Senior Research Economist, Gender, Vulnerability, and Health Equity, Health and Data Systems (*11-Month LTE)

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 Team

As part of the Gates Foundation (GF), the Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) mission is to support global efforts to eradicate infectious diseases and achieve permanent improvements in health by developing, using, and sharing computational modeling tools and promoting quantitative decision-making. The IDM team is composed of research scientists and software developers who create advanced models of disease transmission, develop computational tools to inform global disease eradication policy, conduct analysis of epidemiologically- and policy-relevant data, and identify and address critical knowledge gaps. IDM is a highly dynamic organization with a work environment that is defined by innovation and collaboration. As part of our work, we routinely collaborate with international health agencies, ministries of health in the developing world, as well as universities and research institutes across the globe.

Your Role

We are seeking a full-time Senior Research Economist for a 11-month limited-term position to lead and execute high-impact analytical work focused on cost effectiveness analysis, bundled interventions and health system optimization and prioritization. This role focuses on applying rigorous quantitative and health economic methods to inform decision-making in health systems and service delivery, with an emphasis on women’s health and primary health care including cross-cutting resource allocation and decision modeling.

The successful candidate will serve as a core technical lead on specific workstreams, responsible for designing and implementing rigorous health economic and optimization analyses that directly inform policy and investment decisions. They will translate complex research and policy questions into structured analytical strategies that integrate epidemiological dynamics, costs, and health system constraints.

This is a hands-on, technically intensive role requiring strong independent execution. The candidate will take ownership of the end-to-end analytical process, from conceptualization through modeling and communication while contributing to the evolution of modeling approaches for optimization and prioritization in constrained health systems.

*This position is a limited-term position for 11 months. Relocation will not be provided.

Application Deadline: June 16, at 11:59pm PDT

What You’ll Do

• Lead the design and execution of health economics/resource allocation and optimization analyses to inform prioritization of interventions and health system strategies, particularly in women’s health
• Develop and apply cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) and extended CEA frameworks to inform policy and investment decisions.
• Design and conduct modeling approaches such as scenario analysis, forecasting, and simulation to support prioritization across interventions and delivery platforms
• Translate high-level research and policy questions into structured analytical approaches and formal decision problems, explicitly incorporating budget, capacity, and delivery constraints
• Develop, maintain, and optimize code for data processing, analysis, and modeling (primarily in R and/or Python), ensuring reproducibility and scalability
• Independently manage end-to-end analytical workflows, including data cleaning, validation, integration, modeling, and results generation
• Work with diverse health and data system inputs (e.g., household surveys, routine health information systems, costing data, facility-level data), addressing challenges such as missingness, bias, and inconsistencies
• Conduct sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, and clearly articulate assumptions, limitations, and implications of findings
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to refine research questions, align analytical approaches with real-world constraints, and interpret findings in policy-relevant contexts
• Produce high-quality analytical outputs, including figures, tables, and technical summaries, and contribute to reports, policy briefs, and other research products
• Ensure all analyses are well-documented, transparent, and reproducible, following best practices in code and workflow management

Your Experience

• PhD in a quantitative field such as health economics, economics, statistics, epidemiology, data science, or a related discipline
• Minimum of five years of post-PhD experience conducting applied quantitative research in global health economics or related areas
• Strong expertise in health economic methods (e.g., cost-effectiveness analysis, resource allocation or optimization), with experience applying these methods to policy-relevant questions
• Advanced programming skills in R and/or Python, with demonstrated experience building reproducible, well-structured analytical workflows
• Proven ability to independently design and execute complex analyses, from problem formulation through to results interpretation
• Experience working with health and data systems, including integrating and analyzing data from sources such as surveys, routine health information systems, facility data, and costing datasets
• Experience applying quantitative methods to questions related to health systems strengthening, service delivery, or population health, ideally including women’s, maternal, newborn, or child health
• Experience with modeling approaches such as simulation modeling, scenario analysis, or forecasting in applied settings
• Demonstrated ability to make sound methodological decisions and adapt approaches based on data availability and real-world constraints
• Experience collaborating in interdisciplinary teams and contributing to joint analytical outputs

Other Attributes

• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to clearly document methods and present findings to technical and non-technical audiences

• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Ability to clearly document and explain analytical approaches and results
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative research environment
• Interest in applying quantitative methods to inform real-world policy and program decisions

**Must have unrestricted work authorization in the country where this position is located. The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. This includes direct company sponsorship and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (eg: H-1B, O-1, L-1, E, OPT, STEM-OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc.).

The salary range for this role is $190,100 to $294,700 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 $209,100 to $324,100 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

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.