banks, international financial architecture, country macroeconomics, and financing for health, development, and poverty reduction. The innovative financing work seeks to mobilize private, external, and domestic resources for foundation priority sectors, including health and agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The role responds to analytical requests; conducts research, quantitative analysis, and evidence reviews; develops decision-ready materials; and contributes to policy publications. It supports a defined investment portfolio across the grant lifecycle, analyzes financing structures and transactions, and helps manage partner relationships. It also maintains reusable knowledge products, analytical workflows, request tracking, and internal learning activities. The position uses AI-assisted tools and Microsoft data platforms where appropriate and within foundation data-governance requirements.

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, multilateral development banks, blended finance, impact investors, local capital markets, 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 are expected.
Excellent writing, editing, and synthesis skills, including producing clear, concise materials for senior and non-specialist audiences.
Judgment to work quickly while recognizing when greater rigor is needed and clearly surfacing risks, assumptions, and trade-offs.
Ability to build trusting relationships with internal colleagues and external partners and work effectively in a matrixed environment.
Demonstrated ability to take ownership of ambiguous tasks, create structure, and manage several priorities through completion with minimal direct supervision.
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.
Experience working in or with Sub-Saharan Africa and/or South Asia.
Familiarity with the health or agriculture sectors.
Hands-on experience building or administering SharePoint sites, including information architecture, permissions, and publication workflows.
Hands-on familiarity with AI-assisted research or analytics, Azure Databricks, and Power BI, especially for improving repeatable analytical or knowledge workflows.
Experience with statistical or programming tools.

Responsibilities

Respond to analytical and policy requests from foundation leadership, 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 address policy questions.
Lead research on blended finance structures, local currency financing, capital market development, credit enhancement, and sovereign and sub-sovereign financing, and synthesize findings into decision-ready materials.
Draft talking points, meeting and travel briefs, policy notes, investment memos, presentations, analytical memos, policy papers, and thought leadership.
Translate technical economic material into clear findings for senior and non-specialist audiences while preserving analytical rigor and caveats.
Support management of a defined set of investments in the innovative financing and domestic capital body of work and agree shared outcomes with grantees.
Co-manage investments through concept development, due diligence, budget and proposal review, results frameworks, monitoring, reporting, and close-out.
Contribute to portfolio strategy through landscaping, identifying opportunities, and translating 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; and coordinate with transaction advisors, investors, and co-financiers to advance transactions.
Manage 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 knowledge is reusable and accessible.
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 information architecture, taxonomy, file naming, permissions, publication workflows, and documentation.
Track incoming analytical and policy requests, prepare status updates, and make demand and bottlenecks visible.
Track DPAF’s internal advisory contributions and external policy voice and compile periodic summaries.
Support the DPAF learning series and internal knowledge-sharing, including preparing materials, coordinating presenters, and archiving recordings and supporting content.
Apply AI-assisted research, synthesis, and knowledge-management tools within foundation data-governance requirements.
Improve analytical workflows in Microsoft tools, 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 and represent the foundation in relevant working groups and convenings.
Engage grantees, co-funders, development finance institutions, multilateral development banks, and capital market actors, including preparing for and following up on meetings and convenings.
Coordinate across teams to align the body of work with health and agriculture sector strategies.