SPO, Development Policy & Finance – Aid Focus
Global Policy & Advocacy
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
The mission of the Global Policy & Advocacy program is to understand and shape the public policy debates affecting the Foundation’s work in developing countries, build support and resources for its major program and policy objectives, and develop partnerships and alliances that can advance the Foundation’s policy objectives nationally and globally. GPA is composed of our international programs in India, China and Africa; our Europe & Middle East team based in London and our US, Canada & Asia-Pacific team based in Washington, DC; a Program Advocacy team; a Charitable Sector Support team; and our Policy Analysis & Financing team (PAF). PAF operates as an in-house policy shop analyzing the major development policy issues affecting the environment in which the foundation works, proposing foundation positions or projects on some of those issues, and ultimately working directly with partners to shape the external direction of some of those issues. PAF focuses on aid policy, country financing and the multilateral financing system -- three major systems relevant to achieving the foundation’s mission.
The Senior Program Officer (SPO) will be a key member of the Policy Analysis & Financing team and will serve as a foundation leader on aid trends and policy. This position brings together three complex needs: expert analytic capacity to help the foundation better understand the definitions, figures and trends in official development assistance; deep program and policy knowledge to advise the foundation on the most effective aid models within and beyond our sectors of work; and innovation in defining and engaging with other donors on aid effectiveness. A significant portion of the SPO’s time will focus on analyzing numbers and evidence in the field and then formulating and disseminating policy content to recommend external stances for foundation co-chairs and leadership.
Responsibilities:
Working with colleagues, the SPO will:
Serve as the foundation’s in-house expert on sources and trends in Official Development Assistance and ideally development assistance from emerging donors– particularly in health, agriculture and other foundation priority fields;
Deeply understand the literature and practice on aid effectiveness – allocation, channels, delivery models – in order to help the foundation define its views on the best ways to deliver aid to achieve programmatic results;
Write regular policy briefs – including analyzing implications for BMGF – on new directions or innovations in the field and respond to regular leadership requests on same;
Structure a work program including policy research, direct advocacy and some grantmaking to achieve specific policy objectives in aid effectiveness;
Contribute to strategy development and overall priorities for the PAF team and wider GPA division
Qualifications
Advanced academic or professional degree related to economics, public policy, or a related field
A minimum of 10 years of wide-ranging experience in aid policy, ideally with experience in at least one of the foundation’s program areas and ideally including both technical knowledge and a close understanding of the politics of aid and development finance
Excellent writing, research, and oral communications skills, effective with a broad and diverse audience
Experience developing, negotiating and articulating institutional policy positions, e.g. for an IFI or government
Demonstrated creativity in developing and sharing policy products
Demonstrated ability to work with efficiency and diplomacy, particularly as part of a team effort
Commitment and dedication to improving the lives of those living in the developing world is a strong requirement, as is a sense of humor and ability to be flexible and adjust to changing circumstances
Ability to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally
This position reports to the Director, Policy Analysis & Financing and can be based in Washington, DC or Seattle, WA.
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. EOE.
