Senior Officer, Agriculture Development, Women's Empowerment

Senior Officer, Agriculture Development, Women’s Empowerment

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Seattle, WA, United States

Your Role

The primary responsibility of this WE Senior Officer is to strategically develop and manage a portfolio of investments (grants and contracts) within the WE team focused on gender transformative programs in the agrifood sector. As a leader for women’s empowerment on the Ag Dev team, you will also contribute to pivotal initiatives and partner closely with Ag Dev leadership. This is a full-time position and will be based in Seattle or one of the foundation’s country offices, such as Nairobi, Dakar, Abuja or Addis. It is open to competition from candidates from within the foundation as well as external candidates.

What You’ll Do

• Partner with foundation colleagues and external collaborators to develop, implement and assess the vision and Theory of Change of the WE portfolio. Advance a forward-looking strategy with clear impact pathways for WE and the whole of Ag Dev that supports gender integration, emphasizes high-quality data and evidence on WE, and prioritizes gender ground-breaking approaches;
• Provide technical support to the Ag Dev team and grantees on integrating gender into programmatic and measurement work, including such topics as financial and digital farm services, crop, livestock and horticulture farming, soil and water management, high value market and entrepreneurship opportunities, nutritious food systems, and policy advice;
• Develop and lead a complex portfolio of investments (grants and contracts) focused on women’s empowerment in farming and agribusiness, data and evidence for policy influence, and inclusive climate adaptation in the agricultural sector in Africa and South Asia;
• Collaborate with the Ag Dev team on consolidating and strategically communicating the evidence required to make the case for the importance of women’s empowerment to achieve impacts in relation to increasing incomes and productivity for small-scale producers in Africa and South Asia;
• Represent the foundation to key external audiences, including other donors, international development organizations, and national ministries, as well as private sector partners and NGOs;
• Regularly collaborate with grantees and other partners to enhance the impact of projects and ensure grants are contributing to Ag Dev’s strategy goals. Frequent travel (about a third of the year) entails project site visits, providing technical and operational guidance, government consultations, and convening meetings of key partners;
• Provide input and feedback on materials for Ag Dev’s annual strategy review, as well as leadership learning sessions;
• Participate in working groups within the Ag Dev team and across the foundation, including the WE Markets working group, the WE Data & Evidence working group, and the Gender and Digital Community of Practice, among others;
• Serve as a champion for principles of equity and inclusion in Ag Dev’s strategy and programming, including a commitment to cultivate equitable partnerships within our grantee and partner community.

Your Experience

We need an individual who derives happiness from addressing complex issues, thrives in a team environment, and is deeply passionate about promoting women’s empowerment on a global level. We seek:

• Advanced degree in agriculture, economics, gender equality, public policy, or related field;
• 15+ years of relevant work experience in agricultural development and women’s empowerment;
• Previous residence or extensive work experience in a Sub-Saharan African or Asia country or countries;
• Recognized by the global professional community as a leader within the field of women’s empowerment in agriculture and/or gender equality;
• Exceptional track record of team management with experience working with a wide range of collaborators, including private and public sector actors;
• Experience with the design and/or evaluation of effective gender transformative approaches within an agricultural context in Africa and/or Asia, including significant analytical skills, potentially including financial and digital services, market integration, nutrition and policy influence;
• Knowledge of the global ecosystem of gender issues and partners in agricultural research and development, as well as the landscape of gender policies and gender data efforts, especially for climate adaptive agriculture;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, able to optimally synthesize information to reach diverse audiences and build consensus;
• Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic, and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people;
• Great teammate who can operate independently coupled with a shown ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a fast-paced environment.

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