Associate Director, BMS Foundation Program Officer

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About the Role

The Program Director – India will lead and grow the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation’s strategy, partnerships, and grant portfolio in India across two signature pillars: Adult Cancers (Multinational Lung Cancer Control Program – MLCCP) and Pediatric Cancers and Blood Disorders (HOPE Program).

The Program Director provides senior, in-country leadership across program strategy, grantmaking, partnership development, implementation oversight, and learning. This role serves as the Foundation’s primary external representative in India and is accountable for ensuring high-quality execution, compliance, measurable impact, and alignment with the Foundation’s mission as a catalytic, risk-capital grant maker.

This is a senior leadership role responsible for translating global strategy into locally grounded, high-impact programs and stewarding complex, multi-partner portfolios. This role carries delegated decision-making authority and ultimate accountability for country-level portfolio performance, operating within Foundation governance policies and approval thresholds.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Program Leadership

• Lead development and execution of the Foundation’s India strategy for MLCCP and HOPE, aligned with global priorities and national health context.

• Identify strategic investment opportunities where philanthropic risk capital can catalyze systems change, generate evidence, and inform scale by governments or other funders.

• Ensure strategic coherence and alignment across adult and pediatric oncology portfolios.

Grantmaking & Portfolio Oversight

• Oversee the full grant lifecycle, including landscape analysis, RFP development, due diligence, selection, contracting, monitoring, evaluation, and close-out.

• Provide final review and approval (within delegated authority) of grant payments, budget reallocations, no-cost extensions, and material grant modifications, informed by Program Manager analysis and recommendations.

• Maintain ultimate accountability for portfolio performance, grant quality, and delivery of intended outcomes.

Compliance, Risk & Governance

• Ensure grantee compliance with Foundation policies, legal and regulatory requirements, and branding standards.

• Serve as the primary point of accountability for portfolio-level risk management, including identification, mitigation, and resolution of escalated compliance or performance issues.

• Partner with Foundation legal, finance, and compliance teams to ensure strong governance and documentation.

Partnerships & External Engagement

• Own and manage senior-level relationships with key institutions, government stakeholders, academic centers, professional societies, and strategic partners.

• Represent the Foundation at national and international convenings related to cancer control, pediatric oncology, and health systems strengthening.

• Lead engagement with partners on sustainability, scale, policy alignment, and long-term impact.

• Intervene directly in complex or sensitive partner situations as needed to protect program integrity and outcomes.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop in-country program staff, including Program Managers, fostering a high-performing, accountable, and mission-driven team culture.

• Provide clear delegation, coaching, and performance management to ensure strong execution and professional development.

• Work closely with global Foundation teams across finance, monitoring & evaluation, communications, and operations.

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning

• Set country-level learning priorities and ensure robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks are embedded across grants.

• Translate program performance data and learning into strategic decisions, including program refinement, scale-up, replication, or exit.

• Ensure dissemination of insights and lessons learned to internal leadership, the Board, and external stakeholders as appropriate.

Communications & Thought Leadership

• Contribute to internal and external communications, including board materials, leadership briefings, presentations, and publications.

• Elevate the visibility of Foundation-supported innovations and impact through strategic storytelling and thought leadership.

• Support reputation-building efforts consistent with the Foundation’s independent charitable mission.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Public Health, Medicine, Social Sciences, Public Policy, or a related field.

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in philanthropy, global health, public health, or health systems strengthening.

• Demonstrated experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder programs and managing multi-year grant portfolios.

• Strong understanding of oncology and/or pediatric subspecialty care within health systems.

• Proven people leadership and team management experience.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

• Country-specific requirement:

  • India: Experience working within India’s health or research ecosystem

Key Competencies

• Strategic leadership with strong execution orientation

• Sound judgment and decision-making in complex environments

• Ability to influence and collaborate across sectors and cultures

• Strong risk management and governance mindset

• Commitment to equity, partnership, and learning

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Data Protection

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Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at TAEnablement@bms.com. Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response. Inquiries related to the status of your application should be directed to Chat with Ripley. R1604779 : Associate Director, BMS Foundation Program Officer