Officer, Strategic Planning & Engagement

Officer, Strategic Planning & Engagement

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 includes 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 Office of the CEO serves to support the institutional responsibilities of the Chief Executive Officer for The Gates Foundation as well as directly supporting the CEO as they execute those responsibilities.

This position is a limited‑term position for 11 months. Relocation will not be provided.

Applications will be accepted until 5:00pm PDT on January 16, 2026.

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 embody our four agreements intentionally and consistently: show respect, offer trust, be transparent, and create energy.

The Program Officer has primary responsibility for leading and steering the planning process for their assigned Chair and CEO engagements and trips, managing their schedules on behalf of the foundation, and guiding them through the activities within each trip. The role works with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to ensure consistently successful outcomes for all external engagements at the highest level of foundation leadership.

This includes working with foundation teams to plan and execute activities; advancing locations domestically and internationally; representing the foundation externally with partners; and acting as liaison between the foundation, private offices, and personal offices to ensure proposed activities are feasible from an operational, security, contextual, and principal preference perspective.

• Lead the planning and execution of foundation Chair and CEO domestic and international trips. Plan, lead, handle, and execute activities in support of and following leadership trips (i.e., internal planning meetings, coordination with internal and external partners, advance trips, correspondence, debrief/feedback sessions).
• Serve as trip director for the Chair and CEO, ensuring that their time is well spent and their needs (briefing/intelligence, preparation time, and other) are met.
• Provide high‑quality interactions and clear, consistent communications with external stakeholders from affiliated entities (Gates Ventures, etc.), grantees, government officials, and other partners. Cultivate decisions, communication, and analysis pertaining to the planning and execution of trips with internal partners.
• Collaborate with the Chair security team, foundation security, and private travel offices to ensure efficient operations, specifically with issues of overlapping relevance (risk assessments, reputation, logistics, travel schedules, operational security, etc.).
• Participate in special projects for the SP&E team and OCEO as needed.
• Coordinate with other members of OCEO to ensure a cohesive and aligned set of activities across internal and external engagements for CEO trips.

We are looking for a specialist in executive advocacy and leadership logistics. Specifically, the successful candidate will have:

• 4+ years of experience in policy, advocacy or communications work with government, multilateral organizations, and/or NGO/civil society organizations with shown success in supporting leadership roles and high‑profile initiatives.
• Experience with, and knowledge of, high‑profile event and…