Senior Officer, Polio (LTE)

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

The Polio Team works with partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) as well as with country governments, donors and other collaborators to build and implement the Polio eradication strategy. We do this by developing relationships and uplifting each other through our journey together. We believe that energized people, working well together, motivated by great leadership in an inclusive environment in which they thrive, will do phenomenal things!

The Foundation’s leadership team is invested in our success, as we continue to provide updates, identify key risks, and build engagement opportunities.

Your Role

You will provide technical leadership and strategic guidance to advance disease control and elimination, with a focus on eradicating all forms of poliovirus. Your work spans both product development and innovative approaches to program delivery. In partnership with local and regional stakeholders, you will test and evaluate new solutions, generate evidence, and support the scale-up of proven tools. You will also deliver analytical insights to guide Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) decisions and strengthen partnerships with local, regional, and national eradication programs.

*This position is a limited-term position for 11 months, beginning in mid-November 2025. Relocation will not be provided.

What You’ll Do

Vaccine Strategy & Technical Leadership

• Provide technical oversight for a grant portfolio aimed at accelerated development and rollout of novel oral polio vaccines to mitigate the risk of vaccine-derived polioviruses in close coordination with the Deputy Director, TRA, and internal/external partners.
• Provide strategic and analytic insights to inform decision-making regarding which vaccine candidates/types to develop based on a rigorous assessment of epidemiologic, manufacturing, and clinical data over time.
• Represent the polio team in relevant GPEI working groups and lead the process of streamlining data collection, analysis, and monitoring for continued and expanded use of nOPV2.

Grant & Portfolio Management

• Develop and manage a complex portfolio of grants and contracts to accomplish the global goal of polio eradication, ensuring appropriate documentation, grant budgeting, and reporting.
• Review letters of inquiry and grant proposals and provide clear, concise, and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding.
• Consult with grantees and other partners to maximize project impact and ensure grants meet strategy goals. This may include site visits, providing operational guidance, and convening meetings of key stakeholders.

Program Design & Implementation

• Contribute to the design of new strategies, collaborations, and implementation plans to ensure long-term sustainability and impact.
• Spearhead processes with internal stakeholders to synthesize key scientific information and prepare briefing materials, presentations, and background notes for the foundation’s leadership.

• Support inclusive culture through modeling behaviors and actions.

Your Experience

We are seeking a collaborative, innovative team member with an excellent record of achievement providing technical leadership in a global health context. We are looking for individuals with:

• A Ph.D. or MD degree or equivalent demonstrated experience, preferably in a related field (i.e., public health, epidemiology, etc.).
• Significant experience managing complex implementation programs or innovation (health R&D, data, digital).
• Experience in public health or health product development in areas such as infectious disease program design and implementation, investment portfolio strategy, grant making and management, disease modeling, medical product development, clinical trials, and health surveillance.
• Experience with research methodologies and deployment of data strategies.
• Program or project management experience, from work plan concept development to implementation.
• In-depth knowledge of infectious diseases.
• Ability to quickly learn, synthesize, and generate insights in areas related to infectious diseases.
• Strong quantitative analytical skills.

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

The salary range for this role is $233,600 to $362,200 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $254,700 to $394,700 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

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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.