Associate Director

Our mission is to catalyze innovations that solve global problems and improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. We do this by incubating products, advocating for important causes, engaging with global organizations, and managing venture investments.

Gates Ventures is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Exemplars in Global Health (“EGH”) aims to support global health decision making by conducting research about positive outliers and working with funders, policymakers and other stakeholders to inform their activities. Our goal is to produce rigorous research about positive outliers, and proactively help others learn from their success to drive progress against pressing global health challenges.

THE POSITION

A successful candidate will own the end-to-end success of our existing nutrition portfolio, which currently includes research studies (including a focus on drivers of success) on three topics: childhood stunting, anemia among women of reproductive age, and maternal and early infant nutrition and growth. Leading a consortium of funding organizations, academic institutions, NGOs, and governments, this topic lead will oversee efforts to understand how Exemplar countries have addressed these nutrition challenges in the past and help adapt these lessons to peer contexts.

This role will involve (1) shaping the primary research we are undertaking with several teams of academic researchers based in the US, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, (2) leading the vetting, packaging, and dissemination of this research so it is accessible to a broader audience, with the help of our internal team and vendors (writers, product designers, and web developers), and (3) driving engagement and impact with external stakeholders (e.g., health ministries, multilaterals, funders, technical advisors).

Ultimately, we seek to create a compelling product that will enrich the global dialogue around childhood stunting and anemia among women of reproductive age and maternal and infant nutrition to address evidence gaps in the field. Given the more mature state of the nutrition portfolio (much of the research on the first two topics is complete), there will be a more deliberate focus on dissemination and uptake of existing findings / evidence, and extension of our method and expertise to inform country-specific national and subnational evidence-based decision making. Gates Ventures is seeking an experienced professional to lead this work and maximize our impact on reducing global malnutrition.

This role will be supported by a manager, analyst and potentially other staff who drive project management and execute analysis.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Research and content

• Lead the primary research process for studying Exemplars in anemia among women of reproductive age and Exemplars in maternal and early infant nutrition and growth, in partnership with academic institutes, end-users, and vendors who all play a role in shaping our research and content.
• Ensure the highest standards for quality, rigor, and actionability in our research and content, including driving methodology and analytical approach to each topic, overseeing production of content for the Exemplars platform, and frequent interaction with involved partners.
• Manage 2-3 internal staff members to ensure a high standard in project management and execution
• Build systems to improve quality, efficiency, speed, and scalability of the research-to-impact process, including coordination with other research leads, partnerships leads and communications leads.
• Identify and scope potential future directions for the nutrition portfolio in response to demand from end-users.

Partnerships and impact

• Develop strong relationships with academic researchers, funders, implementers, policymakers, TA providers, and other global health decision-makers in order to identify new partnerships and impact opportunities across nutrition topics.
• Lead the response to external impact opportunities across nutrition topics, including synthesis of existing results and designing and leading shorter analytical projects in response to demand.
• Support messaging and story development in coordination with the EGH Communications team, which leverages EGH topic and country narratives and/or research to communicate broadly about our work via digital engagement channels

 

Preferred Qualifications 

• 8-10+ years of experience in global health research, policy, or development-focused consulting at a leading organization, master’s or other advanced degree preferred
• Deep subject-matter expertise in childhood and maternal health and nutrition in low- and middle-income countries or a related field, experience in both nutrition research and program delivery preferred
• Experience leading high-performing teams to meet aggressive goals
• Track record of increasing responsibility in competitive environments
• Experience managing multicultural teams and international partnerships
• French and/or Spanish language skills preferred

 

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The salary range for this role is $175,000.00 to $195,000.00 per year. Starting salary offers will vary depending on several factors, including education, experience, and qualifications. This role also qualifies for a discretionary annual bonus. Gates Ventures offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance and a 401(k) program with employer match. Our benefits also include generous paid time off for vacation, sick leave, holidays, and parental leave.