Senior Officer, Leadership Engagement and Communication

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

The mission of the Global Policy & Advocacy (GPA) division is to understand and craft the public policy debates affecting the foundation's work, build support for its major program and policy objectives, and develop partnerships and alliances that can advance the foundation's objectives nationally and globally. Because the foundation's resources alone are not enough to solve the challenges ahead, GPA also supports advocacy efforts to engage diverse collaborators and promote innovative solutions that advance our program goals. We work in close partnership with grantees, our colleagues in the Global Health, Global Development, Global Growth & Opportunity, U.S. and Gender Equality programs and Foundation Communications to build the environment in which all people have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives.

The Global Policy & Advocacy (GPA) Office of the President (OOP) provides support to both the President and the full GPA division. This work includes ensuring the President is able to effectively represent all GPA strategies and teams in foundation-wide engagements; directing and supporting external engagements in service of the foundation's priorities; developing and implementing the President's goals particularly those that cut across teams and functions, managing division-wide employee engagements and information flow.

Your Role

As Senior Officer, Leadership Engagement and Communication, GPA Office of the President you are responsible for supporting the Leadership Planning & Engagement workstream, managing external use of GPA President's voice, communications, travel, operations, and learning, under the supervision of the Deputy Director, Advocacy Operations.

Specifically, this role holds accountability for supporting all aspects of planning and execution for these primary areas of responsibility:

1) Coordination of the annual Advocacy and Voice Plan;

2) Management of GPA's role in co-chair external engagement (advocacy trips, use of voice);

3) GPA President's external engagement and communication efforts;

4) Coordination of other GPA external advocacy engagement;

5) supporting opportunistic advocacy campaigns and special projects.

You provide project and program management support and partner with cross-functional teams to ensure projects deliver the expected scope and impact. You may also serve as a strategy lead on a specific or limited set of initiatives, programs, or processes and provide strategic thought partnership and project management support for other division-wide activities. The role will also be responsible for strengthening the overall performance of the OOP.

*The location of this role is either Seattle, WA (preferred) or Washington, DC (second preference) where we have offices. Relocation support can be provided for a highly qualified candidate not currently residing in either of these locations.

**Applications are accepted until 5 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.

What You'll Do

• Support the dynamic needs of the division by developing and implementing special projects in support of divisional priorities. These projects will be dynamic and assigned by the Deputy Director

• Supporting the tactical planning and implementation of external advocacy activities by the GPA president and other foundation leadership.

• Serve as a strategic partner and operational support to the Deputy Director, providing additional capacity to manage and execute across all Engagement team priorities. Step in as needed to represent the Deputy and ensure continuity of leadership and execution.

• Collaborate closely with the Deputy Director and the broader Engagement team to drive alignment, execution, and accountability across diverse portfolios, helping to translate strategy into action.

• Leverage a strong background in communications to enhance the team's capabilities in proactive storytelling, stakeholder messaging, and strategic narrative development. Identify and pursue additional opportunities to elevate the division president's voice across key external platforms.

• Partner with internal and external stakeholders to shape and implement forward-looking communication strategies that support the foundation's engagement goals, ensuring high-quality, consistent messaging.

• Contribute to the development and execution of a robust political risk framework by monitoring key geopolitical dynamics, assessing emerging risks, and supporting scenario planning to inform engagement strategies.

• Additional support for internal priorities as needed.

• Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 30%

Your Experience

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in strategy, operations, communications, advocacy, or related fields—or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Demonstrated success supporting senior leaders or executives, including managing complex workflows related to communications, external engagement, travel, and cross-functional coordination.

• Proven ability to operate effectively in a highly dynamic environment, with a strong track record of delivering results under tight timelines, managing competing priorities, and flexing across a range of tasks from strategic to tactical.

• Mastery in project and program management, with the ability to design, implement, and oversee complex, cross-functional initiatives that require alignment across diverse stakeholders.

• Exceptional communication skills, including writing, editing, and verbal communication, with experience tailoring messages to diverse internal and external audiences and supporting executive voice development.

• Strategic thinker with experience identifying and capitalizing on proactive opportunities, particularly in advocacy and external engagement, to elevate leadership voices and influence.

• Skilled in synthesizing and interpreting complex information, including political and geopolitical dynamics, to inform decision-making, mitigate risk, and shape engagement strategies.

• Adept at understanding system-wide interdependencies and translating strategy into practical implementation plans; brings clarity to ambiguity and anticipates downstream implications.

• Familiarity with change management and continuous improvement practices to strengthen team performance and operational effectiveness.

• Experience working across diverse cultural and professional settings, with a collaborative and diplomatic style that fosters trust, alignment, and execution.

• Deep commitment to the mission of the foundation, its values, and its impact goals. Brings a high level of integrity, accountability, and discretion in handling sensitive or high-stakes work.

• Preferred: Functional experience in global policy and advocacy, including government relations, strategic communications, policy analysis, or stakeholder engagement, particularly in international development, health, or philanthropic sectors.

*Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

The salary range for this role is $169,700 to $254,500 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle, WA and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $185,000 to $277,400 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate's job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

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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.

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.

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