Senior Program Officer, Vaccine Delivery (One year LTE) at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people- especially those with the fewest resources - have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Program Officer, Vaccine Delivery (One year LTE)

Job Requisition ID: B020672
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Job type: Full time

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 includes 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 Africa team works to enable the foundation’s ambitious goals of scaling evidence-based interventions that target a range of diseases and socio-economic conditions which are endemic across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
• The team drives its responsibility through direct country engagement to deploy interventions and delivery models, and by building the partner architecture to replicate successful interventions and models across multiple countries.

Your Role

• The Nigeria Country Immunization Program seeks a Senior Program Officer (SPO), Vaccine Delivery to manage the portfolio of grants, relationships, and analytics focused on identifying reaching, and monitoring programs to reach unvaccinated children in Nigeria.
• The SPO will be primarily focused on operationalizing the team strategy; designing, making, and managing grants; and working with national and state government and implementing partners.
• This is a limited-term position (LTE) for 12 months. The postholder will be based at the foundation’s Nigeria Country Office (NCO) in Abuja, and report to the Interim - Deputy Director, Immunization and Disease Control.

What You'll Do
The selected candidate will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Coordinate the Nigeria Country Immunization team and manage partners' engagement platforms.
• Support Nigeria Country Immunization engagement with Gavi - The Vaccine Alliance, and regularly track and provide updates on the implementation of the Full Portfolio Planning.
• Manage an existing portfolio of grants and contracts focused on high-impact focus areas (prioritized by the foundation), immunization systems strengthening, new vaccine introductions, new tools and technology, and health worker learning and performance management.
• The focal person for Nigeria Country immunization works around the design and implementation of new vaccine introductions, zero doses, and vaccine financing.
• Collaborate with grantees and other partners to improve the impact of work.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with collaborators, from governments, NGOs and global partner organizations, such as Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF.
• Support NCOs achieve their Immunization, PHC and broader health and gender goals.

Your Experience

• The ideal candidate enjoys working on complex projects and collaboratively crafting solutions with transformational potential.
• We seek a self-motivator who can integrate diverse perspectives to build consensus, drive progress, and provide technical and operational capacity to the Nigeria Country Immunization team.

Additionally, we are seeking the following:

• Bachelor's or other Advanced Degree required, with 10+ years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong expertise in global health at global and country level, with a preference for expertise in immunization/vaccine preventable diseases. Cognate experience in immunization at the national or international level, will be an asset.
• Experience designing and managing immunization coverage and equity and rapid learning research projects.
• Leadership abilities: proven ability to work across multiple partners (e.g., government, donors, grantees, and other partners) to build and sustain collaborative relationships. Ability to influence without direct authority, and move large institutions and bureaucracies over time.
• Experience in effectively developing strategic approaches to define priorities. Ability to create a clear vision and develop simple and effective but implementable solutions to complex problems.
• Ability to manage complex projects and programs, including multi-country research grants. Attention to detail, including ability to scrutinize budgets against workplans and deliverables.
• Demonstrated ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a complex, fast-paced matrixed environment.
• Comfortable with making decisions in the absence of perfect data and adapting approach when new information is known to achieve maximum impact. Ability to handle ambiguity and convert unclear situations into structured plans.
• Ability to communicate, both verbally and written in English, with a broad and diverse audience; able to effectively synthesize data and information to reach diverse audiences, build consensus and be the voice/represent the foundation, including in internal and external meetings.

Other Attributes:

• Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behaviour with a diverse range of people and a deep commitment to development issues and high standards of personal integrity.
• Ability to travel up to 50% domestically and internationally.
• Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

Application Closing Date
30th November 2024.