Senior Program Officer, Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene Job

SuSanA; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation seeks a Senior Program Officer, Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene in Seattle to lead technology introduction and scaling. You will shape investments, coordinate with partners, and guide regulatory and market strategies to accelerate adoption of innovative sanitation solutions.

The role requires a deep understanding of markets for water and sanitation, strong communication, and the ability to work across diverse cultures and organizations, with up to 25% travel.

Qualifications

• 10+ years experience in introducing innovation to market and defining user requirements.
• Knowledge of pro-poor service delivery models and water/sanitation markets.
• Demonstrated investor-like approach to strategy, planning, and measurement.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and technical leadership for technology introduction and commercialization in regulated public services.
• Assess markets to inform strategic planning and product profiles.
• Refine user requirements, portfolios, and go/no-go criteria; develop innovation launch plans with partners.
• Drive investments and investments with clear outcomes and milestones for nimble course-correction.
• Foster partnerships with internal and external partners and grantees to implement launch plans.
• Support performance management, strategic planning, and cross-team collaboration.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Cross-cultural sensitivity

Team leadership

Self-motivation

Education

MBA, MA/MSc./PhD in business/public policy/economics/social science

Job description

Senior Program Officer, Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene

Location: Seattle, WA, US

Located in Seattle, WA, the Senior Program Officer (SPO) for the Urban Sanitation Markets team within the WSH strategy will provide thought leadership and strategic and technical expertise to support the team's efforts to create the conditions for rapid, equitable deployment & adoption of new sanitation technologies. The “reinvented toilet” and other new sanitation technologies will only be as successful as their take‑up by people, governments and manufacturers. The SPO will lead the development of investments around user needs, conducive regulatory reform, demonstration cases at city level and the creation of forward and backward linkages between consumers and manufacturers.

Responsibilities

• Strategic & technical expertise in technology introduction/commercialization for regulated public services & associated products
• Assess market (segments, consumer preferences, market size, demand projections, competitive landscape, product supply projections, etc.) to inform strategic planning
• Apply information to refine user requirements/target product profiles, optimize portfolios, & define go/no-go criteria
• Develop critical path for innovation launch and ensure timely execution of necessary activities in partnership with internal & external partners (regulatory planning, manufacturing plans/price, costing/financing, guideline development, support for policy decision) to drive toward fast launch
• Support new businesses & service delivery models that leverage donor, public & private investments for large-scale adoption of innovation
• Investment Management:
  • Scope, shape, propose & manage investments to execute activities supporting programmatic goals around user experience, the creation of ready city markets and regulatory frameworks, linkages between consumers, retailers, manufacturers and regulators
  • Develop projects with clear, measurable outcomes and milestones that enable nimble course-correction
• Partner Relations:
  • Scan the area to find promising opportunities to advance strategies
  • Develop effective relationships with internal, external partners and grantees to ensure implementation of launch plans
• Strategic planning / performance management / team participation:
  • Provide objective, evidence-based input to design strategic plans & participate in annual planning
  • Contribute to identifying & gathering quantitative/qualitative information to measure progress against strategic goals

Qualifications

• 10+ years experience in introduction of innovation to market; assessing and characterizing markets to define user requirements/target product profile; learning by doing and learning from others
• Knowledge of pro-poor service delivery models and profile of social enterprises; in water and sanitation business preferred
• Demonstrated ability to think and act like an investor when making strategic decisions and plans; driving a strategy toward successful implementation, course correcting, measuring for results, and reporting on progress
• Excellent written and oral communication skills to convey complex situations in a clear and concise manner
• Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people
• MBA, MA/MSc./PhD in business, public policy, economics, business economics, or other related social science field focusing on markets, institutions and incentives for technology adoption and dissemination
• Development experience – preferably interacting with key global institutions, markets, and stakeholders
• Knowledge of government and water and sanitation markets and regulatory regimes strongly preferred
• Ability to orchestrate effective decisions across a broad range of issues and stakeholders, assess progress, analyze gaps, and make necessary changes
• Experience developing and managing projects in a matrix team environment
• Experience in – and enjoyment of – managing individual contributors
• Innovative and open-minded approach; ability to question and challenge colleagues including managers and partners, in a constructive manner
• Demonstrated ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a complex, fast‑paced environment
• Ability to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally
• Self-motivation and self-management
• Optimism

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be contingent upon successful completion of a comprehensive background check.

Requisition Number: 4211BR