Bioeconomy Community Lead
Lead the bioeconomy community to develop strategic insights and guide initiatives.
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Overview
Lead the bioeconomy community to develop strategic insights and guide initiatives.
You have:
- Advanced degree in a life science field such as molecular biology, bioengineering, bioinformatics, or computational biology
- Ten or more years of experience in the public or private sector in areas related to synthetic biology or agricultural, environmental, pharmaceutical, or industrial biotechnology
- Deep knowledge of the relevant stakeholder ecosystem, including leading organizations, experts and decision makers in business, government, and civil society
- Experience leading projects in the application and/or governance of commercial bio-innovation
- Proven track record of relevant thought leadership, including published articles and presentations in international forums
- Excellent presentation and facilitation skills
- Excellent verbal and written language skills in English; proficiency in other languages is an asset
- Proficient with recent digital platforms
(3 year contract, June 2026 to May 2029, Geneva based)
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, engaging the foremost leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
The Centre for Frontier Technology & Innovation (CFTI) helps leaders anticipate exponential technologies and drive responsible sectoral and industry transformation. It creates and scales initiatives in a global network of government- and not-for-profit hosted centres that provide national partners with a trusted platform for shared learning and problem solving.
Why we are recruiting
From personalised medicine and resilient, future ready manufacturing to self-sustaining agricultural systems and biobased chemicals, bio-innovation is delivering solutions across complex global challenges. Although technological advances are expanding the reach of the bioeconomy and prompting greater focus from governments and business, cross sector adoption remains uneven. Scaling a technology-driven bioeconomy requires practical insights, coordinated action across value chains, and policies that support responsible implementation. The Forum has launched a global bioeconomy community to accelerate the transition to a biobased economy.
However, realizing the vast potential of an emerging bioeconomy while addressing complex policy questions around ethics, safety, and benefit-sharing requires trusted insights and collaboration across business, government, and civil society. As part of a strategic effort to advance bioeconomy-related workstreams, the Centre for Frontier Technology & Innovation is recruiting a Bioeconomy Community Lead.
The Community Lead will develop strategic insights and advance individual workstreams and flagship deliverables, engaging business leaders, experts from leading research universities, government officials, start up entrepreneurs, media, and civil society to generate practical guidance and solutions. The role requires close collaboration across the Centre for Frontier Technology and Innovation and with other Forum centres, including Health and Healthcare, Advanced Manufacturing, and Nature and Climate, as well as with the Forum’s network of Independent Fourth Industrial Revolution Centres that build on, benefit from, and contribute to global projects and initiatives.
Reporting lines & interactions
The Bioeconomy Community Lead reports to the Forum’s Bioeconomy Lead and operates across multiple teams and geographies in an entrepreneurial and fast-paced environment. Establishing productive relationships externally and across the institution will be of utmost importance for succeeding in this role.
Breakdown of main responsibilities:
- Develop analytical frameworks and guidance to help leaders understand the implications of generative biology and the broader bioeconomy. Shape the human-centred and society-serving adoption of agricultural, environmental, industrial, and pharmaceutical biotechnology.
- Manage, mobilize, and expand upon high-level communities of experts and decision makers from across the Forum’s stakeholder ecosystem (industry, government, academia, international organizations, and civil society) to champion and lead an ambitious, system-level initiative.
- Design and deliver multistakeholder workshops, community meetings, and impact deliverables that surface new challenges and generate practical insights, ensuring clear objectives, timely execution and strong communication.
- Scan the global horizon for highly relevant actors, initiatives, and projects in the bioeconomy that can be leveraged and amplified through Forum platforms.
- Maintain workstream delivery through effective team coordination, partner engagement, and timely reporting.
Preferred requirements and experience
- Advanced degree in a life science field such as molecular biology, bioengineering, bioinformatics, or computational biology
- Ten or more years of experience in the public or private sector in areas related to synthetic biology or agricultural, environmental, pharmaceutical, or industrial biotechnology
- Deep knowledge of the relevant stakeholder ecosystem, including leading organizations, experts and decision makers in business, government, and civil society
- Experience leading projects in the application and/or governance of commercial bio-innovation
- Proven track record of relevant thought leadership, including published articles, and presentations in international forums; ability to quickly develop a clear perspective on internal and external issues that have organisational impact
- Experience leading multistakeholder projects in international contexts to deliver structured outcomes
- Anticipate and adapt to evolving developments in the field, working constructively through ambiguity to maintain momentum across workstreams
- Excellent presentation and facilitation skills
- Excellent verbal and written language skills in English; proficiency in other languages is an asset
- Proficient with recent digital platforms
Why work at the Forum:
The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to improve the state of the world by building awareness and cooperation, shaping mindsets and agendas, and driving collective action. Join us and become a driver for positive change!
Potential interview questions
| Describe a successful project you led in the field of bio-innovation. | This assesses your experience in managing complex projects and delivering outcomes. | Provide specific examples of your leadership, the challenges you faced, and the results achieved. |
| How do you engage stakeholders from diverse sectors in initiatives? | This question evaluates your ability to manage relationships across various sectors. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| Can you give an example of how you've adapted to changes in technology or policy in your work? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| What analytical frameworks do you find most effective in bioeconomy initiatives? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| Describe your experience in conducting multistakeholder workshops. | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| How do you stay updated on the latest developments in the bioeconomy? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| What strategies do you use to communicate complex scientific concepts to non-experts? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| How do you measure the impact of your initiatives in the bioeconomy? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
Added 2 months ago
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Updated 1 month ago
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Source:
weforum.org
