Job Description
- London, UK
- This is an interim backfill role to cover for an employee who will be coving a parental leave. The duration of the assignment is targeted for 6-9 months starting in October or November. However, the start and end dates may change.Job Title: Interim Program Officer, Gender Equality Government Relations EMEEA
- Division: Global Policy & Advocacy
- Group: Donor Government Relations Europe, Middle East, and East Asia (EMEEA)
- Location: London, UK
- Group Summary
- The mission of the Global Policy & Advocacy (GPA) program is to understand and shape the public policy debates affecting the foundation’s work, build support for its major program and policy objectives, and develop partnerships and alliances that can advance the foundation’s policy objectives nationally and globally. Because the foundation’s resources alone are not enough to solve the challenges ahead, GPA also supports advocacy efforts to engage diverse stakeholders and promote innovative solutions that advance our program goals.
- GPA is composed of our Regional Offices in India, China, and Africa; our Donor Government Relations (DGR) teams, one for Europe and the Middle East, based in London, and another for the United States, Canada, and Asia-Pacific region, based in Washington, DC; a Program Advocacy & Communications (PAC) team; a Development Policy & Finance (DPAF) team; and our Philanthropic Partnerships (PPT) team. We work in close partnership with grantees, our colleagues across the foundation, the Executive office, and foundation Communications to build the environment in which all people have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives.
- The Europe, Middle East, and East Asia team, and the wider Global Policy and Advocacy team in the foundation, achieve their policy and advocacy goals by:
- Developing and coordinating the execution of advocacy and communications strategies.
- Leveraging foundation voice to implement advocacy strategies.
- Developing and managing a grant portfolio dedicated to achieving advocacy outcomes.
- Partnering and advocating with civil society partners, sector leaders, United Nations institutions, and government officials to achieve advocacy outcomes.
- Developing policy recommendations or proposals in partnership with programmatic and regional offices.
- 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 intentionally and consistently embody our four agreements; show respect, offer trust, be transparent, and create energy.
- Position Summary
- This role will be part of the Europe, Middle East, and East Asia (EMEEA) team which leads the foundation’s geographic presence in the largest donor countries outside North America and China, covering Europe (e.g., UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Nordics, Netherlands, and European Union institutions), the Middle East (e.g., Arab League countries), and the Asia-Pacific region (e.g., Japan, South Korea, and Australia). Our focus is on government donors, and we are most active in Europe, whose governments represent over half of global foreign aid. The nature of our work means that we also frequently engage with non-government actors such as the media, civil society organisations, think-tanks and academic institutions as we seek to make the case for sustained commitment to international development programs.
- As program officer, you will have three main bodies of work:
- Support a deepening of the foundation’s engagement on gender in key donor markets and support the translation of the foundation’s gender advocacy priorities into donor markets.
- Help craft the foundation’s policy and advocacy strategies to build an equitable economic and social recovery from COVID-19 that prioritizes gender equality.
- Support EMEEA team’s existing efforts to ensure a successful Generation Equality Forum. Depending on the market, this may include building, nurturing, and managing government relationships in key geographies, and representing the foundation’s perspectives with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other partners.
- Reports to: Senior Program Officer, Policy and Program Advocacy Support
- Core Responsibilities
- Support team leads to translate the foundation’s global gender policy and advocacy strategy into donor market advocacy efforts.
- Support the translation of data, evidence, and stories generated by the gender team and its partners into digestible and communicable briefs and clear policy asks.
- Provide internal updates and analysis of gender policies and related developments in key donor countries.
- Represent the foundation to key external constituencies, including CSOs and donor governments, on gender issues as needed.
- Support the ongoing work of GPA to maximize the impact of the recent Generation Equality Forum, including supporting the government relations team and external advocacy organizations to drive towards accountability in policy outcomes and commitments from priority donor countries as needed.
- Contribute to the overall COVID-19 economic recovery team and work with the foundation’s Gender Equality team and GPA colleagues to develop and implement an advocacy plan in support of this work through key 2021 moments and in key markets.
- Support cross-team data and information sharing.
- Support on briefings, talking points, and memorandum support for leadership engagements on relevant bodies of work.
- Core Knowledge & Skills
- Shown understanding of gender equality issues. Proven experience and depth of professional networks within the gender equality sector strongly preferred.
- Expertise in government relations and advocacy.
- Relationship management capabilities to work with multiple stakeholders, including government, UN institutions, other donors, grantees to create a common vision and envision simple and effective but implementable solutions to complex problems.
- Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic, and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people.
- Strong analytical, writing, and verbal skills for communicating with a broad and diverse audience.
- Effective as a collaborator in complex internal and external organisations.
- Extensive project management and contribution experience.
- Ability to work with efficiency and tact.
- European languages an advantage but not required.
- Education & Experience
- Bachelor’s or other advanced degree with intermediate experience.
- *Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.
- The employee transfer policy applies to internal backfill positions. An employee may apply for an open position after at least 12 months in their current position. If you meet this requirement and wish to pursue a backfill opportunity, you are required to have a conversation with your manager to confirm their support before you apply. In rare cases, the requirement of a minimum of 12 months in a position may be waived if a transfer is critical to the foundation’s goals and is approved by the current manager and their HR Consultant (HR Business Partner or Generalist).
- All backfill positions are posted as LTE roles. With current manager support, if selected for the role, FTEs will retain their FTE status during the backfill assignment. Managers will have the option of backfilling for the individual moving to the interim position for a similar duration via the same hiring channels and options as this position. However, current managers may be unwilling or unable to hold headcount for the duration of an interim assignment and may deny the employee’s request. In such cases, the employee may apply for the open LTE position, but if selected, would effectively be resigning as an FTE and would be hired as an LTE for the duration of the interim assignment. As an LTE, employment with the foundation is expected to end at the end of the assignment, and the employee would not be eligible for severance.
- As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We’re committed to creating a workplace where employees thrive both personally and professionally. We also believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve—in race, gender, age, cultures and beliefs—and we support this diversity through all of our employment practices.