Senior Program Officer, Federal Government Relations

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation•Washington, DC

20h•Onsite

About The Position

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 mission of the Global Policy and Advocacy (GPA) division is to understand and shape the public policy debates affecting the foundation's work, build support for its major program and policy objectives, and develop partnerships and alliances that can advance the foundation's objectives nationally and globally. Because the foundation's resources alone are not enough to solve the challenges ahead, GPA also supports advocacy efforts to engage diverse stakeholders and promote innovative solutions that advance our program goals. We work in close partnership with grantees, our colleagues in the Global Health, Global Development, Global Growth & Opportunity, U.S. and Gender Equality programs and Foundation Communications to build the environment in which all people have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives. As Senior Program Officer, you report to the Deputy Director, Federal Government Relations in our Washington, DC office. You develop and implement advocacy strategies in coordination with the Federal Government Relations team and manage one or more portfolios of grants to advance key foundation priorities in global program strategy teams. You develop and maintain relationships with key US decision-makers who are directly involved in areas of interest to the foundation. You also have experience working in the US government. This position is a limited-term position for 12 months based in our Washington, DC office. Relocation will not be provided.

Requirements

Advanced degree with 10+ years of experience, or equivalent experience.
Recognized internally and externally as an expert in aspects of health and development policy.
Mastery-level knowledge of the US federal government budget and decision-making processes.
Network of and access to US senior level staff and/or government officials with proven ability to expand networks, as needed.
Significant experience working in the US government, with an emphasis on roles that align with the foundation’s health and development priorities.
Experience in strategic planning and strategy implementation.
Knowledge of the current global health and foreign assistance context in the US, and of international development policy.
Demonstrated expertise to manage, monitor, and evaluate grants.
Experience working in a dynamic, multi-team environment and working with external organizations.
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

Monitor and track issues across the foundation’s health and development priorities, relative to similar issues raised at the federal level.
Establish and sustain relationships with key US decision-makers who support funding and policy decisions on foundation priorities.
Identify foundation policy and funding priorities and create opportunities to engage relevant government stakeholders in the US to advance foundation program and policy goals.
Work closely with colleagues on the Federal Government Relations team to develop, implement, and evolve coordinated engagement strategies for maximum impact.
Align USG-facing global health advocacy with foundation strategy and integrate with other foundation teams’ operations.
Update leadership, as needed, on political and policy trends within the portfolio.
Identify potential advocacy partners, assess their alignment with foundation strategies, evaluate capacity, and lead grants, including assessing their performance over time.
Represent the foundation to key external constituencies.
Support inclusive culture through modeling behaviors and actions; advance issues in a timely fashion to appropriate internal partners.