Senior Program Officer, Antimicrobial Resistance & Mortality Surveillance at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill & 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Program Officer, Antimicrobial Resistance & Mortality Surveillance
Location: Abuja
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Description

• As the Senior Program Officer, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) & Mortality Surveillance, you will support surveillance for the Resilience through Azithromycin for Children (REACH) program, within the Africa Team. REACH is a country-led, time-bound program that aims to save the lives of young children (1-59 months) through biennial mass drug administration of Azithromycin- an intervention, that has previously been demonstrated in peer-reviewed clinical trials to reduce child mortality by ~14% in high mortality settings.
• You will be responsible for developing and handling a portfolio of investments (grants and contracts) that support the design and conduct of high-quality AMR & mortality surveillance in implementing geographies and provide evidence-based analyses to drive country-led decision-making. You will nurture the REACH Network across several countries in West & Central Africa.  
• You will work from Africa in constant collaboration with Africa Team colleagues and various Program Strategy Teams (PSTs) across the foundation. You are an innovative, thoughtful, and curious thinker and implementer who identifies as a problem solver.
• We are looking for people who enjoy the challenge of working on complex and impactful programs and collaboratively crafting solutions that have the potential for ground-breaking change in the lives of people around the world.
• The applicant will have the ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a fast-paced, ambitious environment.
• This position reports to the Deputy Director, Health Systems, Africa team and closely collaborateswith Epidemiology & Surveillance colleagues.

What You'll Do

• Develop, negotiate, execute, and manage a complex portfolio of grants or performance-based contracts to strengthen and deliver AMR & mortality surveillance in REACH geographies in close collaboration with the Africa Regional Office including Country Offices; the Neglected Tropical Diseases team; Enterics, Diagnostics, Genomics, & Epidemiology team; Pneumonia and Pandemic Preparedness team; Institute for Disease Modelling; and other teams to support better public health decision making focused on the mass drug administration of azithromycin.  
• Review letters of inquiry and grant proposals and provide clear, concise, and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding.
• Consult with grantees and other partners to increase project impact and ensure grants are meeting strategy goals. This may include site visits, providing operational guidance, and convening meetings of key partners.
• Support initiatives, participate in setting overall goals, develop strategy, and manage and implement investments.
• Contribute to managing partnerships in the ecosystem, including global collaborators, implementing organizations, and academic institutions.
• Build highly collaborative relationships with grantees, partners, governments, and other funders to support the delivery of REACH in core geographies.
• Develop, manage, resource, and implement a program that aligns with foundation strategy and is operationally integrated with other foundation programs. Contribute to the design of new strategies, collaborations, and implementation plans to ensure long-term sustainability and impact.
• Engage key local and global partners in AMR & mortality surveillance.
• Represent the foundation to key program-related external constituencies, as appropriate, on committees related to the area of expertise and responsibilities of the position.

Requirements
Your Experience:

• Medical Doctorate (MD) and/or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with at least 10 years of experience in epidemiology or public health, or equivalent experience. Masters in public health (MPH) desirable.
• Proven understanding and technical experience in microbiology, infectious disease surveillance, mortality surveillance, and disease modeling, and proven track record in translating research findings into highly effective programs.
• Ability to collaborate effectively in a matrixed environment - manage, coordinate, and prioritize multiple projects and meet deadlines within a fast-paced environment with multiple and ambitious demands.
• Experience in working on teams with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds.
• Excellence in scientific writing and data analysis, written and oral communication skills, and experience synthesizing technical information toward strategic decision-making.
• Significant experience working in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with academic institutions, local governments, and NGOs.
• Experience brokering relationships with global partners, including academic, research, industry, government, other donors, and grantees, to build a common vision for effective solutions to complex problems.

Other Attributes:

• This role will require the ability to travel up to 40% domestically and internationally.
• Nigeria is the preferred location for this role. However, Kenya is an option for consideration.
• Fluency in English is required, with strong proficiency in French highly preferred.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply