Senior Program Officer, Digital Financial Services Supervision

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading nonprofit organization in London is seeking a Senior Program Officer for Digital Financial Services Supervision. The role involves developing supervision strategies, managing a portfolio of grants, and advising on risk-based supervision for financial services. Candidates should possess an advanced degree and a strong track record in financial supervision tailored for low- and middle-income countries. This position offers opportunities for international collaboration and impact in financial inclusion efforts.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage

Generous paid time off

Foundation-paid retirement contribution

Qualifications

• Proven track record in leading supervision of digital financial services.
• Experience in strengthening supervisory frameworks for low- and middle-income countries.
• Fluency in English with excellent communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop a DFS Supervision strategy.
• Manage a portfolio of grants and contracts.
• Provide advice on risk-based supervision to IFS officers.

Skills

Risk-based supervision

Consumer protection

Data systems

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Advanced degree in law, economics, finance, or related fields

Tools

Financial software

Data analysis tools

Job description

The Foundation

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 Team

The Foundation partners with people and organizations worldwide, through grant making, to tackle critical problems across various program areas and divisions. Our Global Growth & Opportunity (GGO) Division focuses on creating and scaling market‑based innovations to stimulate inclusive and sustainable economic growth. GGO focuses on the areas of Agricultural Development, Global Education, Inclusive Financial Systems, Nutrition, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. We believe that people are poor because markets do not work for them, and we promote innovative products and policies that can break down barriers to economic opportunity, help people lift themselves out of poverty, and deliver sustainable and inclusive growth that benefits everyone. The Inclusive Financial Systems (IFS) team believes that valuable, low‑cost financial products have the potential to offer a pathway out of poverty, and that digital financial systems can enable the private sector’s delivery of such products to the poor sustainably and at scale. IFS supports the buildout of inclusive digital financial services (DFS) systems in low‑and mid‑income countries (LMIC) by (i) enabling the right policy and regulatory environment; (ii) supporting the implementation of inclusive digital payments systems; (iii) driving scale and economic sustainability by promoting pro‑poor use cases; and (iv) closing the gender gap in the usage of formal financial products.

Your Role

We are seeking a Senior Program Officer, Digital Financial Services Supervision, to lead and develop a DFS Supervision portfolio. In this role, you will work across the foundation and the industry to develop a DFS Supervision strategy and manage a portfolio of investments that align to this strategy, as well as investments already developed under the former Consumer Protection and Supervisory Technology (SupTech) portfolio, pushing the bounds of our thinking on how risk‑based supervision can help solve seemingly intractable challenges surrounding prudential issues and consumer protection supervision in DFS.

Key areas of focus will include:

• Risk‑based supervision of DFS to fulfill both prudential and market conduct (consumer protection, Anti‑Money Laundering/Counter‑Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) and competition) supervisory mandates.


• Supervision aspects of consumer protection, including fraud, over indebtedness, grievance redressal, disclosure, informed consent for data sharing, fair treatment, product suitability among other topics.


• Technology tools and data systems applied to risk‑based supervisory approaches for both prudential and market conduct mandates.


• Ways in which supervisory approaches and technology tools can help supervisors align the goal of preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism with financial inclusion goals.


• Supervisory approaches and techniques to advance competition mandates in the context of emerging regulatory frameworks on data sharing (e.g. open finance), instant payment, among others.


• Technology capacity building, skills development and organizational culture nurturing for financial supervisors in LMIC – particularly in Africa and Asia.


• Potential impact of international standards and best practices promoted via international forum such as standard‑setting bodies, on the ability of LMIC supervisors to balance financial inclusion with other mandates, via risk‑based supervisory approaches.


• Challenges and opportunities in improving supervisory data for data‑driven, effective risk‑based supervision in LMIC.

You will not only focus on identifying and scaling adoption of current best practices adapted to context of LMIC, but also on enabling the development and adoption of next‑generation technology‑based risk identification and assessment by financial supervisors.

This will require extensive collaboration with in‑country supervisors, technologists, global standard‑setting bodies (e.g. Bank for International Settlements), and other development partners such as the World Bank, IMF, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), among others. Internally, you will collaborate with IFS’s Regulations Payments Lead, Regulations Productive Credit Lead and Country program officers.

The postholder will be based at the foundation’s office in London, and report to the Deputy Director, Regulation, Policy & Research. The role does not have people management responsibilities.

What You’ll Do

a. Develop a DFS Supervision strategy.

b. Manage a portfolio of grants, contracts, and other interventions to implement the DFS Supervision strategy. This will require:

• Identifying critical gaps in and reforms required in our nine focus countries in Africa and Asia in regard to risk‑based supervision for both prudential and market conduct mandates.


• Identifying and evaluating partners to fill those gaps.


• Aligning with the selected partners on a shared set of outcomes.


• Working with the selected partners to co‑design proposals, budgets, and delivery milestones to advance the desired outcomes.


• Providing clear, concise, and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding, including drafting proposal summaries and progress reports for review by foundation leadership.


• Managing the implementation of projects and identifying course corrections that can enhance their impact, including projects implemented under the former Consumer Protection and SupTech strategy.


• Conducting field visits to observe the on‑ground implementation of projects.


• Seeking and managing co‑funding opportunities for projects which require investment beyond foundation resources.

c. Provide advice to IFS Country and Usage Program Officers, and their grantees, in regard to risk‑based supervision, including consumer protection and SupTech projects. This will include:

• Supporting IFS Country Program Officers to support strong risk‑based supervision, including consumer protection and SupTech, in each IFS country strategy.


• Supporting IFS Usage Program Officers to support risk‑based supervision, including consumer protection and SupTech, in the various usage strategies.


• Co‑designing country DFS supervision investments along with IFS country and usage leads.


• Engaging directly with financial supervisors in IFS priority countries and standard setting bodies globally to inform their Supervision, Consumer protection and SupTech policies.


• Reviewing and commenting on draft countries’ Supervision, Consumer protection and SupTech policies.

d. Represent the foundation in international fora and among key partners. This will include presentations among central bank and regulatory officials, Ministers of Finance, universities, think tanks, donors, global standard setting bodies, and commercial providers.

e. Partner with foundation teams outside IFS, such as Agricultural Development and Women’s Economic Empowerment, to inform and support the DFS supervision aspects of their strategies.

Your Experience

We are looking for individuals who enjoy the opportunity of working on complex problems and collectively building solutions that have the potential for transformative change in the lives of people around the world. We seek a creative and curious leader who has an excellent track record of achievement and leadership in roles of growing responsibility. You should be prepared to work across a diverse set of disciplines, bridging a wide range of expertise all the while being a teammate, with a proven ability to work with flexibility, efficiency and diplomacy in an exciting, challenging environment. You should be able to extrapolate and expand upon your country‑level experience to identify solutions fully adapted to other country contexts, especially in LMIC. Additionally, we seek:

• Advanced degree (or equivalent experience) in law, economics, finance, development studies, public policy, business administration, or related fields.


• Proven track record in a senior role leading the supervision of payments and other DFS, with demonstrated impact in strengthening supervisory frameworks for LMICs. Extensive experience providing strategic advice to financial supervisors in LMIC on the design and implementation of risk‑based supervision approaches.


• Experience guiding and managing large complex projects, including working with a diverse range of stakeholders.


• Knowledge of the major issues and best practices related to financial inclusion in a supervisory context, including current and emerging trends and opportunities in LMIC.


• Thorough understanding of supervisory processes, planning, tools and techniques, and particularly of risk‑based approaches to supervision.


• Understanding of data and information systems applied to supervisory contexts.


• Innovative, out‑of‑the‑box thinker who is hands‑on and willing to go as deep or broad as necessary to achieve outcomes.


• Ability to prioritize and meet deadlines within a fast‑paced matrixed environment with multiple and competing demands.


• Capacity and initiative to solve problems with energy and positive attitude.


• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a cooperative and collegial fashion.


• Experience in engaging with and influencing senior leadership; preferably in both public and private sectors. Demonstrated skillset in relationship building and collaboration internally and externally.


• Empathy for the poor consumer and their financial needs and constraints.


• Fluent in English with excellent written and oral communication skills. Ability to synthesize information, and communicate in a brief, clear, and impactful manner.

Other Attributes

• Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behaviour with a diverse range of people and a deep commitment to development issues and high standards of personal integrity.


• Ability to travel up to 25% of time; both domestically and internationally.

Application deadline

3 January 2026

Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request here.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.