Senior Strategy Officer, Geospatial Insights (LTE)

Gates Foundation•Seattle, WA

About The Position

The Senior Strategy Officer (SSO), Special Initiatives is a 11-month LTE position, providing parental leave coverage to the Special Initiatives team in the Global Development Office of the President. This role will lead our cross-cutting Geospatial Insights body of work, working collaboratively across the foundation to refine the strategic vision and approach of our portfolio of investments focused on geospatial data and location-based analytics. This is a small portfolio of investments, focused at both the global level, as well as on specific country implementation efforts, particularly in Nigeria and DRC. The role will bridge geospatial science, data strategy development & implementation, grant management, and internal & external partner engagement, to ensure location insights accelerate health, economic development and equity outcomes in low-resource settings. This role will also support high-priority and cross-cutting data and insights related projects that advance the Global Development division’s strategic goals. This role helps shape emerging initiatives, provides strategic and analytical support, and ensures alignment between short-term opportunities and long-term impact. Working across teams and regions, the Senior Strategy Officer will help translate ideas into focused plans, coordinates execution, and ensure that learning from special initiatives informs broader strategy. This position is a limited-term position for 11 months. Relocation will not be provided

Requirements

8-10+ years of progressive experience, with dual experience in geospatial data, and experience at a leading strategy / consulting advisory firm.
Postgraduate qualification in Geography, Data Science, Public Health, or a related field or discipline.
Experience working with geospatial data/analytics in development, health, or related sectors.
An understanding of data systems in low- and middle-income countries, and data use to drive decision-making.
Ability to analyze and synthesize complex quantitative and qualitative data – supporting data-driven decisions and identifying data gaps and needs.
Proven strengths in structured problem solving and strategic business planning, with the capability to easily develop and communicate frameworks to simplify and analyze core issues.
Ability to learn new content quickly, identify connections and second-order implications, and demonstrate proficiency with internal/external teams.
Strong pattern recognition grounded in relevant global health and/or development knowledge.
Knowledge of complex end-to-end management skills, including process design, team structure, stakeholder mapping, communication, leadership engagement, and change management.
Program and stakeholder management skills: ability to coordinate inputs from many people; to track progress against targets and identify barriers to progress; to plan agendas and facilitate meetings; and to organize, evaluate, and communicate information.
Excellent organizational, facilitation, oral, and written communication skills.
Ability to work effectively and with sensitivity across barriers such as language, culture, and distance.
Excellent listening skills and compassion.
Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to rapidly build trusted advisor relationships with senior leaders
Ability to work with diverse organizations and stakeholders, with a strong spirit of diplomacy and collaboration.
Ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and enthusiasm in a fast-paced environment, as a member of an integrated team.
Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Experience living and working in low- and middle- income countries preferred.

Responsibilities

In partnership with division leadership, refine the strategic roadmap for the Geospatial Insights body of work, ensuring alignment with overarching Gates foundation impact goals.
Translate strategic priorities and clearly defined comparative advantages into an actionable portfolio of investments, operating at both a global and country level, and at both long-term and short-term timeframes.
Ensure that the Geospatial body of work is aligned to priorities of Gates foundation regional- and country- teams, with identified collaboration and co-investment.
Manage a complex portfolio of grants and contracts – manage active investments, and shape new investments for 2026.
Engage with external partners — NGOs, academic institutions, private sector geospatial firms, and governments (in collaboration with Gates Foundation country offices) – to forge strategic partnerships and enable shared geospatial insights and infrastructure.
Act as internal advisor and change‐agent: support program teams to adopt geospatial ways of working, provide training, promote best practices and help overcome technical, operational or organizational barriers.
Identify and establish opportunities for internal collaboration – shaping strategies in support of team and country priorities and leveraging internal co-funding in support of geospatial efforts.
Identify and assess risks and barriers related to geospatial work: data quality and ethics, privacy/security, partner capacity, regulatory environments, and ensure mitigation plans are in place.
Partner with division leadership to lead discrete, complex strategy projects related to data and insights. This will include scoping efforts, identifying frameworks, leading project management, leading client engagement, conducting quantitative analyses and insight generation, supporting a collaborative process, and identifying change management next steps.
Coordinate across programs, functions, and external partners to ensure alignment and momentum.
Develop clear deliverables, timelines, and performance measures for new or exploratory efforts.
Capture lessons learned and support the integration of successful pilots into ongoing strategies.
Prepare strategy briefs, progress updates, and presentations for leadership and key stakeholders.
Other duties as needed.