Strategy Officer at Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation

Your Role

• The Strategy Officer is an integral member of the Nigeria Country Team. The primary purpose of this job is to support the Africa Team with the development, integration, implementation planning, and evaluation of the Foundation’s strategies in Nigeria, as well as exploring new pathways to contribute to nationwide impact at scale. The Strategy Officer will support high-impact projects that span strategy development and execution planning for the Nigeria Country Team’s programs, including integrating cross-foundation efforts, and undertaking new areas of exploration. The post holder will also provide project management, research, and analytical support to Nigeria Team staff.
• The Strategy Officer will be based in Abuja, Nigeria, and report to the Senior Officer, Strategy, Planning and Management. They will work as part of the Strategy, Planning, and Management team and programmatic teams working in Nigeria.

What You’ll Do

• Lead projects that develop strategies and/or strategic recommendations for defined areas of work.
• Lead development of materials to drive strategy development and project execution - e.g., analyses, project plans, meeting materials, strategic narratives, theories of change/action, decision roadmaps, results frameworks, etc.
• Develop documents and briefing materials that clearly and succinctly communicate analysis results and recommendations to senior management and the executive team.
• Provide project management and analytical support to cross-cutting strategy projects.
• Lead strategy development process with a customer-focused orientation, effective communication, and emphasis on relationship management; customer/client management experience preferred.
• Facilitate discussions and workshops with the internal team, external experts, and other global health/development partners.
• Employ strategic tools and frameworks, and a learning and evaluation approach to develop and assess options, ensure logical reasoning, and challenge assumptions.
• Collaborate with programmatic and business/operations staff to design overall process for strategy development; participate in the development and use of tools to facilitate strategy development and processes associated with budgeting, portfolio management, and other areas as needed.
• Support the strategy implementation planning process including translating strategies into coherent portfolio-level bodies of work and investment plans to enable teams to align investments, staff, and voice vital to implement program strategies and achieve impact for the Foundation.
• Conduct research and analysis to facilitate program/investment development and decision-making in support of program work and projects with cross-cutting relevance for the team.
• Support data analysis, including basic manipulation of quantitative and qualitative data and working with Foundation colleagues and 3rd party providers to analyze results.
• Support the strategy execution planning process focused on enabling program teams to align investments, staff resources, and voice/influence vital to implement their strategies and achieve their impact goals.
• Conduct literature reviews and perform discrete research tasks related to the Foundation's programmatic areas.
• Bring creative solutions to lead group processes - e.g., to handle conflict and drive alignment.
• Develop, implement, and handle external partnerships and relationships as required for specific projects. Lead on making and managing grants/contracts to partners who will analyze, structure, or synthesize data and information in areas of our interest.
• Contribute and participate in the ongoing improvement of the SPM Team, including priority setting, staffing composition, operational processes, performance development, etc.

Your Experience

• Bachelor's degree required. MBA or other advanced degree in a relevant field such as Business, Engineering, or Science is preferred but not required.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience is desired, with at least two years in strategic/financial planning functions, preferably at a top-tier strategy consulting firm.
• A broad understanding of global health/development issues and some global health/development experience, particularly in Africa, is preferable.
• Excellent quantitative/financial knowledge, including experience creating complex models, with a proven ability to extract appropriate data to convey complex information using supporting tables, graphs, and other visual representations.
• Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to lead teams through a complex and ambiguous task.
• Ability to absorb and quickly distill large amounts of information and complex challenges and effectively communicate it through succinct conceptual frameworks and presentation materials.
• Ability to build collaborative, trusting relationships within and outside the organization.
• Ability to be self-guided and work effectively and with sensitivity across barriers such as language, culture, and distance.
• Excellent software skills with Microsoft Office applications. Ability to quickly learn new software modules.
• Experience with strategy implementation, measurement, review, and adjustment is preferable.
• Excellent oral, facilitation, and written communication skills.
• Experience working in a matrixed environment is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to function successfully in a politically fast-paced environment.

Other Attributes

• A sense of humor and a positive attitude are essential attributes for this role.
• Commitment to the Foundation’s core values, mission, and programs with an approach that is consistent with the Foundation’s guiding principles and holding self to the highest ethical standards.
• Ability to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally.