Director, Women’s Health Innovations, Seattle, United States 44 views

Organization: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Country: United States
City: Seattle
Office: Gates Foundation HQ Seattle

The Team
In 2020, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced the creation of a new division, Gender Equality (GE), driven by our determined leadership and partnership to accelerate progress for women and girls globally. The past two years have seen an unprecedented confluence of energy on this issue, and we have a greater understanding than ever before of the centrality of gender to all development outcomes embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Created to capitalize on the belief that we are at a pivotal point in history for gender equality, the Gender Equality division signals our intent to fully maximize our voice and our co-chairs’ commitment to accelerate impact
The newly formed Women’s Health Innovations program combines several portfolios related to women’s health and is founded on the belief that accelerating the development and adoption of high-quality health products to address the needs of women and girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is essential to ensuring they have an opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives. Included in this program will be portfolios focused on: contraceptive technology, vaccines and diagnostics that primarily address sexually transmitted infections (STI), gynecological problems such as bacterial vaginosis, and products for menstrual health and hygiene. The team will partner closely with discovery science and product development functional teams in the Global Health Division, the Family Planning team, and our Global Development division to ensure that the products being pursued are useful for local contexts, scaled through global levers and given the implementation support to promote their adoption.
Leadership & Culture
Our culture shapes our choices about what we do and how we do it. We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment can do extraordinary things. We expect foundation employees to intentionally and consistently embody our four agreements; show respect, offer trust, be transparent, and create energy.
Your Role
As the Director, Women’s Health Innovations, you will be accountable for setting the strategic vision for the portfolio, ensuring adequate resourcing for its end-to-end execution, and establishing strong partner relationships . You’ll also coordinate with broader global health efforts within the foundation to achieve greater impact. You will also serve as an internal and external advocate to advance the research and development (R&D) agenda for women’s health. Additionally, this role includes:
Leading the Women’s Health Innovations program, including strategy development, execution, product portfolio management, staffing, managing, and guiding the team, synthesis and sharing of learning, and assessment of impact
Building and managing a strong team as well as cultivating critical relationships with peers and internal partners
Being held accountable for the results of an investment portfolio (grants and contracts) and ownership over the process for setting, tracking, evaluating, and presenting progress on team’s programmatic impact
Enforcing robust team practices that ensure quality grantee interactions, industry standard product development and portfolio management practices, and effective planning and communication around the portfolio
Publicly representing the foundation and advancing the technical agenda for women’s health among partners including both public and private entities, grantee organizations, other funders, universities, think tanks, and other valued partners on the international stage
Staying up to date on the latest advancements in women’s health and viewed as a thought leader in this space
Actively pursuing alignment across foundation program, affiliates, functions, and country teams, and guiding federated efforts that contribute to women’s health
Serving as a member of the Gender Equality division’s executive leadership team; proactively engaging with Gender Equality division leadership peers to build an effective division, collaborate to solve division-wide challenges, and find opportunities for cross-teaming
Serving as a member of the foundation’s Senior Leadership Forum (SLF) as a director at the foundation; represent the Gender Equality division while also bringing a full foundation perspective to cross-foundation opportunities and issues.
Your Experience
You are a dynamic leader in women’s health research and development space with deep experience in contraceptive technologies, or other women’s health R&D areas such as sexually transmitted infections, working across multiple phases of product development, leading research and clinical development programs, and familiarity with regulatory requirements and product introduction strategies for women’s health products in low-income settings. Additionally, the critical leadership capabilities we seek are:
Strategic Thinking & Implementation
Moves between the conceptual and the applied, integrating and constructively challenging current issues and initiatives, and future needs in a clear and coherent way.
Frames complex, multi-faceted issues in different ways for different audiences to get insights and actionable results.
Provides a clear strategic direction for the Women’s Health Innovations team – and the foundation – that is based on analytical rigor in goal setting, performance management, and impact measurement.
Marshals data and evidence through utilization of compelling visualizations, persuasive narratives, and novel insights, and integrates large volumes of quantitative and qualitative information into succinct and compelling understanding of problems and identification of solutions.
Collaborating and Influencing
Systematically builds support at multiple levels and across groups using complex, coordinated influence management skills that are adapted to people, organizations, and networks.
Demonstrates strength in cultivating trust and relationship management to guide confidential information and situations with flexibility and diplomacy.
Builds partnerships based on a common agreement that acknowledges individual differences but creates a new commonality beyond root beliefs or culture.
Negotiates, persuades, and builds coalitions without formal authority.
Leading People
Brings together and inspires team members with a diverse set of backgrounds, approaches, and beliefs to pursue a coherent long-term direction, and collaborates with the team on how to achieve it.
Fosters a creative, nurturing, and inclusive environment.
Delegates objectives with clear and explicit intent to a team with high technical capability, allowing the freedom to be creative in devising strategies.
Sets up practices to reinforce independent and open communication among team members and other groups within the foundation that contribute to the work of GE.
Holds people accountable for their commitments, providing clarity and assisting when barriers arise; maintains the team’s focus on results, integrity, and impact
Education and Experience
An advanced degree in a relevant field (preferably MD) is required.
20+ years of experience in Women’s Health or related fields.
This position will report into President of the Gender Equality division.
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Hiring Requirements
As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.
Depending upon your work location, we may require proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 and any recommended booster doses. All employees based in the United States are to provide proof of full vaccination upon hire and any recommended boosters, subject to applicable laws.
Accommodations
If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request to hr@gatesfoundation.org.
Inclusion Statement
We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We’re committed to creating a workplace where employees thrive both personally and professionally. We also believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve—in race, gender, age, cultures and beliefs—and we support this diversity through all of 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.