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 Finance & Resource Planning (F&RP) Division is led by the foundation CFO and partners with our colleagues to invest resources wisely and boldly in service of people who need it most. F&RP is accountable for stewardship, business enablement, and continuous improvement of the systems, processes, and capabilities that underpin investment-making.

Within F&RP, the Integrated Investment Operations function brings together Grants & Contracts Services (GCS) and Strategic Sourcing & Procurement (SSP) into a single, enterprise capability that supports end-to-end investment-making. This integrated function plays a critical role in advancing the foundation’s ability to operate nimbly, reduce administrative friction, manage risk intelligently, and deliver time and financial savings.

Your Role

The Director of Integrated Investment Operations will lead bold transformation of how the foundation executes grants, contracts, and sourcing – anchored in the investment-maker lens as the entry point to every process. This leader will serve as the primary business owner of the investment-making and managing processes, accountable for defining how the work should operate to enable program impact.

This role is not focused on incremental improvement; it is accountable for shaping the next chapter of investment operations by clarifying and evolving the operating model for grants, contracts, and sourcing – simplifying where risk is low, increasing rigor where risk matters most, modernizing and using technology in how the foundation delivers investments.

As business owner of the process, the Director will define desired outcomes, standards, and requirements for how investment-making should function, advised by the business needs of the investment makers. In close partnership with the Enterprise Business Management (EBM) team, which owns enterprise investment and reporting systems, this leader will articulate business requirements and priorities that inform technology enhancements and future solutions.

The Director will provide strategic leadership across the full continuum of investment operations - from grant and contract structuring through sourcing strategy, negotiation, and vendor management - while ensuring strong stewardship, compliance, and risk management. The role is forward-looking by design, with accountability for evolving the operating model in alignment with the foundation’s long-term trajectory toward 2045.

This leader will partner closely with Program teams, Legal, Enterprise Business Management, Financial Planning & Analysis, Global Financial and Accounting Services, and other cross-functional leaders to clarify decision rights, reduce unnecessary complexity, and ensure operational practices enable mission outcomes.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Leadership, Integration & Transformation

• Lead a significant transformation of grants, contracts, and strategic sourcing and procurement into a single investment operations function.
• Serve as the primary business owner of the foundation’s investment-making and investment management process, defining the operating model, business standards, and process expectations that enable high-quality, risk-calibrated investment decisions.
• Set a clear vision and strategy for integrated investment operations, grounded in program needs and aligned to the foundation’s long-term trajectory.
• Translate enterprise strategy into clear operational priorities, sequencing change thoughtfully while maintaining business continuity.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the CFO and senior leadership on investment operations enable effective strategic finance, high-quality investment execution, and stewardship across the foundation.

Process Ownership & Continuous Improvement

• Owns and continuously evolves the business process for making and managing investments.
• Oversee the full lifecycle of grants, contracts, and sourcing activities, ensuring high-quality structuring, negotiation, compliance with regulatory requirements and organizational policies, and risk management.
• Partners closely with Legal, ensuring legal advice informs business decisions.
• Define clear, intuitive, and risk-calibrated process standards that improve clarity, efficiency, and user experience for program teams and partners.
• Advance the Investment process agenda as the business owner, partnering with EBM on program management, systems enablement, and implementation execution.
• Ensure process design reflects the lived experience of investment-makers and balances simplicity with strong stewardship.

Investment Execution Excellence

• Lead an integrated approach to grantmaking, contracting, and strategic sourcing that positions the function as a unified enterprise enabler of investment execution.
• Strengthen enterprise-wide grant, contract, and sourcing standards, strategies, and practices.
• Establish clear performance measures across the investment execution continuum and partner with enterprise analytics and systems owners to evaluate operational effectiveness and cost savings.

Leveraging AI & Next-Generation Tools

• As business owner, define requirements and priorities for investment operations systems and tools.
• Partner with Enterprise Business Management, the business owner of the enterprise investment management applications and system architecture, to inform solution discovery, enhancement roadmaps, and technology investments.
• Champion the responsible adoption of AI-enabled tools for proposal review, sourcing intelligence, workflow automation, and decision support — ensuring technology improves cycle time, strengthens risk management, and enhances decision quality.
• Build team capability to work effectively alongside emerging tools and data-driven insights.

Team & Culture Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a diverse team of investment operations professionals.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Promote equity, inclusion, and fairness in investment operations, sourcing practices, and partner engagement.

Your Experience

You are a strategic, systems-oriented forward-looking leader who has successfully led complex organizational transformation in mission-driven organizations. You bring a business approach to operational and compliance settings and are energized by building integrated capabilities that enable others to do their best work.

You are known for listening deeply, synthesizing diverse perspectives, and translating complexity into clear direction. You are comfortable leading change in ambiguous settings and influencing across matrixed organizations without relying solely on formal authority.

You may not be the deepest technical expert in every domain of grants, contracts, or procurement – but you know how to harness expertise, ask incisive questions, and design operating models that elevate the work of specialists.

The ideal candidate brings many of the following:

• Advanced degree in business, finance, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• 15+ years of dynamic leadership experience in process design and implementation with preference for grants management, contracts, procurement, strategic sourcing, or related functions within large or complex organizations.
• Demonstrated experience leading strategic planning, translating strategy into operating model redesign, and leading through organizational change.
• Experience anchoring operational redesign in customer or user experience principles.
• Strong understanding of risk-based compliance, governance, and stewardship in grantmaking and contracting environments.
• Strong facilitation and listening skills; ability to engage partners across subject areas to co-create durable solutions.
• Experience using data, technology, and AI-enabled tools to improve operational efficiency and decision-making.
• Proven track record to influence senior leaders and drive alignment in complex, in matrixed environments.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and change management skills, with a commitment to building inclusive, high-performing teams.
• Skilled at navigating ambiguity and leading large-scale change initiatives.

The salary range for this role is $299,100 - $463,500 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 $328,900 - $509,900 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.

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 (e.g., H-1B, O-1, L-1, E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.).

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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

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.