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 Global Growth & Opportunity (GGO) division works to catalyze sustainable transformative change in the face of inequities and market failures, to realize the potential of untapped markets, and to see the economic and social benefits of including everyone. We focus on the areas of Agricultural Development; Financial Services for the Poor; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; and Gender Equality. We seek solutions that are sustainable, transformative, and inclusive with an eye toward applying technology innovations as well as data evidence to drive change in the world’s developing countries.

The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WSH) team’s vision is to enable widespread use of safely managed, sustainable sanitation services, contributing to positive health, economic, and gender equality outcomes for the world’s poorest. Unsafe sanitation is a massive problem that is becoming more urgent as our global population increases and trends like water scarcity and urbanization intensify. About 3.6 billion people—almost half the world’s population—either practice open defecation or use unsafe sanitation facilities and services.

The focus of the team’s strategy is on developing and commercializing transformative sanitation technologies, in particular the Reinvented Toilet (an innovation that doesn’t require a connection to a water pipe or a sewer line and kills all of the pathogens in human waste). We collaborate with technologists, the private sector and government officials to advance these transformative technologies that have high potential to sanitation conditions for underserved communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Your Role

The Senior Program Officer, Regulatory Affairs and Market Development Lead - Onsite Sanitation and Water Reuse will lead the strategic and operational management of new product introduction, permitting, product certification, and market development. This role requires deep expertise in driving large-scale product rollouts, influencing regulatory frameworks, and fostering robust government and industry partnerships. The ideal candidate will be responsible for managing cross-functional teams and engaging with senior stakeholders, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, while spearheading initiatives that advance innovation in decentralized / non-networked water efficient sanitation technologies and service delivery, particularly in early adopters’ markets in the US and in France.

The postholder will be based at the foundation’s office in London, and report to Deputy Director Regulatory Affairs and Market Development (based in the US). Note the role requires extensive regular travel, particularly to France.

What You'll Do

a) Regulatory Compliance and Process Management

• Ensure industry products comply with all applicable sanitation and water reuse regulations in France.

• Develop and maintain a thorough understanding of regulatory requirements and standards for onsite sanitation and water reuse.

• Propose and implement strategies to streamline and optimize the permitting process, facilitating faster market entry.

• Support the adoption and/or creation of new plumbing codes/standards, and product testing for compliance.

• Partner with a variety of regulatory agencies including, but not limited to, public health agencies, building officials, water/wastewater utilities, and planning departments.

• Advise commercial companies and early product adopters on go-to-market strategies.

• Collaborate with a diverse team to foster an inclusive approach to problem-solving and innovation.

• Stay updated on regulatory changes and trends in France, and adjust company policies and procedures accordingly.

b) Grant Making and Investment

• Strategic Partner Identification: Identify and evaluate potential partners, including universities, research institutions, NGOs, and private sector companies, regulators, public health agencies, certification bodies, building authorities, etc., that align with the foundation’s mission to advance the adoption of reinvented toilets and water efficient sanitation technologies for water reuse. Develop and implement criteria for selecting partners and projects that have the potential to effectively influence regulatory and permitting processes and accelerate market adoption of innovative water efficient sanitation solutions (i.e. reinvented toilets).

• Program Development and Management: Develop and manage the strategy execution plan that focus on streamlining regulatory and permitting processes, enhancing conformity testing, and simplifying permitting for water efficient sanitation technologies (i.e. reinvented toilets). Establish clear objectives, timelines, and deliverables for grant-funded projects, ensuring alignment with both regulatory and market development goals.

• Equity and Inclusion in Grant Funding: Ensure that partner selection and project funding prioritize equity and inclusiveness, with a focus on initiatives that benefit underserved communities and promote gender equity and social inclusion in the regulatory landscape.

• Collaboration and Alignment: Work closely with industry and government partners to ensure the successful deployment of reinvented toilet technologies and onsite water reuse systems. Collaborate with cross-functional teams and agencies to identify and implement best practices in regulatory processes that facilitate the adoption of new technologies.

• Market Readiness and Strategic Planning: Develop strategic plans for market entry that integrate regulatory compliance with broader goals of gender equity and social inclusion. Provide regulatory insights and guidance to ensure that funded projects are market-ready and aligned with the latest industry standards and regulations.

Your Experience

• Master’s or other advanced degree in Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Quality Assurance, or in a related field.

• Demonstrable experience in regulatory compliance, product conformity testing, and permitting, ideally in onsite, distributed or decentralized water and sanitation or water reuse.

• Proven track record of successfully launching new product categories or significant innovations into markets (from workplan concept development through Implementation). Launch experience of onsite sanitation and water reuse products preferred.

• Expertise in proposing and implementing innovative solutions to streamline regulatory processes.

• Strong command of strategy formulation and execution with experience in high-impact regulatory and market-driven initiatives.

• Strong systems thinker with exceptional problem-solving and project management abilities, with a focus on innovation and scalability.

• Excellent collaborator and team player with strong interpersonal and communication skills. Confident and comfortable working with senior leaders and cross-functional partners to drive alignment and execution.

• Exceptional leadership and team management skills, with a demonstrated ability to lead and inspire cross-functional teams in culturally diverse environments.

• Data-driven, customer/partner-focused, and naturally curious.

• Strong organizational skills with a willingness to engage in both strategy and detailed execution.

• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, particularly in engaging with senior leaders and external partners.

• English and French language skills are essential.

• Ability to navigate ambiguity, work in fast-paced global environments, and to deliver in large, complex matrixed organizations.

Other Attributes

• Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behaviour with a diverse range of people and a deep commitment to development issues and high standards of personal integrity.

• Ability to travel up to 40%, largely to France, and other international locations.

Application deadline: 27 April 2025

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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 — 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.