Senior Program Officer, Humanitarian Immunization & Polio
JOB DETAIL
The Foundation
We are the largest nonprofit fighting 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
Vaccines are a core priority of the Gates Foundation and can save millions of lives a year when delivered effectively. The mission of our Immunization Program Strategy Team (PST) is to urgently reach children, adolescents, and adults — no matter where they live — with the vaccines they need. Our goal is a world free of vaccine-preventable diseases, achieved by working with countries, development and humanitarian partners, and civil society organizations to make sure that vaccines and immunization are effectively prioritized and delivered. We aim to create robust and resilient immunization programs that are critical to primary health care and ensure that there are sufficient affordable supplies to meet demand. All our work on vaccines and immunization contributes to IA2030, a vision and commitment by the global community to extend the full benefits of immunization to all by 2030.
Application Deadline: 4/4/2025
Your Role
As the Senior Program Officer for Humanitarian Immunization & Polio, you will work collaboratively with internal and external collaborators to implement investment approaches aimed at improving immunization coverage and equity in select sub-national geographies.
Your experience in supporting health services, outbreak response and immunization campaigns, and surveillance in low-resource and humanitarian settings will help you support programs reaching underserved populations, in sub-national areas of countries such as Somalia, Central African Republic or South Sudan.
You will strive to mainstream gender-transformative approaches in your work and encourage partners to improve their gender practices. Seeking a candidate who approaches problems creatively, thinks systemically, and is open to trying new methods to test innovative ideas.
Your diplomacy and communication skills will help you forge positive relationships with government technical staff, implementing partners, and donors in the immunization sector.
This position is based in London and reports to the Senior Manager, Routine Immunization Strengthening Program (RISP), on the Immunization PST.
What You’ll Do
- Stakeholder Collaboration:Manage high-quality relationships withhigh-level country-level partners such as Ministers of Health,government technical managers, donor organization leadership, humanitarian and development actors, civil society representatives, and implementing partner staff. Lead proactive interactions to shape and pursue opportunities for co-managed and co-financed collaborations with government and other donors. Regularly represent the Gates Foundation to key program-related external constituencies.
- Investment Management:Negotiate, lead and implementa complex portfolio of grants and contracts to improve immunization coverage and equity in select sub-national areas. Act as main point of contact with grantees and contractors to ensure their strong alignment on investment goals and high-quality proposals, budgets, and reports. Proactively track the progress of country-level investment portfolios using data and evidence for strategic adjustments. Collaborate with grantees and other partners to maximize impact of projects and ensure grants are meeting strategy goals.
- Gender Change Agent:Champion gender-intentional or transformative approaches mainstreamed in every grant and contract managed, including actively facilitating grantee learning on this topic. Advocate for immunization partners to implement strategies reducing gender-related barriers to immunization.
- Innovation and Risk-Taking:Shepherd the identification and implementation of innovative ways to improve immunization coverage and equity and long-term sustainability. In collaboration with grantees and partners, actively facilitate the development and testing of novel ideas, encouraging partners to question the status quo, try new things, and learn from failures.
- Sustainability and Transition:Lead the planning for the eventual transition and closure of foundation-supported programs and investments, ensuring clear communication, monitoring, and problem-solving focused on long-term sustainability.
- Surveillance and data: Monitor polio surveillance and data on routine immunization as well as polio vaccination efforts in coordination with Gavi Alliance and GPEI partners, providing feedback and technical guidance on intensified AFP and environmental surveillance efforts and routine immunization strengthening. Participate in GPEI-led outbreak review and assessments as required.
- Strategy Support:Play a leadership role within the team on the development and adjustment of team strategy, translating country-level realities to global policy.
- Leadership Reporting & Engagement:Play a primary role in shaping and facilitating foundation leadership engagements, advocacy, and reporting.
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into day-to-day work, interactions with colleagues, and the portfolio of investments managed.
Your Experience
- Advanced degree or equivalent experience in health, public health, medicine, management, health economics, public policy, health programming or related fields (e.g. MSPH, MHA, MBA, MPH, MD or PhD).
- Significant experience in health emergencies programs in low resource and humanitarian settings preferably in outbreak response and vaccine delivery, with an emphasis on health program management, emergency response, and program operations.
- Demonstrated ability to work with diverse collaborators and teams including elected officials, government technical staff, public health specialists, donor representatives, and humanitarian partners.
- Fluency and confidence with implementing gender-intentional and ground-breaking approaches to reduce gender-based barriers to immunization.
- Experience in strategic planning and strategy implementation, particularly related to immunization, outbreak response and public health programming in humanitarian or conflict settings.
- Country-level familiarity with immunization and polio funding and planning processes, goal setting, implementation, and evaluation of activities.
- Effective change agent with the ability to advocate and drive successful change.
- Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships and relationships, Managing conflicts and building consensus.
- Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, political, geographic, and operational situations.
Other Attributes
- Travel: Expect up to 40% international travel including in high-risk areas.
- English and French language skills are required.
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.
