Senior Officer, Africa, Global Partnership Development at Gates Foundation

Your Role

• The Senior Officer, Africa, Global Partnership Development leads the foundation’s approach to African philanthropy, developing and stewarding high-value partnerships with Africa-based and Africa-originating ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), family offices, corporates, and private and institutional foundations, in support of high-impact health and development priorities across the continent. This is a high-impact, senior-level role for a professional with the vision, creativity, and relationship capital to architect and close large-scale, complex partnerships with a diverse range of donors—and who can build and lead relationships on behalf of the foundation with leading philanthropists, their staff, family offices, and foundations in ways that result in co-funding, complementary funding, and the development of individual champions and advocates both on the continent and from the African diaspora. The role requires deep contextual knowledge of how philanthropy, business, and civil society intersect across Sub-Saharan Africa, and the proven ability to design and execute ambitious partnership strategies across issue areas and geographies.
• Working at the intersection of the foundation’s philanthropic, programmatic, and advocacy goals, this role will build and manage a robust pipeline of African philanthropic partnerships while also contributing to the foundation’s broader strategy for growing giving on the continent. The Senior Officer will partner closely with the institutional philanthropy lead to develop and execute approaches to engaging other foundations and corporates and will serve as a key relationship manager with foundation leadership, including in connection with the Giving Pledge.
• This role reports to the Director, African Regional Office, Global Policy and Advocacy with a dotted line to the Deputy Director, Global Partnership Development, Philanthropic Partnerships Team. The role does not have people management responsibilities.

This role is located in Nairobi, Kenya. To be considered you must be able to legally work in Kenya without visa sponsorship.

What You'll Do

• You will lead the foundation’s approach to African philanthropy, building on a strategy to engage UHNWI's based in or originating from the continent in global health and development. This includes identifying, qualifying, and cultivating prospective partners; managing an active portfolio of high-value relationships; and driving toward significant annual portfolio commitments in support of the foundation’s GH&D goals.
• You will bring a deep understanding of how deals and partnerships are structured across Africa’s diverse philanthropic, corporate, and civic landscape, and will use this expertise to shape approaches that are both locally resonant and globally aligned. You will work across PPT, program teams, and the Africa Regional Office and Country Offices to develop compelling cases for support and design partnership structures that may encompass philanthropic gifts, co-investment, blended finance, and other forms of capital.
• A key dimension of this role is building and managing complex partnerships that span multiple partners, program areas, and geographies — requiring strong coordination, negotiation, and deal-shaping capabilities. You will identify opportunities to bring together multiple partners around shared priorities, design partnership frameworks for complex multi-stakeholder engagements, and ensure African perspectives are integrated into global giving strategies. You will play a leading, supporting, or advisory role in specific partnerships based on portfolio composition and deal complexity.

Cross-Sector Engagement and Coordination on Institutional Philanthropy

You will represent the foundation within African philanthropic networks, sector forums, and peer communities. This may include:

• Building relationships with and influencing leaders across African business, civil society, and philanthropy;
• Partnering with communications and advocacy teams to craft culturally resonant narratives that motivate giving across African contexts;
• Identifying and developing key donors as spokespeople, thought partners, and champions for GH&D on the continent and from the African diaspora.
• Working in partnership with the foundation’s institutional philanthropy lead, you will coordinate on approaches to engaging African foundations and corporate foundations.

Foundation Leadership and Giving Pledge Engagement

• You will serve as a strategic partner for foundation leadership in their relationships with key African philanthropists and partners, ensuring that executive engagements are well-prepared, purposeful, and followed up effectively. You will provide briefings, relationship strategy, and follow-up coordination to maximize the impact of leadership touchpoints.
• You will play an active role in managing and growing relationships connected to the Giving Pledge, including identifying prospective signatories from Africa and supporting ongoing engagement with existing African signatories in alignment with PPT’s broader Giving Pledge strategy.

Internal Alignment and Portfolio Management

• You will partner across PPT, the Global Partnership Development team, the Africa Regional Office, program strategy teams, and the Global Policy & Advocacy division as a key internal relationship manager, coordinating efforts across teams to ensure partner engagement is timely, aligned, and reflective of both donor interests and foundation priorities. This role works closely with Africa country offices—particularly Nigeria and Ethiopia—and in close coordination with regional leads across Southern, Eastern, and Western Africa.
• This will include contributing to the development of new philanthropic products, participating in content and cultivation planning for events including Goalkeepers, Proponent Labs, and other Africa-relevant convenings, and collaborating with PPT’s Shared Services team on communications, audience engagement, and data and insights capabilities.
• You will maintain rigorous portfolio and pipeline tracking through Salesforce systems, including forecasting, performance reporting, and consistent updating of partner intelligence.

Your Experience

• Bachelor’s or other advanced degree in a relevant field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in complex partnership development, major gifts fundraising, business development, resource mobilization, investment, or strategic relationship management — with a demonstrated track record of securing significant financial commitments or closing high-value partnerships.
• Deep knowledge of the African philanthropic, business, and civil society landscape, with fluency in how partnerships and deals get structured across Sub-Saharan Africa. We welcome candidates from business, finance, investment, international development, or NGO backgrounds — what matters is the depth of your African market knowledge, your relationship capital, and your track record in business development or resource mobilization.
• Demonstrated experience engaging and managing relationships with ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and/or institutional partners, with a track record of securing significant multi-year commitments.
• Experience shaping and managing complex partnerships across multiple partners, issue areas, and geographies.
• A working knowledge of global health and development priorities, with an appreciation for how these intersect with African development agendas. Deep GH&D expertise is not required — intellectual curiosity, an ability to learn quickly, and genuine commitment to the mission are more important.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across internal teams to achieve shared goals.

Skills and Competencies

• Inspirational relationship-builder with a proven ability to build trust and manage relationships at a variety of levels — from principals and senior executives to program staff — toward specific outcomes.
• Strategic thinker with fluency in African philanthropy trends, donor motivations, and the broader landscape of giving across the continent.
• Deal-shaping and partnership structuring skills, including familiarity with blended finance, co-investment, and non-traditional philanthropic capital.
• Track record of translating complex global challenges into compelling narratives that resonate with diverse African audiences.
• Strong understanding of influence-building, advocacy, and developing individuals as champions.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills in English, with the ability to engage and influence UHNW audiences and senior decision-makers.
• Skilled in working across diverse cultural contexts across Sub-Saharan Africa and internationally, with deep respect for local norms, power dynamics, and relationship protocols.
• Proficient in assessing partnership impact and performance, with a data-driven mindset.

Preferred Attributes

• Strong existing networks within African philanthropic, business, or civil society communities, particularly among UHNWIs, family offices, and corporate and institutional foundations.
• Proficiency in one or more African languages, or other languages spoken across key markets.
• Experience working closely with senior leadership, high-level influencers, and boards of directors.
• Prior engagement with or knowledge of the Giving Pledge or comparable philanthropic communities.
• Experience in blended finance, impact investing, or cross-sector partnership development.
• Deep experience in resource mobilization for GH&D, gender equality, or related development themes.
• Ability to travel up to 40% of time, including regionally across Sub-Saharan Africa.