Senior Strategy Officer, AI Initiatives, Foundation Strategy Office LTE 2 Years

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • Seattle, WA

3d • 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 Foundation Strategy Office is the primary function supporting the creation and evolution of our program level strategies, as well as exploring new paths to impact that align with our mission. This includes supporting the CEO, CFO and Chief Strategy Officer in key accountabilities including strategy development, strategy revision, strategy performance measurement, portfolio management, and special initiatives to accelerate the impact of the foundation. Within the Foundation Strategy Office, the AI Steering Committee (AI SC) Secretariat serves as the strategic and operational backbone for setting Board Chair and Executive Leadership Team’s agenda on AI, best practice identification and execution support for high-priority cross-cutting AI strategy. The AI SC was established to help the foundation navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape, enabling a cross-organization group of foundation directors to serve as the AI “nerve center” for the organization through incorporation of external trends on AI into program strategies, elevation of best practices and cross-organization prioritization of our funding and our voice on AI. This position will be based out of the Seattle, Wa Office. This is a 2 year limited term position. The Senior Strategy Officer will serve as a strategic advisor to the members of the AI Steering Committee, the Strategy Committee Chair and the Deputy Director of AI Strategy and Leadership Advising. You are responsible for senior stakeholder engagement and leadership support, AI strategy development and cross-foundation AI coordination. You will translate a fast-moving external AI landscape into clear strategic frameworks and programmatic principles to inform foundation work. You will report to the Deputy Director for AI Strategy And Leadership Advising and collaborate closely with program strategy teams across the foundation.

Requirements

• A Master’s degree or equivalent demonstrated experience, preferably in business, economics, or science.
• Significant experience working in a progressive capacity leading projects at a top-tier strategy consulting firm, in corporate strategy, or product management.
• Significant experience in structured problem solving and strategic business planning, including the ability to identify and communicate frameworks, facilitate strategy creation, and analyze core issues.
• Demonstrated ability to rapidly develop working fluency in new technical domains.
• Comfort with engaging in technical concepts, evaluating emerging technology landscapes and translating technical developments into strategic implications is key.
• Significant experience pattern matching and synthesizing cross-cutting themes across a wide variety of domains areas (i.e., health, economics, advocacy, organizational dynamics).
• Significant experience communicating with a broad and diverse audience, including the ability to work with sensitivity across potential barriers such as language and distance.
• Significant experience preparing materials for and engaging with senior executives and board-level stakeholders, including the ability to distill complex or ambiguous topics into decision-ready formats.
• Mastery level knowledge of end-to-end complex project management, including process design, team structure, critical thinking requirements, development of novel communication resources, and external/senior partner engagement.
• Mastery level knowledge of data analysis and visualization, including the ability to visually use data to create persuasive narratives and novel insights.
• Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

• Prior AI/ML expertise is not required but candidates with this expertise will be given preference.

Responsibilities

• AI Strategy Development & Analysis Track evolution and development of AI dimensions of programmatic strategies and provide analytical support to equip the AI SC Chair and members for effective internal and external engagement on the topic
• Lead Ad hoc cross-foundational AI strategy projects as they arise from the AI SC priorities
• Liaise with internal clients to co-develop/test strategy concepts and facilitate change management.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Senior Leadership Support Prepare strategic materials and briefings for senior leadership engagement on AI topics
• Support the material preparation and progress of the AI SC
• Support the AI SC chair and secretariat leadership in translating committee decisions into actionable workplans, tracking progress and escalating issues as needed
• Serve as a thought partner to program strategy teams navigating AI-related questions in their domains and help them connect programmatic needs with the foundation’s broader AI strategy
• Cross-Foundation AI Best Practices Identification Support the design and implementation of key principles for cross-foundation AI initiatives to inform AI-grant making and partner selection
• Develop and maintain internal public goods and evergreen assets that support the foundation’s AI engagement such as identification and evaluation of potential AI concepts for external co-funding and partnership engagement resources

Benefits

• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees