Principal Officer, Global Lead, Business Development & Licensing

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Principal Officer, Global Lead for BD&L advancing agricultural productivity. Executing strategic partnerships and licensing opportunities for smallholder farmers in LMICs.

Posted 5/31/2026full-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.
leading complex partnerships with private-sector actors to enable access to and adoption of priority technologies;
shaping market systems by aligning incentives across value chain actors to support scalable solutions;
building a pipeline of externally developed innovations with strong potential for adaptation and scale.
balacing strong partnership execution with strategic ecosystem engagement to translate innovation into sustained impact for smallholder farmers.
work closely with Program Strategy Teams, the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF focused on equity investments), regional offices, and external partners, requiring effective coordination across many diverse stakeholders.
develop agreement structures that integrate technical, regulatory, commercial, and execution risks across diverse agricultural innovation pathways.

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

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

business developmentlicensingcommercial partnershipdeal-makingmulti-party agreementsincentive structurescommercializationmarket accessnegotiationcross-functional leadership

Soft Skills

effective coordinationstrategic engagementpartnership executionimpact translationstakeholder management

Certifications

Bachelor's degreeadvanced degree