The Finance, Planning and Analysis team is seeking an energetic, collaborative Finance Associate to provide business and financial support to Global Health program teams. Key responsibilities include partnering with program teams on grantee financial assessment and grant investment structuring, including financial due diligence and organizational capacity building. Other key responsibilities include budgeting and financial planning, resource allocation, and foundation-wide projects.
The Finance Associate must be successful at influencing through effective partnership and communication skills and should have experience using financial analysis and modeling skills in advisory roles. Other critical skills for success include solution-orientation and a proactive approach to responsibilities. The ability to synthesize data and a good sense of humor are key, and most importantly, the candidate must be passionate about the foundation’s mission, particularly in addressing the global health inequities that exist today. Financial experience in Biotech, Pharma, or not-for-profit as well as navigating matrixed organizations is preferred. This role is based at the foundation’s Seattle headquarters. Additional information on the Global Health division of the foundation can be found here - https://www.gatesfoundation.org/who-we-are/general-information/leadershi...
Strategy & Financial Planning
- Perform analysis and provide leadership with strategic and financial information to support effective financial resource allocation and decision-making during strategy refreshes and reviews.
- Work closely with PST leadership and Program Officers to translate Program Service Team (PST) strategy into long-term investment forecast and annual plan. Create dynamic financial planning tools that support decision-making and communication with senior leadership.
Grant Pipeline/Payout Management
- Monitor actuals and forecasts against budget, including major risks.
- Create financial monitoring tools, including workflow management and monitoring tools, and partner with PSTs to manage grant and contract spending.
- Identify operational and financial risks of executing against annual budgets and propose mitigating strategies to the PST leadership.
Investment Analysis
- Perform financial and risk analysis to support investment-making and investment management. Partner with PSTs to structure effective investments and develop appropriate mitigating strategies to manage risk.
- Benchmark costs where possible and make recommendations and provide advice to Program Officers in negotiating investments and sizing payments.
- Analyze business plans and examine the economics of a certain business; also analyze the financial health of organizations through discussions with CFOs and reviewing financial statements.
Cross-foundational / Project-based
- Participate in PST-related and cross-foundation projects to develop tools and best practices in support of effective investment-making, pipeline management and operational excellence.
- Participate in complex transactions and special projects for PSTs with significant financial analysis component.
Other
- This role is responsible for high quality interactions and clear and consistent communications with grantees and partners in the field.
- Respond to internal and external portfolio data requests and analysis.
- Broad knowledge of finance (corporate, global markets)
- Global Health experience preferred, but not required
- Knowledge of developing country economics and dynamics preferred, but not required
- Knowledge of risk management and due diligence.
- Knowledge of systems and processes related to financial management.
- Financial and strategic planning; analytical, numerical and financial modeling skills
- Strong relationship building skills
- Business plan development and evaluation
- Ability to translate data into user-friendly tools/resources
- Ability to communicate complex financial concepts to partners with diverse backgrounds, including leadership, program staff, grantees and other foundation stakeholders
- Synthesizing skills/ability to absorb and quickly distill significant amounts of information
- Ability to read and analyze financial statements
- Ability to influence without formal authority
- Ability to manage and coordinate multiple projects and activities across multidisciplinary teams
- Negotiation skills
- Solution and action orientation
- Advanced Excel (pivot tables, VB Scripts, SQL)
- Intellectual curiosity