Principal Officer, Global Lead for BD&L for Global Access

Job Posting Organization:
The Foundation is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to combating poverty, disease, and inequity on a global scale. Established with the fundamental belief that every individual, regardless of their identity or circumstances, deserves the opportunity to lead a healthy and productive life, the Foundation emphasizes the importance of diversity among its employees to reflect the global populations it serves. The organization offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, retirement contributions, regional holidays, and opportunities for employees to engage in various community initiatives. The Foundation is committed to fostering an environment that promotes both personal and professional growth for its employees.

Job Overview:
The Principal Officer, Global Lead for BD&L for Global Access will play a pivotal role in supporting the Foundation’s Agriculture Development Program Strategy. This position is focused on executing strategic partnerships and licensing opportunities that enhance agricultural productivity, sustainability, farmer livelihoods, and security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">food security for smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The role encompasses three core areas: leading complex partnerships with private-sector entities to facilitate access to and adoption of priority technologies; shaping market systems by aligning incentives across value chain actors to support scalable solutions; and building a pipeline of externally developed innovations that have strong potential for adaptation and scale. Success in this role requires a balance between strong partnership execution and strategic ecosystem engagement to translate innovation into sustained impact for smallholder farmers. The position necessitates close collaboration with Program Strategy Teams, the Strategic Investment Fund, regional offices, and external partners, requiring effective coordination across diverse stakeholders. The role spans crops, livestock, and farm management systems, reflecting the Foundation’s integrated approach to agricultural development. It prioritizes deep business development and deal-making expertise, with sector experience in agriculture or livestock being advantageous but not mandatory. The Principal Officer will also focus on advancing internally developed innovations while proactively identifying and enabling high-potential external innovations that can be adapted and scaled for LMIC contexts. Beyond episodic licensing transactions, the role emphasizes sustained value chain orchestration to facilitate durable technology adoption, aligning supply-side actors, demand-side actors, and catalytic mechanisms to create commercially viable and scalable market systems in India and other LMICs.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Principal Officer will be responsible for several key functions:

• Opportunity Sourcing & Market Scanning: This includes finding, shaping, and prioritizing opportunities, especially those related to external innovations. The officer will proactively identify, source, and evaluate externally developed innovations and business models, assessing their potential for adaptation and scaling in LMIC contexts. They will develop and maintain a forward-looking pipeline of transformative opportunities, facilitating high-quality opportunity assessments and diligence reviews.
• Deal Structuring, Negotiation & Partnership Design: The officer will design and negotiate agreements, incentives, and market-shaping mechanisms, co-leading complex agreement transactions that advance agricultural development innovations. This involves negotiating sophisticated agreements with multinational and regional partners, structuring demand-side mechanisms, and designing results-based and market-shaping incentive structures that enable private-sector investment in challenging LMIC markets.
• Transaction Execution, Delivery & Internal Leadership: The officer will lead partnerships focused on enabling distribution and adoption of agricultural technologies through private-sector channels in India. They will serve as a transaction lead, conducting partner diligence, supporting negotiations, and ensuring all deal structures align with internal policies and legal constraints. The officer will manage multiple concurrent transactions and contribute to the continuous improvement of BD&L capabilities and best practices.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a minimum of 12 years of business development, licensing, or commercial partnership experience, with a proven track record of success in complex deal-making environments. While experience in the agriculture or livestock sector is preferred, it is not strictly required. The ability to translate complex partnerships into measurable impacts for smallholder farmers, particularly in terms of productivity, income, and food security outcomes, is essential. Candidates should have demonstrated experience in structuring or negotiating multi-party agreements and incentive structures that drive measurable adoption in emerging markets. Experience across multiple functional areas, such as business development, commercialization, market access, finance, legal, or intellectual property, is also required. Familiarity with the commercialization and distribution of agricultural technologies in LMIC markets, particularly in India, is strongly preferred. A demonstrated ability to lead and negotiate successful transactions, along with experience negotiating with multinational corporations and LMIC-based partners, is crucial.

Educational Background:
A Bachelor’s degree is required for this position, with an advanced degree preferred. The educational background should ideally be in a relevant field that supports the responsibilities of the role, such as business, agriculture, economics, or a related discipline.

Experience:
The role requires extensive experience, specifically a minimum of 12 years in business development, licensing, or commercial partnerships. Candidates should have a demonstrated history of success in complex deal-making environments, with a preference for experience in the agriculture or livestock sectors. The ability to lead cross-functional diligence and agreement teams is essential, along with a proven track record of negotiating successful transactions.

Languages:
While the job description does not specify mandatory languages, proficiency in English is likely essential given the international nature of the role. Additional languages relevant to the regions of operation, particularly Hindi or other local languages in India, would be advantageous but not mandatory.

Additional Notes:
The position is expected to be based in the Foundation’s India Country Office in New Delhi, with a requirement to travel up to 40% domestically and internationally as needed. The role reports to the CFO organization and has a secondary reporting relationship to the Director of Economic Opportunity, India. The application deadline for this position is set for May 4, 202

• Candidates must be legally eligible to work in India without the need for visa sponsorship. The Foundation is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates, offering accommodations for individuals with disabilities or medical conditions during the application and interview process.