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

The India Country Office is part of the Africa and India Offices (AIO) division. The health team within the India Country Office aligns its efforts with India’s National Health Policy (NHP, 2017) goals to reduce preventable deaths among mothers and children and support the elimination of selected infectious diseases.

We work closely with India’s central and state governments, and partner with community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, academic and research institutions, the private sector, and development partners to advance our shared objectives. Our strong networks and ability to convene intellectual and technical resources globally and across sectors enable us to respond effectively to emerging and complex challenges.

In India, our work focuses on key priorities that shape the future of the country’s most vulnerable communities, including reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition; urban sanitation; agricultural development; women’s economic empowerment; digital public infrastructure and financial inclusion, across several states in the country.

The Director - Health, India is responsible for developing and executing the integrated health strategy to meet the foundation’s health goals aligned with national priorities, with a focus on accelerating uptake of innovations and equitable improvements in health outcomes at scale. These include supporting the Government of India and state governments (in the priority states of UP, Bihar, and next gen / lighthouse states) to accelerate progress on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition; reduce the prevalence of infectious diseases that disproportionately affect the poor (including the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, malaria, and tuberculosis), support immunization and primary health care and build performance-oriented and equitable health systems.

In service of these goals, the Director - Health, India will work collaboratively with foundation leaders to provide guidance, mentorship and oversight to a multi-disciplinary strategy implementation team. The role will work in deep collaboration with the Director of Digital Health and AI and R&D to ensure that health strategies are fully integrated with innovation pipelines and digital public infrastructure and AI. This includes leveraging data systems, frontier technologies, and product innovation to accelerate delivery, improve system efficiency, and drive measurable outcomes in population health. The incumbent will establish and strengthen critical relationships with national and state governments and other key foundation partners including multilaterals, development and private sector, philanthropic partners and advance the foundation’s mission and impact by creating an environment of optimism, collaboration, rigor, innovation, and inclusion.

The Director - Health, India reports to the Country Director, India Country Office. The position is based in New Delhi, India.

Note - This position is a limited-term position for 24 months. Relocation will not be provided.

Strategy

What You’ll Do

Responsible for formulation, adaptation, and implementation of clear, comprehensive, and detailed health plans in keeping with the health strategy and to advance programmatic goals.
Lead advancement of health strategies aligned with Government of India priorities, including Universal Health Coverage and the National Health Policy, with a focus on strengthening primary and secondary healthcare systems, expanding equitable access, and Integrating innovations that can accelerate improvements in prioritized national health outcomes.
Lead regular strategic reviews with central and state governments to assess progress against health priorities, identify implementation bottlenecks, and align course corrections to ensure delivery of outcomes at scale.
Working with the Africa India Office (AIO) Division, enable systematic diffusion of bi-directional learnings between India and Africa and other LMICs by capturing evidence, codifying scalable models, and facilitating cross-country exchange and adaptation in partnership with governments and regional institutions.
As a member of the AIO Division Leadership Team, support the development and execution of Division’s health priorities.

Execution And Portfolio Management

Drive implementation in priority states by piloting, adapting, and scaling context-specific, relevant and cost-effective solutions, combining innovations in service delivery, last-mile models, and public system strengthening to accelerate improvements in health outcomes of the country.
Ensure a high-quality portfolio of investments by supporting teams and partners to think critically about goals, context, approach, and sustainability. The Director Health reviews and approves investments in India per the delegation of authority.
Accelerate progress toward national health goals by expanding access to affordable diagnostics and point-of-care technologies, enabling early detection, timely treatment, and improved quality of care, particularly in underserved and last-mile settings.
Enable integration and scaling of digital tools and platforms, including digital public infrastructure, health systems (e.g., ABDM), telemedicine, AI-enabled tools, and real-time data systems, in partnership with state governments to strengthen program design, targeting, early detection, care continuity, and adaptive, data-driven decision-making at scale.
Collaborate with domestic partners to explore and lead AI-enabled tools and digital health systems to strengthen disease surveillance, clinical decision support, and program management, driving more precise targeting, real-time insights, and improved efficiency in service delivery.

Partnerships And Representation

Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships with domestic institutions, multilateral organizations, and philanthropic partners in collaboration with the philanthropic partnerships team, to co-create and co-finance high-impact initiatives aligned with national and state health goals, unlocking catalytic funding, enabling knowledge production and accelerating sustainable scale.
Effectively collaborate with teams across US and global offices (e.g., by fostering exchange of insights and assets) for the achievement of the foundation’s health goals in India and globally.
Represent the organization externally with governments, multilateral forums, and key stakeholders to contribute to policy dialogue, advance national priorities, and share learnings to inform broader development agendas.

Leadership And Team Management

Serve as an internal representative of the health portfolio in strategy and other reviews.
Directly responsible for people and team management, including hiring a talented health team organization; guide, coach, mentor and support cluster leaders /deputy directors and their teams in meeting their goals including fostering sustainable and long-term systemic change.
Jointly accountable (with members of the ICO Executive Team) for building a culture of high integrity in line with foundation values, agreements and leadership principles.

Your Experience

An advanced degree like Masters in public health, medicine, or related fields. PhD is preferred.
18+ years of professional experience in global health organizations and demonstrated in India; expertise in public health management with proven ability to understand complex public health problems related to foundation priorities, and experience in successfully executing solutions in partnership with governments, NGOs and other stakeholders.
Established leader in health with extensive experience in low- and middle-income country contexts.
Demonstrated ability to design and implement strategies to advance complex system change in health and to adapt and learn from local contexts.
Knowledge of public health principles and processes in the context of India, with ability to navigate complex environments.
Understanding of digital technologies and their applications to help advance public health priorities
Ability to engage with external and internal stakeholders to assess introduction and scaling of cost-effective innovations to address public health challenges in India.
Demonstrated experience developing collaborative and deep relationships and effectively engaging with a wide array of stakeholders at the country level including but not limited to government, subnational entities, donors and partners/grantees to 1) co-develop strategies and workplans and 2) provide oversight of and track implementation.
Track record of data-driven decision making and fluency in measurement and evaluation.
Skilled at convening, leading, and influencing others to align shared goals in a constructive manner.
Experience leading large, multidisciplinary, matrixed teams and managing a large and complex portfolio of investments.
Outstanding interpersonal skills and humility – able to listen and absorb perspectives from stakeholders and synthesize into thoughtful action.
Driving for results with a strong passion for the development mission of the foundation
Ability to build and nurture a diverse and multicultural team of strong leaders, by empowering them to do their best work, individually and as a team, in service of our goals.
Strong strategic thinking capability with an ability to balance short, medium, and long-term considerations and make choices among opposing priorities.
Excellent written and oral communication skills in positions requiring communication with a broad audience representing diverse cultures.
Demonstrated commitment to the foundation’s values and principles and to holding self to the highest ethical standards.
Ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally.
Must have unrestricted work authorization in the country where this position is located. The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role.

Application deadline – 10th April 2026

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.

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Director - Health, India | New Delhi, Delhi, India