Principal Officer, Measurement, Learning & Evaluation (24-month LTE)

Gates Foundation; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 213,000 - 330,000; Full time

Job summary

The Gates Foundation is seeking a senior Measurement, Evaluation, and Research Leader to guide the strategy accountability and learning agenda within the Advocacy & System Improvement team in Seattle. You will direct the measurement and evaluation of strategic initiatives and collaborate with partners to assess impact and scale evidence-based practices.

You will work with Senior Program Officers and Deputy Directors, embedding forward-looking analytics into investment decisions, and shaping

Qualifications

• Advanced degree or equivalent demonstrated experience.
• Understanding of diverse sector missions and resources; ability to interpret research and evaluation.
• Experience experimenting with new tools to enable colleagues to access and understand measurement work.
• Recognized as an expert in measurement and evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Lead measurement, evaluation, and research in developing/refining strategies; invest in partners to measure efficacy of strategy interventions.
• Gauge strategy progress against key outcomes; research emerging strategy-related topics as they arise.
• Serve as MLE technical and thought leader for A&SI strategy and primary collaborator on foundation strategy accountability and reporting.
• Act as key collaborator with MLE Senior Program Officers and Deputy Directors on the team-wide learning agenda.
• Leverage insights from research and evaluation to develop high-quality, engaging learning experiences for the team.
• Collaborate with other staff to develop learning opportunities across the division.
• Develops and sustains learning rhythms for the team, ensuring regular cadences for surfacing and applying insights.
• Builds vision for how A&SI measures progress and looks ahead predictively to support resource allocation decisions.

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 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

Education is one of the most powerful forces for opportunity in the United States, but for millions of students, it still isn't delivering on that promise. Too many young people don’t get the support they need to navigate critical moments, miss key milestones and fall behind, and never reach a credential that leads to a good job and a better life. The Gates Foundation is committed to changing this. Decades of research point to specific moments in a student's journey—particular grades, courses, and transitions—where the right support makes all the difference. For example, students who pass Algebra I by 9th grade are far more likely to graduate high school and pursue higher education. Students who complete their first year of college courses successfully are far more likely to earn a degree. When those milestones are reached, a student's trajectory changes. That’s why we are investing in evidence-based approaches that meet students at those moments—supporting the teachers, advisors, and institutions that know them best, and funding tools that help educators and advisors do their jobs more effectively. We believe AI has a role to play in this work, but only when it is designed to strengthen teaching—keeping student safety, well-being, and the human connections at the center of learning and support. Our goal is to help every learner access an education that leads to a postsecondary degree, certificate, or career qualification that reflects in-demand skills and opens the door to meaningful economic opportunity. If successful, we believe we can double the rate of growth of Americans earning a credential of value by age 34—resulting in 10 million more learners achieving those credentials by 2045. The Advocacy & System Improvement team (A&SI) operates as an engine for sustainable impact at scale within U.S. Program. The role of this team is not to develop or deliver solutions, but to enable systems to adopt and sustain effective practices, and to change how systems operate so those practices become standard, scalable, and durable. In this context, the solutions our colleagues develop and deliver are more likely to reach more learners, driving collective progress towards our shared goals. The Policy & Advocacy team sits within A&SI and is responsible for building and advancing the foundation's education policy agenda — translating programmatic learning, field evidence, and strategic priorities into rigorous policy perspectives and effective advocacy strategies that shape how federal and state systems support student success. The team works across K-12, postsecondary, pathways, and data and AI policy domains, and maintains a robust state advocacy function that ensures the foundation's priorities are reaching the right audiences through the right partners.

Your Role

You will lead the direction and work of a team of measurement, evaluation, and research staff in developing or refining strategies, investing in partners to measure the efficacy of strategy interventions, gauging strategy progress against key outcomes, and researching key strategy-related topics as they emerge. This role does not have direct people management responsibilities. You serve as the measurement and evaluation lead for the strategy and as the primary collaborator in foundation strategy accountability and reporting work. You act as a key collaborator on the team-wide learning agenda, leverage insights from research and evaluation to develop high-quality, engaging learning experiences for the team, and collaborate with other staff to develop learning opportunities across the division. You have an understanding of the diversity of sector missions, objectives, and resources with comprehensive experience. You serve as a senior strategic learning partner, embedding forward‑looking, decision‑aligned evidence into invest, scale, pivot, and stop decisions, and elevating cross‑portfolio insights that shape division‑wide prioritization and sequencing.

• This position is a limited‑term position for 24 months. Relocation can be provided for the hired candidate if not residing within commuting distance of the Seattle, WA Office.
• Applications accepted until 12 PM/Noon Pacific Time on Thursday, October 1, 2026.

What You'll Do

• Lead measurement, evaluation, and research in developing/refining strategies; invests in partners to measure efficacy of strategy interventions
• Gauges strategy progress against key outcomes; researches emerging strategy‑related topics as they arise
• Serve as MLE technical and thought leader for A&SI strategy and primary collaborator on foundation strategy accountability and reporting
• Acts as key collaborator with MLE Senior Program Officers and Deputy Directors on the team‑wide learning agenda
• Leverages insights from research and evaluation to develop high‑quality, engaging learning experiences for the team
• Collaborate with other staff to develop learning opportunities across the division
• Develops and sustains learning rhythms for the team, ensuring regular cadences for surfacing and applying insights
• Builds vision for how A&SI measures progress and looks ahead predictively to support resource allocation decisions

Your Experience

• An advanced degree or equivalent demonstrated experience. Understanding of the diversity of sector (K12 and post‑secondary) missions, objectives, and resources, and can interpret research and evaluation accordingly, including operating effectively in fields without a single unifying metric of impact.
• Understanding of diversity of sector missions, objectives, and resources; ability to interpret research and evaluation accordingly
• Track record of experimenting with new tools to enable colleagues across the team to access and understand the work of measurement and evaluation, with a particular focus on how those measures enable them to forecast implications for their work.
• Recognized internally and externally as an expert in measurement and evaluation
• Technical expertise in measurement, evaluation, and research design
• Comprehensive experience in progressively increasing thought leadership roles, including formal project leadership
• Experience leading complex initiatives with budget responsibility
• Forward‑thinking in predictive modeling and impact, possibly with a background in economics, policy or broad, cross‑sector research
• 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 (e.g.: H‑1B, O‑1, L‑1, E, OPT, STEM‑OPT, CPT, TN, J‑1, etc.)

The salary range for this role is $212,800.00 to $329,800.00 USD. We recognize high‑wage market differences in Seattle, WA and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $234,000.00 to $362,800.00 USD. As a mission‑driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job‑related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

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

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you have a disability or medical condition and need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process—such as an ASL interpreter, alternative interview format, or physical accessibility support—we’re happy to help. Please contact [e-mail] with the position number and a brief description of your accommodation needs. Requests will be handled confidentially.

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.