Senior Officer, Africa, Global Partnership Development @Unknown

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, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The TeamThe mission of the Global Policy & Advocacy (GPA) division is to understand and shape the public policy debates affecting the foundation’s work, build support for its major program and policy objectives, and develop partnerships and alliances that can advance the foundation’s objectives nationally and globally. Because the foundation’s resources alone are not enough to solve the challenges ahead, GPA also supports advocacy efforts to engage diverse stakeholders and promote innovative solutions that advance our program goals.  We work in close partnership with grantees, our colleagues in the Global Health, Global Development, Global Growth & Opportunity, U.S. and Gender Equality programs and Foundation Communications to build the environment in which all people have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives.

The Philanthropic Partnerships team (PPT) works to mobilize resources and build the next generation of champions for global health and development (GH&D), ensuring that philanthropy helps the world’s most vulnerable children survive and thrive. Alongside this, we help advance Philanthropy and grow giving around the world, strengthening the broader philanthropic ecosystem through issue agnostic communities such as The Giving Pledge.

Our strategy is designed to close the gap between intent and action, ensuring philanthropy supports lasting change. We engage with ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI), corporate and private foundations, philanthropic collaboratives, advisors, family offices, and social impact investors — through initiatives such as Gates Philanthropy Partners, Proponent Labs, and others that enhance the infrastructure for GH&D giving.

Over the next five years, the majority of our work will focus on mobilizing resources for priorities of GH&D, including: expanding our approaches and partnerships to unlock more capital; growing our work across global regions; and cultivating the next generation of GH&D champions – while continuing to strengthen philanthropic ecosystems and grow giving globally.

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.

*Application deadline – Monday, June 22, 2026

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.

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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

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you have a disability or medical condition and need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process—such as an ASL interpreter, alternative interview format, or physical accessibility support—we’re happy to help. Please contact HR@gatesfoundation.org with the position number and a brief description of your accommodation needs. Requests will be handled confidentially.

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.