Senior Officer, Livestock & Economic Opportunity, Africa (24-Month LTE) at Gates Foundation

Your Role

• We are seeking a strategic, results-driven, and transformation-oriented Senior Officer, Livestock & Economic Opportunity, Africa to lead the execution of African Regional Office’s (ARO) Africa livestock-focused flagship programs, ensuring alignment with country priorities and driving inclusive economic transformation across key focus countries and the broader Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. This includes:
• Develop and execute key investments that drive economic development by leveraging livestock (pastoral, dairy, poultry) and aquaculture value chains, while integrating cross-cutting priorities in animal health, genetics, and nutrition, in close collaboration with the AgDev (Livestock) program strategy team (PST) and other PSTs within the economic opportunity portfolio. 
• Lead engagement with government agencies, continental bodies, and industry stakeholders to strengthen the enabling environment, address chronic market distortions, and incentivize private sector participation to make livestock markets more inclusive and effective for poor livestock producers, particularly women and pastoralist communities 
• Advocate for policy and regulatory improvements to create a more conducive environment for livestock sector growth.  
• Build strategic partnerships with international, regional, and local private sector actors, multilateral institutions, financial institutions and investors to unlock financing and scale sustainable solutions. 
• Advance the south-south cooperation agenda in the livestock sector by fostering collaboration with countries in the global south and bringing relevant models, innovations and partnerships to Africa.  
• Drive cross-sector collaboration within Economic Opportunity (EO) initiatives, including digital transformation, inclusive financial systems, women’s economic empowerment, and nutrition. 
• This is a limited-term position (LTE) for 24 months, based at the foundation’s office in Nairobi, and reporting administratively to the Deputy Director, AgDev ARO Africa and with a technical reporting line into the AgDev Livestock team. The postholder will collaborate closely with several other teams in a one-foundation approach.  

What You’ll Do

• You will drive strategic execution, policy engagement, investment development, and cross-team collaboration to advance the livestock-focused flagship programs from the ARO. Your key responsibilities include: 
• Continuously contribute to refining the livestock strategy for Africa with the livestock team, adapting to country-specific realities in key countries in SSA.  
• Develop and execute a pipeline of high-impact investments to drive national-level livestock transformation and impact at scale. 
• Develop country dashboards together with the agriculture delivery systems team to track and analyze livestock investment progress (at both projects as well as sectoral levels), ensuring data-driven decision-making. 
• Integrate livestock priorities into the broader EO agenda, collaborating with other PSTs. 
• Contribute to developing evidence-based policy recommendations in partnership with internal policy experts and external multilateral and industry stakeholders to enhance livestock sector competitiveness and engage with governments and continental bodies (e.g., AU-IBAR) to improve policy and regulatory environments for livestock sector growth. 
• Forge alliances with private sector actors, multilateral institutions, and global investors and advance the South-South cooperation in the livestock space.  
• Strengthen collaborations with livestock enterprises, industry associations, and key development partners. 
• Support the development of viable business models to attract private-sector investment in pastoral livestock markets. 
• Support communications and advocacy efforts, in coordination with the Policy, Advocacy and Communications team. 
• Drive evidence-based investment-making by leading program monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) efforts and ensuring the integration of data-driven insights, research findings, and emerging trends into investment design and execution. 
• Drive and support other economic opportunity-related investments and engagements, as required. 

Your Experience

• We are seeking a versatile, open-minded, and results-driven professional who can operate diplomatically in a matrixed structure while balancing development impact with market-driven approaches. The ideal candidate will bring: 
• An MBA, or other advanced degree in International Development or equivalent is preferred. A degree in Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science, Agribusiness, or a related field will be an advantage. 
• 10+ years of experience in livestock development, agribusiness, or private sector development roles in the SSA context.   
• Strong background in livestock sector development, with expertise in market-based approaches, pastoralist systems, small-scale producers, and national economic transformation strategies. 
• Familiarity with policy engagement, working with government officials, donors, and multilateral agencies to advance regulatory improvements for livestock growth. 
• Track record of leading complex, multi-stakeholder projects, with a focus on sustainable business models, innovative financing and private-sector engagement. 
• Experience in integrating women and youth into agricultural value chain initiatives, particularly related to livestock.  
• Strong analytical skills, including gap analysis of country capacity, business model design, and data-driven decision-making. 
• Ability to build and sustain strategic partnerships with governments, private sector players, investors, and development partners.  
• Strong collaboration and diplomatic skills to work across multicultural environments  
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and advocacy skills.  
• A 'can-do' attitude, with the ability to explore innovative approaches, take strategic risks, and drive measurable impact.