Program Assistant at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Program Assistant, South Africa is an important member of the Africa team. The focus of the Africa team is to enable collective impact for the foundation in Africa by influencing policy and finance towards key development priorities, strengthening capacity and enabling systems for delivery, and innovating and leveraging cross-cutting enablers for impact at scale. The Program Assistant will provide a wide and varied range of organizational and administrative support to the leaders and staff in the South Africa office while assisting with project coordination and collaborating with a small team of other assistants to support the overall work and ensure the smooth running of the Africa team’s regional office based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Core Responsibilities

• Complete a broad variety of administrative tasks for principals, including handling complex calendars of appointments across geographies; completing expense reports; composing and preparing correspondence; arranging complex and detailed travel plans, itineraries, and agendas; and compiling documents for travel-related meetings.
• Work closely and effectively with the principals to keep them well informed of upcoming internal and external commitments and responsibilities, following up appropriately. Oversee the key engagement strategy for the principals.
• Successfully complete critical aspects of deliverables with a hands-on approach, including follow-up on principals’ contacts.
• Prioritize conflicting needs; handle matters expeditiously and proactively, and follow through on projects to successful completion, often under deadline pressures.
• Assist with the planning for events, leadership meetings, retreats, convenings, and presentations which may include coordinating arrangements for multiple participants, managing participant communication, handling logistics, preparing and disseminating materials.
• Create, update and maintain organized files and records including a system for tracking, monitoring and prioritizing tasks and projects. Compile and process expense reports and reimbursements.
• Maintain high quality interactions and clear and consistent communications with grantees, partners, government officials, consultants and internal staff.
• Cultivate solid working relationships with staff and a broad range of senior contributors including community leaders, consultants, grantees and public officials.
• Support communications to ensure timely responses to inquiries including acting as liaison for team with internal partners, routing requests appropriately, drafting and editing correspondence and taking and distributing meeting minutes.
• Demonstrate keen ability to anticipate needs of principals and proactively spot and resolve issues, especially when principals are travelling.
• Develop methods and procedures on new assignments, may provide guidance to other support staff.

Leadership and Culture

We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment in which they thrive, will do phenomenal things.

Core Knowledge and Skills

• Strong organizational skills reflecting ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with internal staff, grantees, high level officials and other stakeholders.
• Proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability.
• Highly resourceful team-player, with the ability to also be effective independently.
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential information with discretion, be adaptable to opposing demands.
• Clear capabilities in working across multiple time zones and cultures.
• Knowledge of South Africa business environment and standards is required.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; French skills a plus.
• Experience in an environment requiring diplomacy and good judgment in managing interactions inside and outside an organization, with individuals at all levels, including senior executives and other high-level officials.
• Ability to effectively handle and work through ambiguity.
• Experience in providing guidance to and supervising the work of others is desirable.
• Experience establishing systems to improve efficiency and functioning in a changing environment.
• Demonstrated proficiency using Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint is required. Experience in learning and mastering new software applications.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree with at least 7 years of experience supporting senior staff in a development space, preferably in a global and matrixed environment.