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

Our focus in education is ensuring that all students – especially Black, Indigenous, and Latino students, and students from low-income backgrounds – have an opportunity to earn a degree or certificate that prepares them for a successful career and fulfilling life. Our Postsecondary Success (PS) strategy seeks to support transformation in colleges and universities to ensure that many more Black, Indigenous, and Latino students, students from low-income backgrounds, and all students, obtain quality, affordable credentials that offer value and lead to economic mobility. This strategy is working to ensure that race/ethnicity and income are no longer predictors of student success.
The “Transformation Team” is accountable for a portfolio of investments designed to help traditional and innovative postsecondary institutions accelerate their transformation progress. We do this by investing in innovative institutions and institutional models, as well as intermediaries and other partners to work with member colleges on deep and comprehensive change. To do this work, institutions and intermediaries strengthen their organizational capacity and collaborate deeply with one another so that they can work smarter together towards achievement of shared goal. We work closely with other PS teams on integrated strategies that will bring what we know and what we’re learning about success and value for focus students. We work closely with other funders and the private sector to advance and sustain these efforts.
Leadership & Culture
Our culture shapes our choices about what we do and how we do it. We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment can do extraordinary things. We expect foundation employees to consistently embody our four agreements: show respect, offer trust, be transparent, and create energy.

The Program Officer (PO) Transformation Networks will build relationships with key partners in the Higher Endeavor portfolio, comprised of critical organizations in U.S. Higher Education collectively serving approximately 200+ colleges and universities. While this position will work most proximately with Intermediary for Scale partners and strategies, there is potential for broader Higher Endeavor stakeholder relationship and investment management. You will lead and guide complex grant agreements, developing perspectives and offering guidance to partner organizations as they develop their capacity to deliver transformation services to institutions at scale. Success in your role depends on your proven dedication to equitable educational outcomes, inclusive grant-making, and a highly collaborative approach that enables authentic partnership. Reporting to the Deputy Director, Transformation, you will work closely with peer program officers and multiple strategy portfolios.

*This position is a limited-term position for 9 months. Relocation will not be provided.

What You’ll Do

Working with colleagues across the Postsecondary Success strategy and with partners in the field, the core responsibilities of the PO will be:

• Promote racial and socioeconomic equity for Black, Latino, and Indigenous students and students from low-income backgrounds.

• Identify and develop partnerships and other resources from throughout the Higher Education ecosystem that will connect to and enable transformation effectiveness; build partner capacities for connectivity; refine and enable workflow of key partners operating interdependently for impact at scale.

• Develop collaborative investment opportunities; review letters of inquiry and grant proposals; establish learning and impact objectives; provide clear, concise, and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding.

• Draft and edit proposal summaries for review by foundation leadership; guide and consult with PS team members regarding key partner due diligence, investment structures, and evaluation of progress against both learning and impact objectives.

• Manage complex grant agreements, including external relationships with key partners in the PS strategy; draft and edit progress and final reports for existing investments; make recommendations based on learning and impact progress.

• Consult with potential partners to explore investment opportunities; work closely with grantees to achieve desired objectives; conduct site visits, provide technical guidance, convene meetings, and evaluate milestone-based performance.

• Manage internal processes and portfolio progress while ensuring appropriate documentation, grant budgeting, and reporting; work closely with PS colleagues to continuously improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.

• Maintain the highest standards of stakeholder engagement, including straightforward, open, and transparent interactions; establish clear and consistent communications with external partners, internal team members, and foundation leadership.

• Serve on external boards and working groups; exhibit strong negotiation and presentation skills; represent the foundation with partners who may include public and private entities, grantee organizations, other funders, universities, think tanks, and government agencies.

• Collaborate with foundation colleagues in related program areas to take advantage of cross-team and cross-sector investment; serve as a point of contact on portfolio-related issues for internal team members focused on system efficiencies and interdependent workflows; lead and serve alongside PS colleagues in building an internal learning community that is unequivocally focused on equitable student success.

• Build and maintain relationships with program officers or equivalent positions at other philanthropic organizations that primarily focus on postsecondary success in an effort to identify points of synergy and connectivity for the partners that you will support in your portfolio.

Your Experience

To be successful in this role, the PO must demonstrate:

• Equity-minded leadership: Understanding of racism as a structural system that minoritizes and discriminates against Black, Latino, and Indigenous students; knowledge of the ways that racism intersects with other systems and the mechanisms for redefining these systems; an unwavering belief that students could be much more successful if institutions better served them.

• Deep knowledge of and experience with higher education institutions, intermediary organizations, technical assistance providers, and systems/consortia; technical experience in philanthropic approaches to systems change at a national scale is preferred.

• Expert experience collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing large data sets or multiple data sources into insights that can be used for decision-making.

• Extensive initiative leadership and/or project management skills; ability to be nimble and thoughtful while adapting to shifting priorities, sometimes at a rapid pace.

• Expert collaborator in complex environments. We seek someone with proven capability to mobilize and lead multiple partners towards shared goals with humility.

• Ability to set and meet high standards for multi-stakeholder engagements, including straightforward and transparent interactions that build trust.

• Direct communicator: someone who drives to clear agreements and consistent communications with variable audiences; we seek someone who offers informed counter perspectives and novel viewpoints with a thorough, constructive, and diplomatic approach and exercises a growth mentality with self and others.

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

#LI-SC2

The salary range for this role is $143,000 to $214,400 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 $157,300 to $235,900 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 HR@gatesfoundation.org 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.