Principal Officer, Global Lead, Business Development – Licensing for Global Access

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Principal Officer, Global Lead for BD&L advancing agricultural productivity and farmer livelihoods. Aligning incentives and building partnerships for sustainable solutions in Africa.

Posted 5/8/2026full-timeNairobi • 🇰🇪 KenyaSeniorWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

support the Foundation’s Agriculture Development Program Strategy goals to execute strategic partnerships and licensing opportunities that advance agricultural productivity, sustainability, farmer livelihoods, and food and nutrition sovereignty for smallholder farmers in LMICs
lead complex partnerships with private-sector actors to enable access to and adoption of priority technologies
shape market systems by aligning incentives across value chain actors to support scalable solutions
build a pipeline of externally developed innovations with strong potential for adaptation and scale
ensure all deal structures and partnership mechanisms are aligned with internal policies and legal/regulatory constraints
drive deals to completion, managing stakeholders, and ensuring impact

Requirements

What you’ll need

12+ years of business development, licensing, or commercial partnership experience, with demonstrated success in complex deal-making environments; agriculture or livestock sector experience preferred but not required
Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
Ability to translate complex partnerships into measurable impact for smallholder farmers, including productivity, income, and food and nutrition sovereignty outcomes
Demonstrated experience structuring or negotiating multi-party agreements and incentive structures that drive measurable adoption in emerging markets
Experience across multiple functional areas (e.g., business development, commercialization, market access, finance, legal, or IP)
Experience supporting commercialization and distribution of agricultural technologies (e.g., seeds, inputs, livestock-related products) in LMIC markets, particularly Africa, strongly preferred
Demonstrated track record of leading and negotiating successful transactions
Experience negotiating with multinational corporations and LMIC-based partners
Proven ability to lead cross-functional diligence and agreement teams
Prior experience supporting agriculture development, food and nutrition sovereignty, or sustainability initiatives is highly desirable

Benefits

Comp & perks

comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums
generous paid time off
paid family leave
foundation-paid retirement contribution
regional holidays
opportunities to engage in several employee communities

ATS Keywords

✓ Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

business developmentlicensingcommercial partnershipdeal structuringnegotiationmarket accesscommercializationagricultural technologiesimpact measurementmulti-party agreements

Soft Skills

stakeholder managementcross-functional leadershipstrategic thinkingcommunicationrelationship buildingproblem solvingadaptabilityincentive alignmentteam collaborationinfluencing

Certifications

Bachelor's degreeadvanced degree