Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Africa Job: Senior Program Officer
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Senior Program Officer, Ethiopia Health Job
Apply now Apply now
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Division Global Policy and Advocacy
Department Africa
Location Addis Ababa
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 mission of the Global Policy & Advocacy (GPA) program is to understand and shape the public policy debates affecting the foundation’s work in developing countries, build support for its major program and policy objectives, and develop partnerships and alliances that can advance the foundation’s policy objectives nationally and globally. Because the foundation’s resources alone are not enough to solve the challenges ahead, GPA also supports advocacy efforts to engage diverse stakeholders and promote innovative solutions that advance our program goals. GPA is composed of our Regional Offices in India, China and Africa; our Donor Government Relations (DGR) teams, one for Europe and the Middle East, based in London, and another for the United States, Canada and Asia-Pacific region, based in Washington, DC; a Program Advocacy team; a Development Policy & Finance team; and our Charitable Sector Support team. We work in close partnership with grantees, our colleagues in the Global Health and Global Development Programs, the CEO’s office, and foundation Communications to build the environment in which all people have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives.
Responsibilities The Africa Division within Global Policy & Advocacy focuses on managing our relations with governments and other key partners in our high priority African Countries. The team includes three Country Representatives, based in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Nigeria, as well as Program Officers based in our country offices and Seattle.
The Senior Program Officer (SPO) Ethiopia Health, will be one of the senior positions within the Africa team and will eventually be based in Ethiopia. This role with partner with the Integrated Delivery team and other foundation teams on health issues and also engages in high-level government relations to further foundation programmatic work in Ethiopia. They will help lead the foundation’s policy and advocacy work in Ethiopia as well as support and drive the foundation’s engagement in Africa. Drawn from the priorities set out by the foundation’s program strategy teams (“PSTs”), this role is focused on maximizing the health and development outcomes of the foundation in Ethiopia.
Key responsibilities include:
– Supporting the development and implementation of the foundation’s strategic approach in Ethiopia for key health programs and advocacy goals.
– Collaborate closely with staff in priority program areas and the Integrated Delivery team to support and advance strategic goals and cross-cutting issues.
– Support foundation teams and efforts to accelerate Ethiopia’s progress on health goals identified by the government of Ethiopia and the foundation. Facilitate the work of foundation teams active in the health sector in Ethiopia. Serve as the main point of contact for the foundation with the Federal Ministry of Health and other health focused development partners.
– Work with foundation health teams (Maternal & Newborn Child Health, Nutrition, Family Planning, Vaccine Delivery and Integrated Delivery) to develop a foundation Health Sector Plan for Ethiopia. Development of this plan will serve to bring a broad health sector perspective to the foundation’s portfolio of investments and identify synergies across existing areas of work and gaps that need to be addressed via foundation support. The development of the foundation Health Sector Plan will be facilitated via regular Ethiopia Technical Panel meetings in country (up to two per year) that this role will help to organize in collaboration with Integrated Delivery.
– Engage with government and donor health experts and agencies on health related matters. Under guidance of the Country Representative, support external relationship management such as meetings with, Ministers, Ambassadors and heads of international organization as necessary.
– In collaboration with foundation teams, analyze and evaluate partnership and alliance opportunities in Ethiopia to increase visibility on issues on health that we work on, offer compelling evidence, promote policies, boost political will and bring in new resources in support of achieving programmatic goals.
– Participate as the Ethiopia Health representative to program teams in the foundation as assigned.
– Serve as a liaison between relevant Program & Advocacy staff and the Africa team.
– Develop background documents, briefs, and presentations, including carrying out relevant literature reviews, landscape analyses, and data analysis; organize and prepare for high-level foundation leadership trips to Ethiopia.
– Track current regional and national economic, political, social, and other trends impacting Ethiopia and other countries where foundation programs work, and inform appropriate foundation personnel on actions or pending actions that would impact their work.
Qualifications – Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
– 12+ years of international experience including a good understanding of the political landscape in Africa and knowledge of development and other issues, including: governments, multilateral institutions, civil society organizations, the private sector, and health sector.
– Knowledge of Ethiopia, especially the health policy sphere, and of how government decisions are made and influenced. Prior experience working in Ethiopia is strongly preferred.
– Previous professional work experience in managing or implementing health programs in developing countries. At least five years professional work experience in some or all of immunization, child health, maternal health, nutrition, family planning or infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS or TB.
– Must possess health sector/primary health care experience.
– Significant experience working in a developing country and/or closely with partners, including governments in developing countries, bilateral and multilateral donors.
– Demonstrated experience working in cross-team, cross-unit collaboration programs and proven ability to adapt to the networking and coalition-building demands of a matrixed organization. Ability to influence without authority.
– Strong interpersonal and influencing skills when engaging with senior level executives, and government officials on a global scale.
– Ability to think strategically about working with the foundation’s programmatic work and the intersection of the public and private sectors.
– Ability to manage a varied workload and different levels of priorities.
– An ability to work as part of a team.
– Ability to staff and advise senior foundation leadership, being both responsive to their concerns and able to give them clear advice on the best courses of action.
– Strong public presentation skills and ability to develop and maintain positive and productive relationships with partners.
– The ability to stay calm and poised under pressure and remain focused in a rapidly changing environment.
– Demonstrated initiative to solve problems with high energy and a positive attitude.
– Demonstrated commitment to the foundation’s core values, mission, and programs and to serving our grantees.
– Excellent oral and written communication skills and a demonstrated ability to create persuasive and clear oral and written communications.
– Ability to speak Amharic is a plus. Fluency in English is required.
– Ability to travel within region and to the U.S. at least 35% of the time.
As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.
Requisition Number 4777BR
Job Segments: Medical, Program Manager, HIV AIDS, Infectious Disease, NGO, Healthcare, Management, Government
APPLY NOW
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment