Senior Communications Officer - EMEEA

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 Communications Division, led by the Chief Communications Officer in Seattle, oversees the foundation’s global communications strategy. The division brings together internal and external communications to advance the foundation’s mission of a more equitable world. The Global Communications team is responsible for shaping internal and external use of foundation voice to protect the foundation’s reputation and advance its priority advocacy and program objectives and ensure that employees are meaningfully connected to the foundation’s mission and community. The team is responsible for comprehensive voice planning for foundation leadership and key spokespeople as well as driving engagement with media.

The Global Policy and Advocacy (GPA) Division’s mission is to understand the political context and policy debates affecting the foundation’s work, build support for our major program and policy objectives, and develop partnerships and alliances that can advance the foundation’s objectives nationally and globally. GPA works in close partnership with grantees, and with our colleagues in the Global Health, Global Development, Global Growth & Opportunity, Gender Equality divisions to build the environment in which all people have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives.

Within the GPA division, the Europe, Middle East, and East Asia (EMEEA) team leads the foundation’s geographic presence in the largest donor countries outside North America and China, covering Europe (with a focus on UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Nordics, Netherlands, and European Union institutions), the Middle East (Arab League countries), and the Asia-Pacific region (Japan, South Korea, and Australia).

EMEEA acts as the bridge between foundation teams and donor markets by offering deep insights on the geo-political landscape, media and public attitudes, and the foundation’s communication and advocacy priorities. EMEEA works alongside a network of grantees and partners - including, media, civil society organizations, think tanks, and academic institutions - to support the foundation’s overarching strategic goals.

Your Role

This Senior Communications Officer role is at the heart of delivering the Communication Division’s priorities, supporting the work of the GPA Division and driving the work of the EMEEA team.

This is a fascinating, stretching, fast-paced, and diverse role with no one day the same. The successful application will develop and execute communication strategies for the foundation’s work in France, Italy, Spain, and Arab League countries in the Middle East - to support the brand, reputation and advocacy goals of the foundation. This involves gaining a deep understanding of those countries listed - how they work, their priorities, audiences, and communications landscape. The strategies developed and implemented will cover everything from leadership visits and voice planning, to writing key messages, editorial planning, and creative content creation. They will be informed by audience insights and have measurement and evaluation embedded from the outset.

The role would suit someone who is experienced, full of innovative ideas, energy, and enthusiasm who has a track record of working well with others to get things done. Increasingly the role requires a campaigning mindset and approach to ensure cut-through and impact. Full professional proficiency in French and English is an essential requirement for this role. Arabic is highly desirable.

Based in the foundation’s London office, the postholder will be expected to undertake regular international travel, including to the countries referenced above and, occasionally, to the foundation’s headquarters in Seattle. The role will report to the Deputy Director, EMEEA Communications, who is also based in London.

The postholder will work closely with other Senior Communications Officers across EMEEA, the Insights and Measurement and Digital Content and Partnerships leads, and colleagues across the wider Global Communications team. The role will also involve extensive collaboration with Seattle-based stakeholders, external partners and grantees to ensure alignment, strengthen coordination and advance the foundation’s communications priorities across the region.

What You’ll Do

You will draw on your knowledge and skills to provide communications counsel to programmatic colleagues, grantees, and partners, and work together to build awareness and support for the foundation's work and programmatic, policy, advocacy, and communications goals. You will develop and manage a portfolio of grants and contracts to achieve this and build and maintain a network of relationships, including with senior leaders.

There is a lot of space for creative and innovative thinking, working collaboratively with new and existing partners to find ways to get attention and capture the attention of audiences. To achieve this, you must balance strategic thinking, whilst remaining nimble and opportunistic.

• Drawing on your knowledge of the communications landscape in each country and the most impactful distribution approaches, together with colleagues across the foundation you will agree communication goals and draft strategies that will enable and support the foundation’s objectives - leveraging print and digital channels - to build and sustain the right kind of momentum for the programs.
• Proactively manage all media relations, PR, enquiries, relationships at senior levels, cultivate partnerships with creators, influencers and the entertainment sector, and a full spectrum of media. This requires good judgement, risk management, and the ability to flex.
• Work with partners and foundation colleagues to develop narratives, key messages, research data, and ensure this is used to develop content at key moments.
• Work with the government and grantees in country communication to elevate priority issues and manage issues that may be reputational risks for the foundation. Ensure strategic communications campaigns are coherent, well-designed, and creative, so they have impact and build momentum.
• Develop a coalition of third-party voices and messengers to elevate priority issues and build strategies to align voices and narrative. Ensure core communications material and collateral are market ready and used.
• You will manage vendors and grantees to ensure collaborative and successful delivery of objectives, always with an eye to robust resource management and RoI.
• Develop messaging and support leadership trips, including speaking and media opportunities.

By doing this you will help achieve:

• Stronger awareness among target audiences of key foundation policy positions.
• An enabling environment to encourage increased political and public commitment to international development, global health and/or accountability for past commitments.
• Strengthened communications partnership with government and other institutions.
• Strengthened profile of foundation local leadership among target audiences and knowledge and trust in the foundation and its work.

Your Experience

• A bachelor’s degree and senior-level experience in journalism, communications, public relations, public policy or a related field.
• Excellent experience of working with a full range of media, including print, broadcast and digital in the countries listed above. Plus, event management and execution experience.
• A proven track record of leading complex communications initiatives, providing strategic counsel to senior stakeholders, and managing executive communications and reputational risks, ideally within complex, matrixed organizations.
• Experience working with government institutions and/or public/NGO institutions is desirable.
• Experience in devising and leading communication campaigns that are creative and have impact.
• A demonstrable understanding of global and local politics - particularly in France and/or the Middle East, a strong analytical mindset to understand and react to real-time data and insights, and excellent judgement.
• Full professional proficiency in French and English. Arabic is highly desirable.
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral, and the ability to influence and engage individuals at all levels internally and externally.
• Ability to assimilate and understand complex new subjects, including scientific, medical and development of finance policy areas.
• Ability to confidently represent the foundation when dealing with media, and exercising sound media judgment.
• Confidence in working in a fast-paced environment under tight deadlines, with a demonstrated ability to juggle multiple and competing demands and establish priorities, remain flexible, and work collaboratively as part of a team.
• Ability to effectively cultivate and manage relationships both with internal staff and foundation partners.

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 30-40% to France, Southern Europe, Middle East and the US.

Application deadline: 21 November 2026

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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.