Strategy Officer

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

This role is based in the India Country Office within the Global Development Division at the foundation. The Global Development Division includes a diverse range of program areas aimed at finding creative ways to ensure solutions and products get into the hands of people in low-income countries who need them the most. We focus on areas with the potential for high-impact, sustainable solutions that can reach millions of people. Our division’s program strategies include Emergency Response, Polio Eradication, Primary Health Care, Immunization, and Global Health Agencies and Funds. The Global Development Division also encompasses our India Country Office and the Africa Team with physical offices in Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, and Abuja. Our Program Strategy Teams work in close partnership with these Country Office Teams to align the foundation’s health and development equity agenda with the government’s broader priorities.
The India Country Office works closely with India’s Central and State governments and partners with community groups, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, the private sector, and development organizations to achieve our shared goals on health and development. Our efforts in India focus on key issues that will affect the future of India’s most vulnerable communities: reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition; urban sanitation; agricultural development; gender equality, and inclusive financial services.
The India Country Office (ICO) business team cluster - which the Strategy Officer will be a part of - ensures a robust country strategy, effective and efficient planning and management of program portfolios, and dynamic learning and adaptation to achieve goals in a sustainable manner. To this end, the cluster supports strategy development and reviews, and implements fit-for-purpose business and portfolio performance management systems and processes. The cluster also provides efficient, timely, and predictable administrative support and promotes strong collaboration within and across foundation teams and external partners.

Application deadline: September 30th, 2024.

Your Role

Located in New Delhi, the Strategy Officer (SO) will lead high-impact strategy projects in collaboration with program leadership and support the development and tracking of execution against approved strategy. The SO will work directly and often independently with executive sponsors of projects - Program Directors and Deputy Directors - and team members across all levels to inform and shape strategies. Potential projects span strategy development for current initiative areas; tracking and analyzing emerging global and national trends to inform portfolio strategies; leading on deliverables for foundation-level strategy reviews and annual planning; identification of thematic challenges and strategic options; strategic partnership support; facilitation of portfolio-level prioritization and trade-off discussions; making and managing investments to synthesize data and evidence used to inform strategies; and the strategic application of innovation to our work.  

We are looking for a team member who enjoys working on complex problems and crafting strategies that have the potential to transform the lives of Indians across health, gender, inclusive financial services, agriculture, and water, sanitation & hygiene (WSH). They would enjoy working in cross-functional collaborative teams and bring joy and optimism to the job.

The role will report to Senior Strategy Officer.

What You’ll Do

• Lead projects that develop strategies and/or strategic recommendations for defined areas of work. 

  
  

• Lead development of materials to drive project execution – e.g., analyses, project plans, meeting materials, strategic narratives, theories of change/action, decision roadmaps, results frameworks etc.

  
  

• Design and perform analytical work in support of strategy development and execution planning process. 

  
  

• Develop documents and briefing materials that clearly and succinctly communicate analysis results and recommendations to senior management and executive team.

  
  

• Provide project management and analytical support to cross-cutting strategy projects. 

  
  

• Manage strategy development process with a customer-focus orientation, effective communication, and emphasis on relationship management; customer / client management experience preferred. 

  
  

• Facilitate discussions and workshops with internal team, external experts, and other global health/development partners. 

  
  

• Employ strategic tools and frameworks, and a learning and evaluation approach to develop and assess options, ensure logical reasoning, and challenge assumptions. 

  
  

• Collaborate with programmatic and business/operations staff to design overall process for strategy development; participate in the development and use of tools to facilitate strategy development and processes associated with budgeting, portfolio management, and other areas as needed. 

  
  

• Support the strategy execution planning process focused on enabling program teams to align investments, staff resources and voice/influence necessary to implement their strategies and achieve their impact goals. 

  
  

• Bring creative solutions to manage group process – e.g., to manage conflict and drive alignment. 

  
  

• Develop, implement, and manage external partnerships and relationships as required for specific projects. 

  
  

• Lead on making and managing grants/contracts to partners who will analyze, structure or synthesize data and information in areas of our interest. 

  
  

• Participate in foundation-wide activities (e.g., learning sessions, all staff meetings, performance reviews). 

  
  

• Commitment to the foundation’s core values, mission, and programs with an approach that is consistent with the foundation’s guiding principles and holding self to the highest ethical standards. 

  
  

Your Experience

• MBA or other advanced Masters degree in a relevant field such as Business, Health, Economics or Sciences desirable. 

  
  

• A minimum of five+ years of professional experience in strategy consulting or strategy planning roles. Ideal candidates would have experience in drafting strategies in public health/development and in communicating recommendations and rationales to a variety of partners, including to senior executive teams. Prior experience spanning both the development sector and the private sector is highly desirable.

  
  

• Deep knowledge of strategy development and end-to-end complex project management (including process design, facilitation of workshops, structuring teams, development of novel communication resources and senior partner engagement). 

  
  

• Broad understanding of global health/development issues; prior global health/development experience is preferable.

  
  

• Familiarity with the Indian public policy landscape and key partners. 

  
  

• Excellent oral, facilitation, and written communication skills; ability to write compelling yet brief documents with quick turnaround times and with attention to the minutest details. 

  
  

• Demonstrated ability to function successfully in a demanding environment; experience working in a matrix environment preferred. 

  
  

• Excellent quantitative/financial knowledge, including experience creating complex models, with a demonstrated ability to extract appropriate data to convey complex information through the use of supporting tables, graphs and other visual representations. 

  
  

• Excellent critical thinking capabilities, organizational skills, and demonstrated ability to lead teams through a complex and ambiguous task. 

  
  

• Ability to be independent and work effectively and with sensitivity across barriers such as language, culture and distance. 

  
  

• Excellent software skills with Microsoft Office applications. Ability to quickly learn new software modules. 

  
  

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

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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.