NGO Job vacancy at Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation

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 Sue Desmond-Hellmann and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

Position: Senior Program Officer, Nutrition

Division Global Development Program
Department Nutrition
Location Abuja

Foundation Overview
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 Sue Desmond-Hellmann and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

Group Summary The goal of the Global Development Program (GDP) is to increase opportunities for people in the developing world to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty and to help deliver targeted healthcare solutions in these regions. Our strategies focus on Agriculture Development; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene; Financial Services for the Poor; and Family Health which includes Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Family Planning, and Nutrition. These strategies are supported by functional teams that focus on Vaccine Delivery and Integrated Delivery. GDP also has Special Initiatives that focus Urban Poverty, Emergency Relief, Global Libraries and Value for the Money.

Responsibilities -Lead the development and execution of a tailored nutrition strategy for Nigeria, especially to achieve state-wide impact in 2 to 4 priority states (in line with foundation priorities and strategy) and appropriate Federal-level engagement.

• Scope, propose and shape investments (grants and/or contracts) to execute activities to support programmatic goals.
• Manage a portfolio of complex grants and contracts requiring high-level grant management skills, including applying and evaluating milestone-based performance objectives.
• Participate as the nutrition representative to program teams in the foundation as assigned, particularly the Agriculture team as it relates to the food systems initiative in Nigeria and the Integrated Delivery team as it relates to health service-based interventions.
• Establish and nurture the external partnerships that will contribute to the success of our investments in Nigeria. Specifically, build and maintain strong relationships with senior officials in the National Planning Commission, the Federal Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Industry, senior officials in state governments of focus states, and other key nutrition partners including the Dangote Foundation, UNICEF, USAID and DFID.
• Lead advocacy efforts to promote appropriate policies and plans for nutrition in Nigeria at state and Federal level.
• Collaboration with the Measurement, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) team, define and implement appropriate measures to track investment performance.
• Serve as a partner and resource to grantees and foundation program teams to facilitate accomplishment of strategic objectives.
• Synthesize and document results and lessons from grants and contracts including preparing briefings and portfolio reviews to leadership.
• Contribute to writing background documents, briefs, and presentations, including carrying out relevant literature reviews, landscape analyses, and data analysis.
• Plan and coordinate partner consultations and meetings to advance understanding of key issues for the strategy.
• Undertake and lead special projects, as requested.
• Maintain high quality interactions and clear and consistent communications internally, as well as with grantees and partners in the field.
   

Preferred Qualifications

Qualifications
• Minimum of an advanced degree and significant experience in nutrition, or advanced degree in public health, agriculture, social sciences, or business with deep experience in nutrition preferred.

• A minimum of 15+ years of progressive leadership experience with deep experience working in Nigeria is required.
• Experience in some of the foundation's program strategies is required; some exposure to multiple strategies is ideal.
• Experience in strategy or program design and implementation related to nutrition, food security, and/or public health, either for global health/development organizations and/or strategy consulting firms.
• Demonstrated experience in partnership building and management in Nigeria.
• Experience working on nutrition related to food systems, including with the private sector.
• Experience working with public health, and strong understanding of public program implementation.
• Demonstrated ability to work with efficiency and diplomacy, particularly as part of a team effort.
• Demonstrated experience with conducting analyses.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated curiosity and comfort in areas beyond current areas of expertise with proven ability to rapidly acquire knowledge and execute good judgment in a variety of scientific areas.
• Ability to organize/prioritize work and meet deadlines within a fast paced environment with multiple and competing demands.
• Demonstrated ability to work with diverse teams including scientists, business analysts, program implementers, members of government at Federal and State levels and other stakeholders in Nigeria.
• Sense of humor and positive attitude required.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills with the ability to solve problems with energy.
• Ability to travel within Nigeria and internationally, up to 30%.
   

Reporting Relationship & Location

This position will report on a day-to-day basis to the Country Representative of the foundation in Nigeria, and be part of the Country Impact initiative team of the Nutrition strategy, reporting to the Deputy Director, Country Impact (based in Seattle). This role will be based in the foundation's office in Abuja, Nigeria.

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.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, click here