Senior Strategy Officer, Data and Technology Adoption

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 238,000 - 324,000; Full time

Job summary

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, based in Seattle, seeks a senior strategic leader to drive high‑impact projects across the Gender Equality division. You will partner with directors to shape strategy, manage complex initiatives, and deliver analytical support and content development for priority investments.

You will collaborate with internal teams and external partners, ensuring rigorous communications and programmatic alignment with division goals.

Qualifications

• Mastery-level knowledge of structured problem solving and strategic business planning.
• Ability to convert analytical work into visualizations and narratives for diverse audiences.
• Experience leading strategy development projects and collaborating across teams.

Responsibilities

• Scope, design, lead and evaluate multiple strategic projects.
• Liaise with internal partners to build relationships with teams, technical experts, and country offices.
• Identify opportunities for impact, scope new work, and prepare recommendations for leadership.
• Coordinate materials for strategy reviews, planning sessions, and leadership engagements.
• Promote efficient processes, tools, and change management within the team.

Skills

Strategy development

Project management

Analytical thinking

Content development

Facilitation

Microsoft Office

Education

Advanced degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

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 Gender Equality (GE) Division's mission is to ensure women and girls in Africa and South Asia can enjoy good health, make their own choices, earn their own money, and be leaders in their societies. When women and girls have an equal chance to thrive and lead, everyone benefits. Within the GE Division, the Data and Technology Adoption team (DATA) strengthens decision-making to improve the health and well‑being of women and girls. Operating as both an investment maker and a functional service provider, the team works across three strategic pillars: providing deep functional expertise to program strategy teams (PSTs) and regional country offices (RCOs) to accelerate impact; developing public goods and platforms with high impact potential and multi-PST relevance; and exploring and incubating new paths to improve women's and girls' health and economic outcomes. We also partner with other functional teams across the division to bring the power of DATA's capabilities alongside other gender equality priorities.

Your Role

You lead high-impact projects in collaboration with directors and deputy directors to define, refine, and execute against priority strategic projects and initiatives. You are responsible for shaping and driving strategy efforts, including providing strategic thought partnership, project management, analytical support, content development, and facilitation. You will lead on complex projects that involve stakeholders from different foundation teams and at times include external partners. You will also provide ad hoc support as needed for shorter-term strategy needs that emerge, including supporting the team on priority investments and leadership touchpoints. This may require developing content, conducting analysis, making and managing investments, and coordinating across partners internal and external to the foundation.

What You'll Do

Scope, design, lead, and evaluate multiple concurrent strategic projects, acting as a day-to-day senior manager of strategy development on a highly collaborative functional team. Liaise with internal collaborators to build productive relationships with partner teams, technical experts, and country offices; serve as an effective ambassador for the DATA team, the broader Gender Equality Division, and our work. Partner with the DATA Management Team to identify opportunities for accelerated programmatic impact, both internally and externally, including scoping potential new areas of work, and teeing up choices, recommendations, and resulting implications for leadership. Serve as an engaged thought partner to program staff, advising and executing as needed on plans for partner management, research & analysis, and content development in support of priority investment and team goals. Ensure the team has the right processes, touchpoints, collaboration models and culture to advance strategic priorities, including facilitating meetings and aligning team level work with division and foundation expectations. As needed, lead collaborative processes to develop and coordinate materials for strategy reviews, annual planning, learning sessions, and other formal and informal engagements with foundation leadership; set a high bar for quality and rigor in slides, memos, and other team communications. Promote efficiency and productivity on the team by providing leadership and support in process development and improvement, implementation and improvement of tools, analysis, reporting, and change management. Serve as an active member of the Gender Equality Strategy, Planning, and Management (SPM) cohort, applying expertise across multiple SPM capabilities and contributing to strategy, planning, team operations, and other cross‑functional priorities as needed to advance division goals. Promote inclusive team culture by modeling collaborative behaviors and surfacing issues transparently and constructively.

Your Experience

Mastery-level knowledge of structured problem solving and strategic business planning, with the ability to easily identify and communicate frameworks to facilitate strategy creation and analysis of core issues. Excellent ability to convert analytical work products into compelling visualizations, persuasive narratives, and novel insights for both technical and non‑technical audiences. Ability to learn new content quickly, identify connections and second‑order implications, and demonstrate proficiency with internal/external teams. Ability to drive complex projects independently, care for multiple priorities, and meet demanding timelines. Ability and willingness to question and challenge colleagues, managers, and partners in a constructive manner. Knowledge and experience in global development and DATA’s areas of focus, which include global health data systems, AI and digital connectivity, research methods, and economic evaluation; in‑country experience and/or grant making experience is aplus. Comfort with highly unstructured and ambiguous situations; ability to proactively resolve them. Excellent organizational, facilitation, oral, and written communication skills; ability to work effectively and with sensitivity across barriers such as language, culture, and distance. Excellent software skills with Microsoft Office applications. Minimumof five years of strategy development experience, with at least three years leading strategy development and implementation projects at a top‑tier management consulting firm, or equivalent expertise. An advanced professional degree or equivalent demonstrated experience in a relevant field, such as global health, data & engineering, economics, or business administration. Ability and willingness to travel up to 20% domestically and internationally. Commitment to our core values, mission, and programs with an approach that is consistent with the foundation’s guiding principles and holding self to the highest ethical standards. Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship. 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 (eg: H-1B, O-1, L-1, E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.). The salary range for this role is $190,100 to $294,700 USD. We recognize high‑wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $209,100 to $324,100 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

#LI-AD1 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. Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, we work with partners to create impactful solutions so that people can take charge of their futures and achieve their full potential. In the United States, we aim to ensure that everyone—especially those with the fewest resources—has access to the opportunities needed to succeed in school and life.

Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Bill Gates and our governing board.