Senior Research Program Manager

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
paid time off
United States, Washington, Seattle
500 5th Avenue North (Show on map)
Jul 23, 2025
The Foundation We are the largest nonprofitfighting 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 Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) at the Gates Foundation supports global efforts to eradicate infectious diseases and achieve permanent improvements in health. We develop, use, and share computational modeling tools, and promote quantitative decision-making. The IDM team is comprised of research scientists, software engineers, and strategic planning professionals. Your Role As a Senior Research Program Manager, you will apply experience in public health research, program & project management, and leadership advising to guide strategic alignment, road mapping, and partnerships that underpin scientific research activities across IDM. You will lead a team of program managers and collaborate closely with research managers and scientists who work across diverse domain areas (e.g., infectious diseases, reproductive, maternal, and newborn health, health system strengthening). You and your team will structure and guide decision-making to prioritize and sequence research activities to meet foundation and partner needs and enhance impact. Additionally, you and your team will develop and maintain roadmaps for cohesive execution against these priorities, surfacing and recommending decisions for risk and timeline management. This role offers the opportunity to span across all areas of IDM research and contribute to our impact at the overall organizational level as well as at the specific project level.. You will be a thought partner and catalyst for change, crafting, coordinating, and implementing plans for the most complex challenges in global health modeling. Whether developing strategy, guiding teams through ambiguity, or mentoring emerging talent, you'll bring structure, insight, and collaboration to everything you do. You will report to the Deputy Director for Strategy, Planning, and Management, and you will partner with peers focus on software product management and overall IDM strategy development. What You'll Do Provide strategic guidance for planning and execution of research portfolios in accordance with IDM's and the Gates Foundation's overall goals.. Analyze and distill research findings to inform strategy, anticipate risks and guide portfolio-level pivots when needed. Use data-driven decision-making and structured problem solving to advance program goals across a variety of health domains. Lead end-to-end program management, including setting objectives, crafting implementation frameworks, leading cross-functional collaboration, and ensuring progress toward impact. Initiate and facilitate decision-making discussions in response to changing strategic needs, implications of research, and/or execution risks. Cultivate and manage relationships with internal and external collaborators to ensure alignment, communication, and shared outcomes. Collaborate with research leadership to build, cultivate, and manage critical partnerships with teams across the foundation, as well as with external research partners. Lead a team of program managers, fostering a high-performance, collaborative culture that supports professional development and aligns with organizational priorities. Drive internal capacity building through initiatives focused on professional development initiatives, leadership onboarding, and cross functional knowledge exchange. Promote a culture of clarity, inclusion, and shared ownership across teams and functions. Be a trusted advisor to research managers and deputy directors and be a delegate for your manager (Deputy Director for Strategy, Planning, and Management). Your Experience We are seeking an expert, adaptive, and strategic team member who thrives in dynamic environments and is passionate about impact-driven global health work. Ideal candidates will demonstrate: A degree involving or equivalent research experience in a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) discipline. Experience with collaborative or multi-disciplinary research programs is a plus. Expertise in sophisticated program management, preferably in a research-oriented field. Experience with public health research, such as infectious diseases, health systems strengthening, and other cross-cutting domains. Strong written and oral executive communication skills, especially for translating sophisticated scientific information into clear, visual, and actionable outputs for critical thinking by diverse audiences. Intellectual curiosity, resourcefulness, resilience, and a constructive approach to challenging assumptions. Experience in team building and people management, with a strong background of developing talent, and fostering inclusive, high-performing teams. Ability to address ambiguity, synthesize a variety of inputs, and create of structure from complexity to drive execution toward shared goals. Strong collaboration abilities including facilitation of leadership decision-making and internal & external collaborator discussions. Commitment to the foundation's mission, values, and ethical standards. Ability to travel up to 20% domestically and internationally. Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship. #LI-SC2 The salary range for this role is $186,400 to $288,800. 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 $203,100 to $314,900 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. 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.