Senior Program Officer, Digitization, Data, Analytics & Evidence

Company: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Location: Seattle
Posted on: September 16, 2020

Job Description:

Position Summary & ResponsibilitiesThe Nutrition Team is entering into a strategy refresh as it completes the last year of a 5-year strategy (approved in 2015). Most strategies are refined on an ongoing basis given external trends, changes in the partner landscape, and greater insight into the foundation's comparative advantage. The Nutrition Team is looking for a Senior Program Officer (SPO) for Data, Analytics and Evidence to help craft the new Nutrition strategy focused on fortification and manage (or co-manage) key investments to strengthen global and country-level nutrition data and information systems. The SPO will also provide mentorship to the team on Measurement, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) across all Nutrition initiatives, supporting strategic and investment-level results' measurement to improve implementation and guide portfolio course-correction; ensure strong evaluation designs in strategy country-level work; and provide analysis and interpretation of data from nutrition investments in target geographies. This role will report to the Director of the Nutrition Team.Specific responsibilities include:Strategic and technical:

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• Develop and identify innovative data and measurement approaches for improving nutrition information globally and in focus geographies, including:
• Inclusion of nutrition data elements in routine monitoring, large surveys, and via innovative data collection strategies;
• Validating nutrition intake, coverage, and outcome indicators;
• Tracking progress toward achieving global and country level nutrition targets
• Developing local demand and capacity for nutrition data collection, analysis, and use
• Experience with data generation, processing and digitization.
• Design nutrition measurement and evaluation strategies for measuring diffusion and dissemination of innovations, including fortification
• Develop and facilitate use of standard approaches (e.g. unit costing, cost-effectiveness) to improve the quality of data analysis and decision-making by the nutrition field, foundation and our partners.
• Act as technical resource on data and analytics for programmatic staff and leadership.
  
  
  Investment management:
  
  
  
  
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  • Lead (or co-lead) development, management and support a portfolio of sophisticated data collection, validation, and information systems support and data utilization grants and contracts, requiring high level partner management skills.
  • Collaborate with grantees and other partners to improve the impact of projects and ensure efficient learning. This may include: site visits, providing operational guidance and convening meetings of key partners.
  • Review investment proposals; provide clear, concise and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding including drafting and editing proposal summaries and progress reports for existing investments for review by foundation leadership.
  • Manage internal processes and portfolio progress while ensuring appropriate documentation, grant budgeting and reporting. Share findings with internal and external stakeholders to advance the field.
    
    
    Strategic planning/team development:
    
    
    
    
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    • Contribute as a subject matter authority in periodic evaluation of strategy execution and strategy updates, including: contributing to logic models, goal and target-setting, developing results frameworks; identifying key strategic decisions and learning questions, and assisting with MLE planning in conjunction with execution planning.
    • Provide guidance on data and MLE related planning for the Nutrition team, including production and updating of multi-year planning documents, standard outputs (e.g. scorecards), and resource requirements for teams.
    • Serve as a thought partner and advisor to program leadership, including providing technical expertise on Nutrition data, analytics and evidence for the new Nutrition Director.
    • Engage in strategic projects as needed.
      
      
      Communications/external representation:
      
      
      
      
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      • Demonstrate high quality interactions and clear and consistent communications with grantees and partners in the field.
      • Contribute to program- and foundation-wide efforts to coordinate and harmonize data collection, analysis and use processes and investments and serve on related working groups as appropriate.
      • Work closely with key external partners to represent foundation's perspective on data related issues and to increase analytical capacity.
        
        
        Core Knowledge and Skills
        
        
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        • The successful candidate will be passionate about data, analytics, and evidence use and will be recognized internally and externally by the global community as a specialist in measurement issues. S/he will demonstrate significant competency in research design and have a record of planning, conducting, and facilitating the use of data in developing countries.
        • The candidate should also have the following qualifications:
        • Minimum of 15 years of relevant professional work experience in global health data, evidence and evaluation. Nutrition experience is desirable but not crucial.
        • Advanced degree in relevant public health subject area, or related field required (PhD preferred).
        • Strong consultative, communication, and facilitation skills and a proven track record of shaping data and measurement initiatives, policies and practices with non-specialist technical colleagues.
        • Conversant with logic models, logical frameworks, or similar devices for framing strategic objectives, articulating key assumptions, and articulating results.
        • Strong project management and consultative skills and ability to work as part of a team with flexibility, efficiency, passion, diplomacy, and humor in an evolving, fast-paced and highly matrixed work environment.
        • Additional strong skills in either evaluation of behavior change, sophisticated outcome or impact modeling techniques, or cost-effectiveness analysis in global health a plus.
        • Proven ability to lead and influence others in a constructive manner and to build and sustain collaborative relationships.
        • Ability to work with diverse organizations and partners, with strong spirit of diplomacy and collaboration
        • Ability to work effectively and sensitively across barriers such as language, culture, and distance, International and developing country work experience is preferred
        • A sense of humor
        • Up to 25% domestic and international travel.
          
          *Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.
          
          As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be contingent upon successful completion of a comprehensive background check.
          
          As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.
          
          The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is 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 the mission of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 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
          
          * Prior Protected Activity

Keywords: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle , Senior Program Officer, Digitization, Data, Analytics & Evidence, Other , Seattle, Washington