Senior Officer, International Compensation & Mobility at Gates Foundation

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 People team is a strategic partner in shaping a thriving, inclusive, and high-performing organization. We steward the employee experience across the full talent lifecycle—from attracting and developing exceptional talent to strengthening culture, supporting well-being as well as impact, and aligning people strategies with our mission.

As part of the People organization, the People Experience team is focused on delivering consistent, cross-foundation solutions across the employee journey. This team builds strategies and solutions that support employees from the moment they join the foundation to life post foundation as an alum and all the moments in between. The team is responsible for solutions spanning total rewards, mobility, workforce strategy, capability development, employment policies, talent practices, employee relations, offboarding, and alumni. By recently bringing these teams together, the aim is to design end-to-end experiences for employees and enable a more responsive, globally relevant approach that meets evolving organization and employee needs. We are deeply interdependent with other People and operational teams in the design and delivery of solutions, requiring a collaborative approach that quickly discerns and adapts to varying partnership models, business needs, and local context. The team has the responsibility and opportunity to design and deliver solutions across many global locations at a time when the foundation is accelerating impact over the next 20 years, ahead of closure in 2045, which brings unique talent problems to solve.

This position reports to the Deputy Director, Compensation

This role is a limited-term position for 36 months.

Your Role

The Senior Officer, International Compensation & Mobility is responsible for partnering on the execution and administration of international compensation, mobility and immigration programs across Africa, India, and other countries as assigned.

This role serves as a strategic partner to HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Legal, and regional leadership to ensure compensation and mobility practices are equitable, competitive, compliant, and aligned with organizational strategy. You will consult and provide expert guidance on cross-border compensation, international assignments, localization, and market benchmarking in complex and emerging markets.

The role is based in Nairobi, Kenya and requires deep knowledge of labor/compensation markets and regulatory environments across the African continent, as well as experience supporting India and other international locations.

What You’ll Do

International Compensation Strategy & Advisory

• Lead the development and implementation of country-specific compensation structures for non-managerial staff across the African continent, ensuring alignment with the global total rewards philosophy.
• Conduct market benchmarking using third-party survey sources and local intelligence to ensure competitive positioning.
• Provide guidance on salary structures, job architecture alignment, and pay equity analysis.
• Partner with the headquarters-based compensation team to provide feedback and insights from multiple African and Indian markets.

Global Mobility & International Assignments

• Consult with Regional HRPB and Regional leadership on international assignments and offers, ensuring alignment with the foundation's strategic intent and practices.
• Provide insights and feedback on mobility policies, including expatriate compensation, allowances, tax equalization, and localization frameworks.
• Partner with external mobility, immigration, and tax vendors to ensure compliant and efficient delivery of service.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compensation and mobility programs comply with local labor laws, tax regulations, and statutory requirements across relevant countries.
• Monitor regulatory changes on the African continent and in India and proactively assess impact.
• Maintain clear documentation and governance standards.

Stakeholder Partnership & Leadership

• Serve as the primary compensation and mobility advisor for multiple African countries and India for HR and business leaders.
• Collaborate closely with Talent Acquisition on offer development.
• Provide coaching and guidance to HR colleagues on complex compensation and mobility matters.
• Contribute to global Total Rewards projects and policy harmonization efforts.
• Lead or support regional reward-related change initiatives.

Your Experience

• Progressive experience in international compensation and/or global mobility.
• Demonstrated experience supporting multiple African countries; experience with India strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of expatriate compensation models (balance sheet, localization, host-based, etc.).
• Experience working in emerging and developing market contexts.
• Familiarity with international labor law, tax considerations, and cross-border employment risk.
• Experience partnering with senior stakeholders across regions.
• Advanced analytical and financial modeling skills; ability to analyze data to support recommendations related to salary structure, compensation-related decision-making.
• Professional certification (e.g., CCP, GRP, GMS) preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in HR, Business, Finance, or related field preferred.

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.