BMGF Interim Senior Program Officer, Philanthropic Partnerships 142 views

Interim Senior Program Officer – Philanthropic Partnerships

This is an interim backfill role to cover for an employee who will be out on parental leave.  The duration of the assignment is targeted for 12 months starting in July/August. However, the start and end dates may change.

Division               Global Policy & Advocacy

Group                  Philanthropic Partnerships

Location              Washington, DC (preferred) or Seattle, WA

Global Policy and Advocacy Summary

The mission of the Global Policy & Advocacy (GPA) division is to understand and shape the public policy debates affecting the foundation’s work, 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.  We work in close partnership with grantees, our colleagues in the Global Health and Global Development Programs, the Executive office, and foundation Communications to build the environment in which all people have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives.
 

Philanthropic Partnership Team Summary

The mission of the Philanthropic Partnerships Team (PPT) is to inspire and enable informed and intentional generosity by all. Generosity is part of what makes us human, and nearly all cultures have strong traditions of giving and caring for their communities. But at every level of wealth, individuals face common yet broad decisions about giving. We believe that when people have the right tools, information, and inspiration, they will give more and give well. The Philanthropic Partnerships Team serves as a resource to those who want to achieve more with their giving and invests in organizations that strengthen the philanthropic sector. 
 

Position Summary & Responsibilities

Located in Washington, DC or Seattle, WA, the Senior Program Officer (SPO) will report to the Deputy Director, Giving By All and Giving Ecosystem, and will partner with other members of the Philanthropic Partnerships team.

The SPO will drive strategy, grantmaking, partnerships and learning efforts for the Data & Insights portfolio; provide programmatic support for the newly established PowerOf giving initiative; as well as chip in to the Giving By All strategy and other components of the Giving Ecosystem strategy (i.e. policy – cross-border giving).

This role will help us to supervise, lead and refine the strategy using appropriate measurement tactics,  partner input and engagement, as well as continuous learning and evaluation; manage Data & Insights grants and contracts, ensuring that the deliverables advance the work of our grantees and the team; and generally help our team strengthen our capacity for effective, data-driven approach to philanthropy. This role will also help support the

development and expansion of the PowerOf platform (www.powerof.org), including partner recruitment and relationship management; strategy support; and measurement and evaluation.   

Our ideal colleague has the experience to demonstrate they believe data-driven tools, products and resources are powerful levers for advancing philanthropy.  They are a strong communicator and collaborator.  To be successful with our team, this person will need to be solutions-oriented, flexible and a strong teammate, skilled in partnership development and collaboration, and have a healthy sense of humor.

This role will require approximately 30-40% travel, current circumstances permitting.

Core Responsibilities 

• Strategy and learning: Lead measurement, learning, and evaluation for the Data & Insights strategy. This includes refining the measurement and evaluation plans as needed, and ensuring activities are aligned in support of the strategy’s learning agenda. Present updates and takeaways to the team and relevant internal and external partners.
• Grantmaking and relationship management: Lead Data & Insights and select Giving Ecosystem and/or Giving By All grants and contracts to ensure outputs and outcomes are collected, analyzed, and reported in a timely and useful manner, with particular attention to the team’s anchor data investment. Collaborate with grantees and other partners to improve impact of projects and ensure grants are meeting strategy goals. This may include: reviewing grantee progress, budgets, and deliverables; conducting site visits, and convening meetings of key partners. 
• PowerOf Relationship Management: Build and maintain relationships with existing platform partners who overlap with portfolio to ensure platform and partner goals advance; source and cultivate potential new partners in the nonprofit and private sector who can advance the platform’s goals of greater giving and volunteerism in response to Covid-19
• PowerOf Strategy and New Product Features: Provide regular support and input to the platform strategy and new product features; conduct landscapes on potential new partners and/or product features and tools to improve the goals of the platforms and increase users

Core Knowledge and Skills

• In-depth knowledge of the US philanthropic and nonprofit sector data landscape and approaches, including the ability to engage on these topics with a variety of partners that include programmatic grantees, sector data specialists, private sector partners, and relevant internal foundation leaders. Additional country sector data landscape knowledge is a plus (in particular China, India, UK)
• Proven track record to lead and influence others in a constructive manner and to build and sustain collaborative relationships and partnerships
• Experience as technical resource to teams and leadership on sector data, results/impact data, and philanthropic spend data
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, able to efficiently synthesize information to reach diverse audiences and build consensus
• Proven project/program leadership skills including leading multiple projects, grants, and timelines with shifting internal expectations and priorities
• Experience with giving products (eg online giving platforms), behavioral science research on giving, and/or policy and regulatory environment to encourage greater giving is a plus

The employee transfer policy applies to internal backfill positions. An employee may apply for an open position after at least 12 months in their current position. If you meet this requirement and wish to pursue a backfill opportunity, you are required to have a conversation with your manager to confirm their support before you apply. In rare cases, the requirement of a minimum of 12 months in a position may be waived if a transfer is critical to the foundation’s goals and is approved by the current manager and their HR Consultant (HR Business Partner or Generalist).

All backfill positions are posted as LTE roles. With current manager support, if selected for the role, FTEs will retain their FTE status during the backfill assignment. Managers will have the option of backfilling for the individual moving to the interim position for a similar duration via the same hiring channels and options as this position. However, current managers may be unwilling or unable to hold headcount for the duration of an interim assignment and may deny the employee’s request. In such cases, the employee may apply for the open LTE position, but if selected, would effectively be resigning as an FTE and would be hired as an LTE for the duration of the interim assignment. As an LTE, employment with the foundation is expected to end at the end of the assignment, and the employee would not be eligible for severance.

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.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We’re committed to creating a workplace where employees thrive both personally and professionally. We also believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve—in race, gender, age, cultures and beliefs—and we support this diversity through all of our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve the mission of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 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

* Prior Protected Activity