Vice President, Government & Regulatory Affairs
San Diego, California
Cibus has an immediate opening for a Vice President, Government & Regulatory Affairs at their San Diego, CA site to drive regulatory strategy and execution for the Company worldwide, together with its public policy, government and industry affairs agenda.
Required education
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Agriculture, Biotechnology, Plant Science, Public Policy, Business or a related discipline. Advanced degree (Ph.D., M.Sc. or M.B.A.) preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience spanning regulatory affairs and government or policy engagement in agriculture, biotechnology, food or an adjacent regulated industry.
• Prior leadership of a regulatory or government affairs function at Vice President level is strongly preferred. Candidates currently operating at Senior Director or Executive Director level with clear readiness for the step up will also be considered.
• Demonstrated track record of successful engagement with federal, state and international regulators and policymakers, with demonstrated outcomes.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams and managing complex, cross-border regulatory programs.
Area(s) of expertise desired
Global regulatory strategy for gene edited and/or genetically modified field crops.
Government affairs, public policy advocacy and trade association leadership.
Direct working knowledge of USDA (APHIS), EPA and FDA, and of international regulatory authorities across Canada, Latin America, Europe, the UK and Asia.
Prior relevant industry association or regulatory agency experience an asset. An understanding of regulatory pathways for fermentation-derived and crop-based ingredients destined for consumer products, including GRAS determinations and food, flavor and fragrance ingredients is beneficial.
Job description
Cibus is a biotechnology company with advanced technologies to precisely target and direct a plant’s natural gene-editing processes. This approach accelerates natural plant breeding that has been a staple of farming for thousands of years and has resulted in a rapid, versatile and low-cost way to produce sustainable industrial and agricultural products and improve human health by safely harnessing nature’s own genetic diversity.
The company has a worldwide presence, with subsidiaries in Europe and North America and state-of-the-art research and development center in San Diego, CA Cibus has a pipeline of traits for canola and rice and is developing crop platforms and a pipeline of trait products in other major global crops including soybean, wheat and corn. In Sustainable Ingredients, it creates low-carbon, natural replacements for synthetic or high-cost ingredients, including natural rose oil and other Biofragrance, grown with engineered yeast and extracted after fermentation at a fraction of the cost and carbon footprint of the alternatives.
The same core capability that develops crop traits is generating commercial value in consumer products: one platform, multiple markets.
The Vice President, Government & Regulatory Affairs drives regulatory strategy and execution for the Company worldwide, together with its public policy, government and industry affairs agenda. The focus is external and strategic: securing approval of Cibus products with regulatory agencies from development through launch, and serving as the Company's voice to regulators, customers, peer organizations and trade associations on regulatory matters. The role pairs foresight with delivery, anticipating where the global regulatory landscape is heading and actively working to shape it, while making sure dossiers are filed, approvals are secured and the business can plant, test and commercialize on schedule.
This is a hands-on leadership position. The Vice President leads a small team, initially one direct report, and works directly on the substance of the regulatory agenda, supported by external consultants as needed.
The role reports to the President and Chief Operating Officer and carries material influence on business decision-making. It is distinct from the Company's compliance function: internal compliance monitoring, policy enforcement and internal audit sit with the General Counsel in the role of chief compliance officer. The Vice President is expected to work in close coordination with Legal and Compliance, and to be rigorous in qualifying regulatory advice so that business judgment and compliance requirements are never confused with one another.
Role Responsibilities
- Own and lead execution of Cibus' global regulatory affairs strategy across every jurisdiction in which the Company operates, conducts trials, or intends to commercialize.
- Oversee the development and submission of dossiers, filings, registrations and pre-consultation packages; manage agency review processes through to approval within committed timelines.
- Actively participate in the compliance process for Cibus products and services for market entry in each target geography, from development through launch.
- Build and lead an independent regulatory function, setting goals and accountabilities, developing the team, managing external consultants and outside counsel, and owning the departmental budget.
- Through the lens of regulatory compliance, provide oversight of the quality function and the Cibus Quality Management System through the quality lead reporting into this role.
- Drive efficient, well-documented regulatory processes and policies in close partnership with R&D, Breeding & Trait Development, Legal, Commercial and Operations.
- Monitor evolving regulatory requirements, scientific guidance and industry standards affecting Cibus products, field activities and R&D, and translate those changes into practical adjustments to how the business operates.
- Manage global regulatory risk and advise the Executive Team, and the Board where requested, on regulatory risks, opportunities and timelines arising from strategic initiatives, partnerships and pipeline decisions.
- Provide ongoing assessment of the global regulatory environment, including competitive intelligence on how peers are positioning gene edited products.
- Ensure product stewardship across the portfolio, including adherence to USDA APHIS permit requirements governing regulated material.
- Coordinate closely with Legal and the chief compliance officer so that external regulatory strategy and internal compliance oversight remain clearly delineated and mutually reinforcing.
Government affairs and policy advocacy
- Represent Cibus before government agencies, legislators, trade associations and public policy organizations in the U.S. and internationally.
- Shape and articulate the Company's positions on proposed legislation, rulemakings, guidance and industry standards; author or direct comment letters and technical submissions.
- Build durable relationships with USDA, EPA and FDA, and with international authorities and industry partners, to anticipate and constructively influence regulatory policy and agency action.
- Lead advocacy supporting regulatory modernization, science-based and risk-proportionate oversight of precision breeding, and incentives for innovation.
- Track political, legislative and trade developments that could affect the business, and recommend strategic responses to the Executive Team.
- Serve on industry and expert regulatory committees, giving Cibus an influential and qualified voice among regulators, peer organizations and trade associations.
- Partner with Communications, Investor Relations, Legal and Sustainability to advance clear, credible external messaging on Cibus' technology, its regulatory standing and its sustainability contribution.
Core Capabilities
• In-depth knowledge of global regulatory frameworks for agricultural biotechnology, and a demonstrated ability to navigate them to a commercial outcome.
• Strategic thinker who sees regulatory and political shifts coming and understands what they mean for the business before they arrive.
• Able to hold complex scientific, legal and commercial information in view at once and find the optimal route through a regulatory challenge, often on incomplete data.
• Persuasive and credible with agencies, policymakers, industry peers, investors and internal teams alike; equally comfortable with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Widely recognized as an authority in the field, and comfortable influencing well beyond their own area of technical expertise.
• Exercises judgment with care and transparency. The role carries significant stature and influence in business decision-making and is expected to qualify its advice fully so that colleagues can distinguish business recommendation from regulatory requirement.
• Comfortable operating hands-on in a lean team, moving between setting global strategy and doing the substantive work itself.
• Builds and leads teams: clear expectations, real accountability, deliberate development of others, and leadership by example.
• Runs multiple long-horizon programs concurrently, prioritizes the milestones that matter, and flags needed adjustments early rather than late.
• Builds consensus across functions and geographies and drives resolution of complex issues to support timely decision-making.
• Operates independently as a Cibus representative and manages outside counsel, consultants and external collaborators effectively.
• Disciplined in developing and managing a departmental budget.
• Resilient and effective in a fast-moving, resource-conscious, publicly traded environment.
• High integrity and strong business acumen; embraces and sustains compliance with Company policies and the Cibus Quality Management System.
• Strong written and verbal communication in English; additional languages an asset given the global scope of the role.
Salary Range:
$240,000 - $270,000
Position Type:
Full time, regular
If you enjoy working as part of a team and want to participate in this exciting research, please e-mail your resume to hr@cibus.com and put down job code: RE2609.
ONLY CANDIDATES WITH WORK AUTHORIZATION IN THE U.S. ARE CONSIDERED AT THIS TIME.