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Interim Program Officer, Women’s Empowerment

This job is no longer available

Seattle, WA, USA
Temporary / Seasonal

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 18 months starting in August 2019. However, the start and end dates may change.

The Global Growth & Opportunity (GGO) division works to catalyze sustainable transformative change in the face of inequities and market failures, to realize the potential of untapped markets, and to see the economic and social benefits of including everyone. We focus on the areas of Agricultural Development; Financial Services for the Poor; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; and Gender Equality. We seek solutions that are sustainable, transformative, and inclusive with an eye toward applying technology innovations as well as data evidence to drive change in the world’s developing countries.

The goal of the foundation’s Agricultural Development (AgDev) program is to support country-led inclusive agricultural transformation across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The program focuses on four strategic goals that help drive agricultural transformation and that ensure this transformation is inclusive: increasing agricultural productivity for smallholder farmers (SHF); increasing SHF household income; increasing equitable consumption of safe, affordable, and nutritious diets year-round; and increasing women’s empowerment in agriculture. We invest in this sector and in these ways because increasing productivity in agriculture has proven to be more effective at lifting people out of poverty than growth in other sectors.

This position sits within the Director’s Office under the management of the Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning, and Management. You will work in close collaboration with a women’s empowerment Senior Program Officer and a nutrition Program Officer.

Areas of Responsibility: 

The primary responsibility of this limited-term Program Officer is to support the implementation of the Agricultural Development team’s women’s empowerment portfolio. You will be responsible to:

  • Manage a set of grants related to women’s empowerment, including: support grantees through monitoring and evaluation components, and handle internal processes for grant making and analysis of performance.
  • Provide technical support when requested to Program Officers in AgDev and their grantees on integrating gender into programmatic and measurement work.
  • Guide the implementation of several impact evaluations conducted by grantees through effective management and technical input.
  • Liaise and partner with the Gender Equality team to support effective gender integration across the AgDev team.
  • Participate actively and collaboratively across the foundation to identify areas of synergy related to women’s empowerment; including through your participation in a series of working groups on food systems and inclusion.
  • Partner with external organizations to advance the foundation’s global knowledge and expertise on women’s empowerment in agriculture.
  • Provide ongoing research, background information, and analytical support for portfolio management, including: interpretation of the latest data on women’s empowerment within agriculture, stay current on emerging evidence for impact.
Educational Background: 
Undergraduate degree in a related field required. Master’s degree preferred.
Skills/Experience: 

We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment in which they thrive, will do extraordinary things.

We are looking for people who enjoy the opportunity of working on complex problems and collectively building solutions that have the potential for transformative change in the lives of people around the world. We seek a natural collaborator with a deep commitment to women’s empowerment globally. You should be prepared to work across a diverse set of disciplines, bridging a wide range of expertise all the while being a teammate, with a proven ability to work with flexibility, efficiency and diplomacy in an exciting, challenging environment. Additionally, we seek:

  • A minimum of five years of relevant work experience in agricultural development and/or women’s empowerment.
  • Proven grant management experience and track record of successful grantee partnerships; including both private and public sector grantees.
  • Experience living or work in south Asia or sub-Saharan Africa a plus.
  • Knowledge of monitoring and evaluation methods and concepts, including strong analytical skills, in agricultural development, women’s empowerment, or related field.
  • Strong collaboration skills and experience working with a range of clients, colleagues, consultants, and others with a broad exposure to multi-sector stakeholders.
  • Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic, and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people.
  • Knowledge of gender integration across sectors.
  • Team player who can operate independently coupled with demonstrated ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a fast-paced environment.
  • Ability to travel up to 40% of time as necessary.

Organization Info

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Overview
Headquarters: 
Seattle, WA, United States
Annual Budget : 
More than $500M
Founded: 
2007
About Us
Mission: 

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, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

We work with partner organizations worldwide to tackle critical problems in four program areas. Our Global Development Division works to help the world’s poorest people lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. Our Global Health Division aims to harness advances in science and technology to save lives in developing countries. Our United States Division works to improve U.S. high school and postsecondary education and support vulnerable children and families in Washington State. And our Global Policy & Advocacy Division seeks to build strategic relationships and promote policies that will help advance our work. Our approach to grantmaking in all four areas emphasizes collaboration, innovation, risk-taking, and, most importantly, results.

Programs: 
  1. Global Health
  2. Global Development
  3. United States
  4. Global Policy & Advocacy

Listing Stats

Post Date: 
Jun 26 2019
Active Until: 
Jul 26 2019
Hiring Organization: 
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
industry: 
Nonprofit