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 TeamAs part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Institute for Disease Modelingโs (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.
*This position is a limited-term position for 11 months. Relocation will not be provided.
Your Role
In this role, we seek a full-time Senior Research Scientist to join the Gender, Vulnerability and Health Equity research team within IDM. We are seeking a candidate with deep expertise in quantitative research, statistical and computational approaches, and health systems modeling to generate insights that accelerate progress toward maternal and child wellbeing. The candidate is expected to implement research that advances the measurement and modeling of maternal health data to support more effective decision-making around critical and novel interventions. They will be responsible for designing and conducting rigorous quantitative analyses to assess the feasibility, reliability, and quality of different methods used to capture maternal and child mortality, as well as evaluating and refining the models used to estimate these outcomes. The Senior Research Scientist is expected to have considerable substantive expertise in maternal health and/or health data surveillance systems and collection strategies.
What Youโll Do:
- Develop and apply advanced statistical and predictive models to improve understanding of maternal mortality and morbidity outcome metrics.
- Conduct statistical analysis, simulation studies, and other quantitative and qualitative analyses to explore the tradeoffs between different data collection strategies, and how to appropriately model novel data collection strategies
- Adapt knowledge, ideas, and research methodology from different disciplines to develop innovative approaches to longstanding challenges in the field of global and maternal health.
- Lead strategic initiatives focused on Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) modeling, data analysis, and data collection efforts.
- Work closely with internal and external stakeholders to understand the current policy and programmatic questions related to MNCH and broader team focal areas of womenโs health and gender equality.
- Develop, advance, and collaborate with team members on modeling and data analysis projects.
- Communicate research outputs through publications, conference presentations, stakeholder engagement, and collaborations with external partners.
- Clearly communicate complex research methods and findings to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- International travel may be necessary.
Your Experience:
- A Ph.D. in a relevant discipline (e.g., statistics, demography, public health) with significant coursework in quantitative methods (e.g., Statistics/Biostatistics, Data Science, Demography).
- Minimum of five years of research experience in a related field.
- Demonstrated expertise and diverse knowledge in theoretical and computational methods in mortality estimation, risk stratification, geospatial, or microsimulation modeling.
- Knowledge of MNCH global public health research and focal areas, particularly in data systems within low-income countries (LICs).
- Experience and strong understanding of global health data sources working with imperfect global health data (e.g., surveys, DHS, CRVS, routine HMIS, etc.)
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills especially in conveying complex analyses to diverse audiences including policymakers.
- Experience working in or with country governments and partners, especially in translating data into actionable insights.
- Demonstrated ability to work productively independently and as part of a team, both leading analyses and providing a supporting analytic role
- Proficiency with statistical programming languages (R strongly preferred); familiarity with GitHub, cloud computing environments and reproducible research workflows
Other Attributes:
- Attention to detail and high standard for quality of work products.
- Ability to initiate, organize, and manage research projects
- Experience working in LIC contexts
- Must be highly inquisitive, self-motivated and results oriented
*Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.
The salary range for this role is $186,400 to $288,800 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 $203,100 to $314,900 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.