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 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. We know that women and girls are not a monolith. A woman’s experience and the barriers she faces are different depending on factors like where she lives, how old she is, and how much money her family has—alongside other factors including her race, caste, and education level. We seek to address these compounding barriers through deep partnership with our grantees. As a philanthropy, our role is to listen to and learn from these experts. We take risks in new areas, prove concepts, and bring these ideas to governments, partner organizations, and private sector companies to scale. The Gender Equality Division builds off our existing strengths as a foundation in areas like global health and data, partnering closely with all of our global divisions.

The Family Planning (FP) team is a team within the Gender Equality Division whose goal is to accelerate voluntary use of modern contraception among women and girls in the world's poorest countries, by increasing and satisfying demand.

Our culture crafts our choices about what we do and how we do it. We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in a broad environment can do outstanding things! We expect foundation employees to embody our four agreements intentionally and consistently; show respect, offer trust, be open, and build energy.

Your Role

The Director, Family Planning serves as a foundation leader and owner of key relationships, providing guidance and oversight on how the foundation strategically engages and interacts with key partners. You lead the FP strategy and coordinate with broader global health efforts, focusing on achieving greater global access to FP in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) settings. You are accountable for the quality of initiative strategies, the execution of strategic outcomes, and you represent the foundation on the global stage. You will also serve as a leader across the Gender Equality Division, and serve as a member of the Gender Equality Executive Team and Senior Leadership Forum.

The postholder will be based in London and report to the President, Gender Equality Division.

What You'll Do

The selected candidate will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Develop and lead the execution of the FP portfolios. This includes ensuring the achievement of results in line with the foundation’s strategic goals, inclusive of capturing critical learning and progress in this time-bound initiative and partnering with colleagues across teams and geographies.

• Direct the analytical work of the foundation's FP portfolios and ensure that the foundation is developing cutting edge knowledge and providing intellectual leadership for FP, both internally and to external partners.

• Work in alignment with program advocacy and communications teams to deliver external resource mobilization and policy goals in support of portfolio goals.

• Build and maintain strategic partnerships for large-scale impacts to advance innovative and transformative FP portfolios in-line with CEO and Co-chair approved strategies.

• Develop the strategy and engagement plan for key division initiatives.

• Communicate with division and program staff about opportunities and progress with critical partnerships; may develop reports, reviews, and summaries for key collaborators, division President, CEO, and Co-chairs.

• Lead strategy reviews that reflect progress or refinements to strategic engagements; accountable for the quality of the strategy and the execution of the strategic outcomes.

• Be a critical thought partner and the ultimate owner of all strategic decisions and directions with Delegation of Authority (DOA); provide functional expertise to program teams on investments.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with senior leadership to ensure overall success of the vision.

• Represent the foundation externally on all strategic and execution priorities within DOA.

• Responsible for hiring and managing the talent needed to achieve the foundation’s goals.

• Accountable for integration and driving progress against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) organizational goals and division commitments.

• Foster enabling conditions for talent to thrive and be accountable for inclusive team culture.

• Model and coach equitable decision-making, inclusive behaviors and actions; address escalated issues in a timely fashion.

• Other duties as assigned.

Your Experience

You are a creative, thoughtful, and curious individual who has an excellent track record of achievement in roles of increasing responsibility. You should be prepared to work across a diverse set of subjects, with a demonstrated ability to work with agility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a dynamic environment. Additionally, we seek:

• A PhD or equivalent demonstrated experience.

• Comprehensive experience developing networks in the global FP ecosystem.

• Expertise in service delivery interventions in LMIC contexts, including understanding the practical challenges of program implementation.

• Comprehensive experience leading large, multidisciplinary, matrixed teams and managing a large and complex portfolio of investments.

• Comprehensive experience in strategy development and the strategic domain.

• Experience working in a range of different regions of developing countries; comfort working in an international environment.

• Field based or delivery experience understanding the practical challenges of program implementation.

• Ability to effectively inspire and direct staff and cross-functional teams in areas such as professional development, recruitment, termination, time management, and portfolio management.

• Expert knowledge of strategy development and execution.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills to communicate with a broad audience representing diverse cultures.

Other Attributes

• Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people and a deep commitment to development issues and high standards of personal integrity.

• Ability to travel internationally.

Application deadline: 4 May 2024

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

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request here.

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 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (http://www.gatesfoundation.org/) 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, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates and the board of trustees.