Senior Program Coordinator – Africa Team

About Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on the principle that people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives, the foundation operates with a global perspective and local expertise across multiple continents. The organization is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and is led by CEO Mark Suzman under the direction of Bill Gates and the foundation's governing board. The foundation's work is organized into two primary geographic focuses. In developing countries, the Gates Foundation partners with local organizations and institutions to create impactful solutions that enable people to take charge of their futures and achieve their full potential. In the United States, the foundation works to ensure that everyone, particularly those with the fewest resources, has access to the opportunities needed to succeed in school and life. The foundation's strategic priorities span global health, global development, and U.S. programs, with particular emphasis on advancing innovations and systems-level change. As a workplace, the Gates Foundation is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment where employees can thrive both personally and professionally. The foundation believes that its workforce should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations it aims to serve. The organization offers an exceptional benefits package that includes
comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums
generous paid time off
paid family leave
foundation-paid retirement contributions
regional holidays
opportunities to engage in several employee communities
About this Role

The Africa Team works to advance the foundation's mission across the African continent by scaling evidence-based innovations and driving systems-level impact in health, agriculture, and digital transformation. With a presence in five offices located in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa, the team is comprised of approximately 180 people who collaborate deeply with country governments, regional institutions, private sector actors, and civil society organizations to drive African-led development through a strong network of partners and programs across the continent. The Africa Team ensures the foundation's global priorities are informed by and grounded in local contexts, enabling greater relevance, sustainability, and impact for the communities the foundation aims to serve. In this position, you will coordinate, develop, and manage a portfolio of investments, including the implementation and maintenance of a range of activities associated with the lifecycle of grants and contracts. You will manage projects in support of programmatic and strategic goals, while contributing to the continuous improvement of resource allocation, operational, and investment management processes. You will provide oversight and support for budget planning, financial reporting, portfolio monitoring, and related analysis, and apply expertise in internal and external processes, systems, and tools to inform sound decision-making. You will work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders, including grantees, vendors, and local implementing partners, to facilitate effective execution across the investment lifecycle. In this role, you will provide operational guidance, training, and capacity-building support to strengthen partner readiness, compliance, and implementation quality. The position requires strong cross-functional coordination, relationship management, and the ability to help translate strategy into effective, timely, and well-managed execution.
Responsibilities

Act as a subject matter expert on investment tools, systems, and templates and provide training and coaching to program team and external partners when needed
Partner with investment makers by supporting the development, management, and maintenance of a portfolio of investments
Independently manage complex investments and partnerships in service of shaping and optimizing successful investments, as well as ensure alignment with strategies and intended outcomes
Perform initial investment due diligence, including the collection of portfolio data, identification of trends, and management timelines
Be accountable for portfolio analysis and risk identification, as well as provide a perspective on portfolio performance and deliver thorough readouts to leadership
Advise on complex investments, budgets, and financial analysis to maximize impact, identify risks, and propose mitigation plans
Build, develop and maintain relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to facilitate the investment lifecycle, including engagement with and management of external grantee and partner relationships
Steward highly complex partnerships
Partner with investment makers to operationalize and shape key business processes, including annual planning, forecasting, regular portfolio reviews, financial planning, and budgeting
Provide in-depth project management to investment team, including tracking timelines, deliverables, communications, and change management
Develop the non-technical portion of the project framework and work on special projects
Lead implementation and change efforts for the team, which may include developing new processes, sharing best practices, analyzing workloads, and providing business updates
Maintain file organization, team sites, data and records, and a system for tracking, monitoring, and prioritizing tasks and projects
Support inclusive culture through modeling behaviors and actions and raise issues in a timely fashion to appropriate stakeholders
Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent demonstrated experience, preferably in business administration or program management
Experience in project management, portfolio management, and financial reporting in the nonprofit or related industry
Practical understanding of all stages of the investment lifecycle and investment rules, mechanisms, regulations, policies, processes, and practices
Proficiency in investment systems and tools, and ability to learn internal systems
Experience in financial planning and budgeting
Unrestricted work authorization in the country where this position is located (The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role)
Ability to commit 10-15% to domestic and international travel
Successful completion of a background check as part of the standard hiring process
Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums
Generous paid time off
Paid family leave
Foundation-paid retirement contribution
Regional holidays
Opportunities to engage in several employee communities
Inclusive and accessible work environment with support for employees with disabilities or medical conditions
Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all employment practices

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