Officer, Strategy, Planning & Management, K-12 Education

Officer, Strategy, Planning & Management, K-12 Education      

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: that people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. By building a global and cultural workplace that supports greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — together with our employees and partners, we can help all people improve their lives from poverty and health to education. As an organization we offer full healthcare premiums coverage, generous paid time off, contribution to your retirement fund, several employee communities, and a commitment to embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into everything we do.

 

The Team

The K-12 Education team within the U.S. Program works to ensure that all students – but particularly Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds – graduate high school ready to succeed in higher education, the workforce, and life. We do that by investing in partners to:

• Develop high-quality curriculum and other instructional materials so that they better serve the needs of teachers and students
• Prepare and support teachers who reflect the diversity of the students they serve so that they are skilled and ready to enter a classroom and have high-quality, real-time supports for improving their practice
• Work with state, district, and school leaders to create supportive classroom
environments for students and teachers

 

 

Your Role

The Officer for Strategy, Planning & Management (SPM) plays a crucial role to connect operational and business processes to strategy decisions. The Officer, SPM supports development of team strategy processes to ensure these processes lead to strategically aligned, equity-first investments and leads implementation of critical processes to drive the rhythm and impact of teams. The Officer SPM must engage effectively at all levels of the organization; collaborate productively with peers, partners, leaders, staff, and consultants while exercising good judgment. This role will support the team towards working with rigor and in service of equity.

 

As the Officer, SPM, you will not only support the entire K-12 Education team is developing and refining our progress assessment and learning routines, but you’ll deeply support our strategy, measurement, and operations team (a team of 8-10 individuals focused on measuring the impact of our strategy) surfacing learning to inform strategy adjustments, and designing processes to support those routines.

 

This role reports to the K-12 Education Deputy Director for Strategy, Planning & Management, Marie Gibson.

 

What You’ll Do

The Officer, SPM is primarily responsible for two key things:

 

(50%) Support K-12 Education team-wide strategy and learning routines and processes:

• Help develop, implement, and support processes to assess strategy impact and refine portfolio priorities; processes should center on equity and inclusive approaches and balance rigor, efficiency, and accountability
• Manage the overarching strategy progress review process
• Consult and strategize with the K-12 Education Management Team and other K-12 portfolio managers to increase impact of team processes and ensure optimal learning, decision making, and collaboration
• Regularly convene and collaborate with the K-12 portfolio managers (5) to ensure the K-12 Education team’s learning processes and routines center equity and inclusive approaches and are effective and efficient
• Provide project management support for the K-12 Education Management Team

 

(50%) Serve as the portfolio manager for the Strategy, Planning & Management Team within the K-12 Education team:

• Support the deputy directors (2) and investment managers (4) through strategic planning processes, which may include body of work development and refinement, to help set the team up for success in meeting milestones and in ensuring investments advance equity in approach and outcome
• Promote efficiency and productivity on the team by providing support for process development and improvement, implementation and improvement of tools, analysis, reporting, and change management
• Translate the team’s strategy goals into coherent theories of action and investment plans. Guide program officers to ensure portfolio investments are strategically and equity- aligned and outcomes are defined that will lead to impact
• Provide project management support to priority projects and initiatives
• Expertly facilitate process definition and improvement efforts in support of team productivity
• Work with program staff and vendors to improve business processes and identify process gaps and inefficiencies that impede effectiveness
   

 

Your Experience

• Flexible Work Style: Has an outcomes-oriented point of view while being approachable and flexible in how to get there
• Learning Orientation: Approaches new opportunities and challenges with curiosity
• Collaboration and Relationship Building: Develops and maintains effective working relationships with team members and partners through strong interpersonal skills
• DEI Mindset: Understands and values differences in others. Authentically partners with and values the uniqueness of people of different groups and cultures. Challenges practices or policies that may be exclusionary. Understands how to use research and evaluation data as a tool to identify and address inequities
• Analytical Thinking: Uses facts and available information to develop logical assumptions. Discriminates between important and unimportant details, recognizes inconsistencies between facts and/or data, and draws correct inferences from information (includes differentiating, comparing, contrasting, linking, researching) at both macro and micro level
• Exemplary Written and Verbal Communicator: Synthesizes and extracts meaning from complex bodies of work and effectively communicates key insights and takeaways to diverse audiences. Strong facility preparing and presenting executive-level information (via PowerPoint, executive memos, etc.) and able to develop and incorporate new frameworks and tools in real-time during meetings
• 5+ years of experience in project management or strategy consultant roles, or equivalent experience

 

#L1-BR1

 

 

 

Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

 

Depending upon your work location, we may require proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 and any recommended booster doses. All employees based in the United States are to provide proof of full vaccination upon hire and any recommended boosters, subject to applicable laws.

 

Accommodations

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request to hr@gatesfoundation.org.

 

Inclusion Statement

We are 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.

 

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.

Apply online:  http://gatesfoundation.contacthr.com/117194414