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Senior Program Officer, Program Advocacy and Communications, Polio

This job is no longer available

Seattle, WA, USA
Full-time

The Program Advocacy and Communications team works in partnership with technical program teams and other functional teams in Global Policy and Advocacy (GPA) to achieve policy and finance goals by:

  • Developing and coordinating the execution of policy, advocacy, finance and communications strategies.
  • Leveraging leadership and foundation voices to implement advocacy strategies.
  • Developing and managing a grant portfolio dedicated to achieving high impact. 
  • Directly advocating with private and public-sector leaders, influencers and media to achieve advocacy outcomes.
  • Leading issue-specific communications, in service of advocacy goals.
  • Developing policy recommendations or proposals in partnership with programmatic and regional offices.
Areas of Responsibility: 

The Senior Program Officer for Program Advocacy and Communications for polio will focus on two primary bodies of work.

Political advocacy – Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa

Working in partnership with the foundation’s polio team, this body of work focuses on driving political attention toward polio eradication in polio-endemic and outbreak countries in South Asia and Africa.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Develop and implement, in conjunction with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), advocacy strategies focused on driving political support in Pakistan and Afghanistan toward polio eradication.
  • Develop and implement, in conjunction with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), specific recommendations for influencing governments to contribute the necessary resources to respond to polio outbreaks in Africa. 
  • Represent the Gates Foundation in the GPEI political advocacy working group. 
  • Participate in the foundation’s Pakistan Working Group
  • Recommend or participate in resource mobilization and donor engagement activities in polio-endemic and outbreak countries.
  • Work with other Gates Foundation teams, including the Africa, Donor Government Relations, and Middle East teams to recommend engagements for foundation leadership that will drive political support to support eradication efforts and outbreak response in polio-affected countries.   
  • Develop and/or manage investments that support these outcomes.
  • Draft briefing materials and presentation for use by GPEI and foundation leadership to support the execution of these advocacy strategies.
  • Support ongoing execution of workplan for GPEI advocacy and communications lead based in regional Hub Amman, Jordan.
  • Identify candidates for GPEI advocacy and communications lead based in Amman and coordinate interview and hiring process for candidates with foundation and GPEI partners. 
  • Act as liaison with GPEI advocacy and communications leads in regional Hub and global GPEI advocacy and communications group

Communications – Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa

This body of work is focused on supporting the function of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s communications engagement in polio endemic countries (Pakistan and Afghanistan), working closely with polio communications team and GPEI communications partners

  • In partnership with other GPEI partners, develop an assessment of GPEI communications needs to support the Pakistan and Afghanistan polio eradication programs.  This work could be conducted by an outside consultant led by the SPO.
  • Based on the results of this assessment, develop and lead investments to support the needs identified by this analysis.
  • Lead BMGF investments in perception change and social media that support the work of the Pakistan polio eradication program (housed at the National Emergency Operations Center).
  • In partnership with advocacy/communications focal point at regional Hub in Amman, develop and/or lead an informal working group for GPEI in-country communications leads to ensure that all country communications needs are connected to GPEI structures (particularly the GPEI donor advocacy and communications working groups and Polio Advocacy and Communications Team, PACT)
Educational Background: 
Advanced degree in public health, public policy, international relations, political science, economics or communications
Skills/Experience: 
  • Some level of specific knowledge of polio issues
  • Knowledge of and experience working in Pakistan and Afghanistan – specifically political actors and government decision-making.
  • Extensive experience developing and executing advocacy or influence strategies sought at achieving specific policy or financing outcomes.  
  • Experience developing essential communications strategies – expertise in digital influence or behavior change campaigns is a plus.
  • Familiarity or experience with global health advocacy or communications. 
  • Ability to work across multiple partners and teams is important.
  • Must be comfortable with ambiguity.
  • Experience with making and managing grants/contracts desirable.
  • Ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally
  • High standards of personal integrity
  • At least 7 years of related experience, preferably with a strong mix of service in either the public or non-profit sectors
  • Extensive experience with polio policy, communications and political decision-makers

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: 
Aug 7 2019
Active Until: 
Sep 7 2019
Hiring Organization: 
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
industry: 
Nonprofit