Deputy Director, Development Policy & Finance, Africa at Gates Foundation

What You’ll Do

Policy, Advocacy Strategy and Implementation

• Lead development and execution of Africa-facing fiscal policy and development finance strategies in close collaboration with DPAF and Program Strategy Teams (PST) Directors, country directors, and regional government relations leadership.
• Translate complex macroeconomic and fiscal developments and challenges into actionable policy and advocacy priorities.
• Ensure alignment of Africa economic policy engagement with broader advocacy strategies across health and economic opportunity.
• Translate the dialogue on development financing solutions and capital mobilization into opportunities for Africa, in particular with regard to health and agriculture.
• Lead insights and briefings to inform leadership decision-making and regional prioritization.

Government Relations and Regional Management

• Cultivate and maintain high-level relationships with ministries of finance and revenue authorities, economic planning ministries or departments, central banks, and regional institutions.
• Coordinate closely with regional government relations teams to ensure coherence of fiscal policy advocacy across regions.

Team Leadership and Capacity Building

• Supervise and mentor Senior Program Officers, fostering a high-performing team culture.
• Ensure integrated advocacy approaches and cross-team collaboration across Africa, GPA, and global program teams.
• Promote DEI values in team culture and management practices.

​​​​​​​Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Development

• Engage with funders, development organizations, private sector, and policy researchers to strengthen the enabling environment for fiscal reforms.
• Support coordination with grantees and partners to advance policy reforms and strengthen fiscal governance.
• Facilitate leadership engagement during regional visits.

​​​​​​​Internal Collaboration and Coordination

• Partner with GPA, Global Development, Global Health, and other divisions to ensure regional strategies reflect programmatic priorities.
• Generate context, analysis, and insights to shape advocacy and grant strategies.

​​​​​​​Investment Management

• Oversee fiscal policy and development finance-related grantmaking portfolios in collaboration with DPAF, program strategy teams, and leadership from country offices and regional government relations in ARO.
• Lead key blended finance deals/investments in collaboration with foundation program strategy teams and DPAF leadership
• Ensure investments are strategically aligned, impactful, and meet high-quality delivery standards.
• Support SPOs in portfolio development, management, and evaluation.

​​​​​​​Representation and Influence

• Represent the foundation in policy dialogues, technical forums, and strategic engagements.
• Represent the foundation in continental and global platforms on development finance and macroeconomic issues.
• Support Africa development policy and global policy initiatives, including risk and reputation management.
• Contribute to GPA leadership forums to ensure Africa priorities are reflected.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Your Experience

• Advanced degree (Master’s or higher) in Economics, Public Policy, Public Finance, International Development, or related field.
• Minimum 15+ years of senior-level experience in development finance, fiscal policy, or macroeconomic policy analysis.
• Strong stakeholder experience, including working with African ministries of finance, central banks, regional and global economic institutions (e.g. World Bank, AfDB, IMF).
• Demonstrated leadership overseeing complex policy or advocacy portfolios.
• Strong analytical capabilities and ability to communicate economic insights effectively.
• Political acumen and an in-depth understanding of Sub-Saharan Africa’s political economy.
• Proven ability to mentor and develop senior staff.