Senior Manager, Portfolio Planning & Team Operations

Seattle, WA

Full time

B021805

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 Global Development (GD) Division includes a diverse range of program areas focused on finding creative ways to ensure solutions and products get into the hands of people in low-income countries. We focus on areas with the potential for high-impact, sustainable solutions that can reach millions of people. Our strategies include Emergency Response, Immunization, and Polio Eradication. A common theme across these programs is focus on innovative delivery, including an emphasis on strengthening primary health care systems. Our teams work in close partnership with Regional and Country Office Teams to align the foundation's health and development equity agenda with the government's broader priorities.

Within GD, the Exemplars in Global Health (EGH) program equips decision-makers with the evidence, insights, and practical “know-how” needed to accelerate and scale interventions that improve the health of the world's most vulnerable populations. Working with a global network of partners, EGH identifies and studies exemplars and best practices across health outcomes, primary health care systems, and service delivery strategies.

Through rigorous research, evidence synthesis, and timely analysis, EGH translates lessons from what works into actionable insights that help policymakers, practitioners, and funders strengthen systems, improve service delivery, and address pressing global health challenges.

We pursue this through:

1. The study of “positive outliers”—identifying countries or regions that have achieved exceptional progress in health outcomes and analyzing the drivers behind their success;

2. The study of emerging practices with global learning value, using prospective research and real-time analytics alongside implementation to meet the ambition of 'learning by doing';

3. The provision of internal advisory services to support teams in pursuit of the Foundation's three goals toward 2045; and

4. External partnerships to scale exemplary practices with governments, policymakers, global health initiatives, and multilateral development banks.

Application Deadline: Saturday, October 31, 2026

Your Role

The Senior Manager, Portfolio Planning & Team Operations, will provide strategic leadership of business and team operations for the EGH team, including management of Program Coordinator (PC) and Program Assistant (PA) teams. You will be a key thought partner for the Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning and Management (DDSPM) to develop and monitor portfolio allocation strategy and assess results against resourcing spent. You will own core business processes for the team, including developing a research project pipeline management approach, overseeing investment making, and leading the EGH team’s annual planning process.

What You'll Do

• Provide strategic leadership of business and team operations for the EGH team.

• Own the team's operating rhythm, including budget planning, resourcing, and portfolio-wide tracking against goals.

• Develop a rigorous approach to research project pipeline management and execution.

• Lead processes to develop and oversee team investment of dollars and people time, as well as financial and operational processes, which may include the full investment development process, annual planning, and budget management and forecasting.

• Manage and develop the SPC and PA teams, setting priorities and ensuring high-quality operational support across EGH.

• Serve as a thought partner to EGH leadership on organizational design, workflow, and resource allocation questions.

• Develop and monitor portfolio allocation strategy and execution.

• Build systems and processes that improve efficiency, consistency, and decision-making across the team's research and investment portfolio.

• Develop analyses and second-order insights to assess portfolio progress and guide resource allocation decisions.

• Provide critical support to program leadership in translating strategy goals into coherent portfolio level theory of action and plans that align staff time and investments to strategic goals.

• Monitor research project pipeline and investment portfolio to facilitate management decision-making, including providing guidance to deputy directors to ensure portfolio resource use is strategically aligned, with clearly articulated outcomes that link to key strategy goals.

• Monitor research, grant and contract pipeline to produce accurate forecasts vs. budget reporting and performance against key deliverables and outcomes to facilitate management decision-making.

• Identify strategic and portfolio execution risks, as well as develop and support implementation of risk mitigation.

• Lead team operations to drive overall team efficiency, effectiveness, and positive experience.

• Expertly facilitate the shaping of people processes and team dynamics to champion culture and incentives that best enable achieving program goals, in partnership with program leadership, SPA, and Culture Working Group.

• Collaborate with SPA to develop and run team rhythm of business.

• Foster enabling conditions for talent to thrive and be accountable for inclusive team culture.

Your Experience

• An advanced degree or equivalent demonstrated experience, preferably in public health or another related field.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in strategic business operations and/or research portfolio management, including experience managing a pipeline of research projects.

• 5+ years of experience driving leadership team decision-making through strategic framing of problems, strong analytics, and clear presentations.

• Track record of strong business judgement, ability to manage through ambiguity, and clear and proactive communication.

• Ability to consistently generate second-order insights to drive portfolio management (e.g., provide substantive constructive feedback to drive Body of Work development and improvement over time).

• Advanced financial acumen and budget development, financial analysis, and operational management skills.

• Demonstrated, sophisticated project management skills and a successful track record of leading or running multiple projects simultaneously.

• Draws on a diverse set of tools and knowledge to identify, diagnose, and address strategy, team, and execution challenges.

• 5+ years of experience managing diverse functional teams.

• Comfort with highly unstructured and ambiguous situations, with the ability to proactively bring structure and resolution.

• Knowledge of LMIC governments, and/or global health/development institutions and partners (e.g., WHO, the Global Fund, Gavi, UNICEF, multilateral development banks) preferred.

• Experience living and working in low- and middle-income countries preferred.

• Excellent organizational, facilitation, oral, and written communication skills. Ability to work effectively and with sensitivity across barriers such as language, culture, and distance, with excellent listening skills and compassion.

• Ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, diplomacy, and enthusiasm in a fast-paced environment, as a member of an integrated team.

**Must have unrestricted work authorization in the country where this position is located. The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. This includes direct company sponsorship and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (eg: H-1B, O-1, L-1,  E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.).

#LI-TL1

The salary range for this role is $190,100 to $294,700 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $209,100 to $324,100 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.

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

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you have a disability or medical condition and need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process—such as an ASL interpreter, alternative interview format, or physical accessibility support—we’re happy to help. Please contact [email protected] with the position number and a brief description of your accommodation needs. Requests will be handled confidentially.

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.

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Gates Foundation (http://www.gatesfoundation.org/) works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, we work with partners to create impactful solutions so that people can take charge of their futures and achieve their full potential. In the United States, we aim to ensure that everyone—especially those with the fewest resources—has access to the opportunities needed to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Bill Gates and our governing board.