New

Senior Program Officer, Epidemiology & Surveillance (*12-Month LTE)

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
paid time off
United States, Washington, Seattle
500 5th Avenue North (Show on map)
Jun 04, 2025
The Foundation We are the largest nonprofitfighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we're committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally. The Team Our Global Health (GH) Program harnesses advances in science and technology to save lives in poor countries. We focus on the health problems that have a major impact in developing countries but get too little attention and funding. Where proven tools exist, we support sustainable ways to improve their delivery. Where they don't, we invest in research and development of new interventions, such as vaccines, drugs, biologics, and diagnostics. Our work in infectious diseases focuses on strategies to fight and prevent HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases, enteric and diarrheal diseases, and pneumonia. These strategies are supported by functional and cross-cutting teams that focus on Discovery & Translational Sciences, Vaccine Development, Surveillance, Integrated Development, Diagnostics, and Innovation Introduction. With a focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the Pneumonia & Pandemic Preparedness (PPP) Team aims to 1) accelerate the reduction in childhood deaths from pneumonia, meningitis, and neonatal sepsis; 2) improve public health surveillance for action; 3) minimize mortality and prevent transmission during epidemics and pandemics; and 4) prevent mortality due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) risk pathogens. Our global health interventions accelerate the development and commercialization of novel and lower-cost vaccines and monoclonal antibodies for our target populations. Our prevention efforts target the following pathogens: pneumococcus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), group B streptococcus (GBS), meningococcus, Klebsiella pneumoniae. Given that a growing portion of deaths in young children happen before a child can be immunized, we are developing vaccines that can be delivered safely during pregnancy (maternal immunization) to protect vulnerable infants during the first months of life through antibodies transferred from their mothers. We are also focused on antimicrobial resistance as an increasing global health threat that disproportionately contributes to neonatal sepsis deaths. Guiding the prioritization of our global health interventions based on mortality estimates, our team's surveillance work better defines the global disease burden through high quality primary mortality data, assists countries to implement promising surveillance methods such as sample registration systems and multi-pathogen serosurveillance and to integrate data from surveillance systems, and supports the WHO's Collaborative Surveillance initiative. Your Role The Senior Program Officer manages a portfolio of investments intended to strengthen mortality surveillance (especially sample registration systems, minimally invasive tissue sampling, and AI-enabled cause of death determination) in low- and middle-income countries. The Senior Program Officer coordinates closely with the foundation's Africa Regional Office; the Genomics, Epidemiology, & Modeling team; the Institute for Disease Modeling; and other teams to support surveillance for better public health decision-making for both routine disease control and in emergencies. The Senior Program Officer also engages key partners in global health surveillance, coordinates with other donors to ensure investments advance common goals and standards and seeks co-funding to leverage foundation resources. We are looking for people who enjoy the challenge of working on complex and high-impact problems and collaboratively creating solutions that have the potential to improve public health around the world. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are required to build strong, positive relationships across internal teams, external partners, and grantees with agility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a dynamic environment. You will report to the Deputy Director, Surveillance & Epidemiology, Pneumonia & Pandemic Preparedness team. *This position is a limited-term position for 12 months. Relocation will not be provided. What You'll Do You are a creative, thoughtful, and curious leader who is a problem-solver and a subject matter expert in population-based public health surveillance in low- and middle-income countries. You have a strong understanding of public health digital infrastructure and surveillance systems. You will: Manage and advance a portfolio of grants intended to improve population-representative mortality surveillance and cause of death determination. Contribute to the foundation's broader cross-cutting public health surveillance strategy. Build and manage highly collaborative relationships with grantees, partners, governments, and other funders to improve mortality surveillance programs. This may include identifying and cultivating partner relationships; conducting site visits; providing technical expertise and guidance; and convening meetings of key partners. Innovate to drive the field of mortality surveillance forward with the use of cutting-edge technologies including AI and the incorporation of formal disease modeling in National Public Health Institutes. Serve as an internal expert and point of contact on portfolio-related issues for key internal and external groups. Provide strategy updates to foundation leadership, as requested. Contribute to the development of annual investment plans and budgets within your portfolio. Lead the design of new strategies, collaborations, and implementation plans to ensure long-term sustainability and impact under the leadership of the Deputy Director and Director. Negotiate, execute, and manage a complex portfolio of grants or performance-based contracts. Review submitted concept notes and grant proposals; provide clear, concise, and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding. Leverage and secure new funding to grow and sustain mortality surveillance work in countries across Africa and South Asia. Your Experience Doctoral degree in epidemiology, public health informatics, or related data-centric field with 10+ years of public health practice experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.MDs with relevant surveillance and data experience are also encouraged to apply. Knowledge of approaches to mortality surveillance and cause-of-death determination in settings that lack mature civil registration and vital statistics systems, particularly in Africa and South Asia. Ability to collaborate effectively in a matrixed environment, to get up to speed quickly, and to manage, organize and prioritize multiple projects and meet deadlines within a fast-paced environment with multiple and competing demands. Experience working on teams with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds. Experience building and managing productive relationships with governments, Ministries of Health, National Public Health Institutes, NGOs, academic institutions, and global funders is required. Other Attributes Experience working in low- and middle-income countries strongly preferred. Experience with information technology for surveillance and with AI-based technology. Excellence in scientific writing and data analysis, written and oral communication skills, and experience synthesizing technical information for strategic decision making. Proven ability to assess concepts and approaches with potential for high impact. Comfortable dealing with ambiguity and, through analytical thinking and creativity, able to turn ambiguity into clarity and impact. Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship. The salary range for this role is $233,600 to $366,200 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $254,700 to $394,700 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate's job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process. #LI-CM1 Hiring Requirements* As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check. Candidate Accommodations If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request here. Inclusion Statement We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion - of voices, ideas, and approaches - and we support this diversity through all our employment practices. All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission 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, and prior protected activity.