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Senior Strategic Finance Manager
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
Full-time
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Posted 20 hours ago
Job Description

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 Enterprise Business Management Team sits at the center of several foundation-wide business processes, serving the org in many key functions:

• We enable the business processes that fuel enterprise planning and central reporting. Our team provides business ownership to strategic projects that improve core resource allocation business processes, data, and reporting infrastructure.
• Provide program and business ownership to information products that support resource allocation and management, investment and portfolio management, and services to help meet teams’ data and reporting needs to enable custom analysis and exploration.
• We also provide operating expense business and financial support to program strategy teams (PSTs) and operating divisions across the foundation, directly supporting the operating divisions and overseeing the strategic planning of all foundation operating expenses.

Your Role

You play a critical role in strengthening the foundation’s Financial Planning and Analysis capabilities by supporting cross-foundation visibility, analysis, and decision-making around operating expenses. You will help leadership understand the financial implications of strategic and operational choices through thoughtful modeling, scenario analysis, and synthesis of complex information into actionable insights.

You will lead discovery and diagnostic work to assess current financial processes, systems, and frameworks – finding opportunities to improve efficiency, right-size resources, and enhance alignment between Finance and Operations.

This role supports the foundation’s growth and vision by advancing financial stewardship and transparency, enabling leadership to make informed, strategic decisions about how to deploy operating resources most effectively. Through strong analytical rigor, cross-functional collaboration, and a solutions-oriented approach, you will contribute to the foundation’s broader goals of operational excellence and impact.

What You’ll Do

  • Strategic Financial Analysis: Provide financial analysis and modeling to give foundation leadership visibility into operating expenses and resource allocation. Translate complex financial data into clear insights and options that inform strategic and operational decisions across the foundation.
  • Scenario Planning & Decision Support: Develop and evaluate multiple financial scenarios and options to support leadership in making tradeoff and prioritization decisions. Provide analytical rigor and judgment to guide conversations on resourcing, growth, and efficiency.
  • Process & Systems Improvement: Lead discovery and diagnostic work on existing financial planning processes, systems, and frameworks. Find opportunities to right-size approaches, streamline workflows, and strengthen alignment between Finance and Operations.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Finance Centers of Excellence, Operations, and the COO’s office to ensure cohesive financial planning and transparency across the organization. Serve as a connector, ensuring insights and lessons from one area inform broader foundation practices.
  • Financial Stewardship & Insight: Strengthen the foundation’s Financial Planning and Analysis capabilities by enhancing visibility, accountability, and analytical depth. Help advance a culture of strategic financial management that balances stewardship with impact.
  • Culture & Influence: Model inclusive, collaborative, and solutions-oriented behaviors. Lead through influence to align diverse partners around shared goals and continuous improvement in financial practices.

Your Experience

You are a creative, analytical, and solutions-oriented professional with a strong record of achievement in financial planning, analysis, and strategy. You are energized by tackling complex challenges, connecting ideas across systems, and helping senior leaders make informed, high-impact decisions. The ideal candidate has a blend of the following skills and experiences:

  • Masters/MBA preferred with 6+ years of experience or equivalent.
  • Strong financial and analytical background, with demonstrated experience in modeling, forecasting, and scenario planning to inform strategic and operational decisions.
  • Proven ability to analyze complex financial and organizational systems, identify areas for improvement, and develop recommendations that enhance efficiency and transparency.
  • Highly proficient in Excel and other analytical tools; comfortable synthesizing large amounts of data into concise, actionable insights for diverse audiences.
  • Proven ability to influence without authority, building trust, alignment, and consensus among diverse partner groups.
  • Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial concepts into clear narratives for both financial and non-financial audiences.
  • Experience working across functions or within large, matrixed organizations, demonstrating flexibility, agility, and a collaborative approach.
  • Intellectually curious, proactive, and comfortable working in ambiguity—able to connect the dots and advance work with incomplete information.
  • Deep commitment to inclusion, learning, and continuous improvement; values diversity of perspective as a driver of stronger analysis and better decisions.

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

The salary range for this role is $154,200 to $231,400 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 $168,200 to $252,200 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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