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, weโre committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.
The TeamOur Global Health (GH) division harnesses advances in science and technology to save lives in developing countries. We focus on the health problems that have a major impact in developing countries but get too little attention and funding. Where tools exist, we support sustainable ways to improve their delivery. Where they donโt, we invest in research and development of new interventions, such as vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. Our work in infectious diseases focuses on strategies to fight and prevent HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases, enteric and diarrheal diseases, pneumonia, and maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition.
The Integrated Development (IDev) team comprises four core domains: Global Health Integrated Development Expertise (GHIDE), Regulatory Affairs, Decision, Analyze, Communicate (DAC), and Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls (CMC). IDev plays a critical role in advancing the development of global health products by providing specialized expertise and support to Program Strategy Teams across the Global Health division. IDev ensures that our product development investments are guided by robust data, regulatory insight, and operational excellence.
Please note that the Gates Foundation is partnering with SRI Executive Search & Consulting for this key leadership hire. To submit an application or nominate a candidate, please email Gates-GHIDE@sri-executive.com
Your Role
As Deputy Director, GHIDE Domain, you will be a key member of the Integrated Development leadership team within Global Health, reporting to the Director of Integrated Development. In this senior, highly visible role, you will provide strategic, clinical, and operational direction for the GHIDE domain and guide cross-functional product development strategy across our Global Health portfolio.
Your leadership will be pivotal in ensuring that the Foundationโs product development efforts are cohesive, clinically rigorous, technically sound, and positioned for maximum impact. You will help accelerate the development and delivery of life-saving health solutions by embedding robust clinical development strategies into product plans and ensuring readiness for regulatory approval and introduction.
This role is based in Seattle, WA, with relocation support provided.
What Youโll Do
In this role, your primary objective is to lead the GHIDE domainโs contribution to product development strategies and planning, ensuring integrated support and strategic guidance across all stages of the product lifecycle. You will be responsible for both high-level strategy and day-to-day coordination to connect teams with the expertise they need. Your key responsibilities will include:
Strategic Domain Leadership: Provide comprehensive strategic and operational direction for the GHIDE domain. Set priorities and develop plans that ensure the IDev domains work in concert to support product development programs and drive operational excellence across the domainโs portfolio of projects.
Thought Partnership: Serve as a key thought partner within IDevโs leadership team. Works closely with the IDev Director and other domain leaders to shape overall Integrated Development strategies, shares best practices, and foster a cohesive, high-performing team that continuously improves our support model.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with Program Strategy Teams (PSTs) to embed best practice product development strategies into granteeโs integrated product development plans. Facilitate support from IDev domains for PST-led initiatives while respecting the PSTsโ ownership of grantee relationships and the principle that grantees retain ownership of their product assets.
Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with a broad range of stakeholders to advance our product development goals. Internally, liaise between IDev and PSTs to align support with program needs. Externally, represent the Foundationโs development efforts to industry partners and global health organizations โ building strong partnerships and establishing credibility as a senior Foundation leader.
Portfolio & Decision Guidance: Advise on critical product development decisions and portfolio management processes. This includes providing expert input on go/no-go decisions, participating in stage-gate reviews, and helping to formulate integrated development strategies across the product lifecycle. Ensure that data-driven, strategic decision-making frameworks are applied to advance the most promising innovations.
Management and internal partners: Manage a team of three Senior Program Officers responsible for various activities within GHIDE along with one Senior Program Manager who is responsible for the project management activities for the GHIDE domain.
Your Experience
We are looking for a seasoned and visionary leader who thrives on tackling complex global health challenges to drive transformative change. The ideal candidate will have:
Education & Experience: An advanced degree (e.g., MD, PhD, PharmD, MBA, or equivalent) in a scientific, medical, or technical discipline is strongly preferred. Candidates should have at least 15 years of experience (20โ30 years preferred) including end-to-end product development of pharmaceutical productsโparticularly with successful advancement from early development to launch in complex global settings. Experience in small molecule therapeutics is highly desirable and experience in vaccines, diagnostics, and or medical devices is a plus.
Clinical and Product Development Expertise: Demonstrated track record of leading cross-disciplinary development programs from ideally from early development to commercialization. Strong expertise in integrating scientific, clinical, and regulatory inputs to drive decision-making, optimize development timelines, and accelerate progress through key inflection points. Demonstrated expertise in navigating regulatory pathways or managing clinical development programs, with a proven track record of guiding products through key development milestones.
Industry/Regulatory Experience: Experience working in product development or R&D roles at a leading pharmaceutical or biotechnology organization. Familiarity with portfolio management, including go/no-go decisions, prioritization frameworks, and investment strategies. Ideally, this experience includes participating in high-level portfolio decisions, providing you with insight into portfolio management and the go/no-go decision-making process.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Demonstrated success in leading and collaborating with cross-functional teams. Experience in global health product development or managing product portfolios focused on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is desirable, showcasing your ability to adapt development strategies to resource-limited settings, but not essential for the right candidate.
Leadership & Communication: Excellent leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills. You can inspire and influence diverse teams and effectively collaborate with stakeholders at all levels. Your exceptional oral and written communication skills enable you to convey complex information clearly and persuasively.
External Representation: Proven ability to represent an organization in high-profile external engagements. You can build credibility and strong partnerships with industry leaders, regulatory authorities, global health partners, and other external stakeholders, effectively serving as an ambassador for the Foundationโs mission and values.
AI-informed decision-making: Proven enthusiasm for and experience with modern AI technologies, with the ability to apply them thoughtfully to accelerate and strengthen product development. Ensures safe, responsible, and effective use of AI in complex global health contexts.
Travel: Ability and willingness to travel up to 20% of the time, both domestically and internationally, to engage with partners, attend key meetings, and support on-site program needs as required.
Mission Alignment: A deep commitment to the Foundationโs core values and mission. You are passionate about improving global health equity and are motivated by the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of underserved populations.
#LI-PA1
The salary range for this role is $328,400 to $509,000 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 $358,000 to $554,800 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 candidateโs 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 โ of voices, ideas, and approaches โ 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.