Position Title Deputy Director, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health
Division Global Health Program
Department Family Health
Location Seattle
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 Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
Group Summary
The mission of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program (GHP) is to help ensure that lifesaving advances in health are created and shared with those who need them most. To date, we have committed nearly $10 billion in global health grants to organizations worldwide. The focus of our grants is to:
- Discover new insights to fight serious diseases and other health problems affecting developing countries.
- Develop effective and affordable vaccines, medicines, and other health tools.
- Deliver proven health solutions in developing countries.
- Advocate for more and better resources and policies to support the introduction and uptake of new and existing health technologies.
Responsibilities
The foundation’s Family Health (FH) Division is comprised of the Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (MNCH), Family Planning, and Nutrition strategic program teams (SPTs). The FH division plays a lead role in advancing the GHP’s goal of saving the lives of mothers, newborns and young children in the developing world through innovations, solutions and partnerships with families, communities and frontline workers.
The FH division is recruiting a Deputy Director(DD) for the MNCH SPT. The MNCH DD will work closely with the Director of FH and other team members to guide the foundation’s strategy and engagement in the global MNCH arena. The DD will be a key member of FH leadership, a leader and manager of the MNCH team, and an active partner on the extended Global Health leadership team. The DD will lead the MNCH team’s strategic vision while supporting Program Officers in achieving goals and engaging at the GHP level.
Strategic Program Team Leadership:
- Guide implementation, delivery, and impact measurement of approved MNCH strategic objectives. Lead/coordinate execution of the current MNCH strategy, annual updates & future strategy development.
- Conceptualize and articulate strategies for researching promising areas to reduce MNCH mortality or morbidity. This may include supporting discovery-related research and development, looking for synergies across staff work streams and translating new knowledge into effective interventions.
- Oversee shaping and execution of MNCH grant portfolio; create robust systems that ensure quality grantee interactions, balance in the portfolio and effective annual planning.
- Provide rigorous reviews that incorporate internal & external stakeholders and anticipate mid-course corrections, project impact and propose appropriate changes.
- Support MNCH goal achievement, create systems to track progress and ensure accountability and link MNCH efforts to GH and foundation missions.
- Provide leadership and guidance to the MNCH team.
- Contribute to integration of strategies and execution plans across FH & other GH teams.
Research and Analysis:
- Identify promising areas of research and programming to fill key gaps in global MNCH knowledge and develop (or guide development) of related Requests for Proposals.
- Provide strategic guidance in crafting MNCH grants/contracts that require complex research or analytics.
- Provide input and participate in technical meetings, provide programmatic and policy expertise across MNCH.
- Work with grantees to develop country-based strategies for maternal, neonatal and child mortality reduction.
Change Agent Functions:
- Identify & cultivate partners to build coalitions and achieve objectives.
- Manage partnerships to achieve impact. For example, conduct site visits, convene meetings of key stakeholders, monitor and evaluate components of grants.
- Serve as partner and resource to grantees to achieve strategic objectives.
- Attend meetings to represent the foundation and shape global, regional and country MNCH agendas around in line with MNCH strategy.
- Search for opportunities to disseminate knowledge and partner products to leverage and expand their influence.
- Be a leader in FH in integrating and coordinating activities with other SPTs.
Qualifications
We are looking for an expert in Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health with scientific, management and strategic planning skills. Clinical and research experience is strongly preferred. The ideal candidate will have lived and worked in multiple regions of the world for a period of time giving him/her an appreciation for the complexities of implementing field-based research and translating research findings into effective programs. Experience working with the private sector would be a plus. The candidate should have:
- An MD or PhD in a MNCH-related field.
- A minimum of 15-20 years experience in the design and implementation of field projects, operations research or clinical research projects, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, controlled trials, or in the conception, design and development of field oriented programs ideally focused on improving interventions, strategies and programs that reduce the morbidity and mortality of neonates, infants, and children.
- Extensive field experience in target geographies (Ethiopia, India, Nigeria) preferred.
- Solid understanding of the realities and complexities of “in country” interventions.
- Proven ability to lead and influence data-driven strategy planning and implementation.
- Demonstrated experience with team management and leading cross-functional teams.
- Administration and fiduciary responsibility.
- Demonstrated excellence in scientific writing and data analysis, written and oral communication skills, and experience advocating and communicating with a broad and diverse audience.
- Experience in a role requiring collaboration in a complex internal and external organization.
- Demonstrated ability to work with efficiency, diplomacy, and flexibility particularly as part of a team effort. Experience in managing teams with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds.
- Ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally.
Reports to: Director, Family Health
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 |
