In the early 1960s, working in Sabah, North Borneo, Conway became one of the pioneers of sustainable agriculture and integrated pest management.

He then directed the sustainable agriculture program of the International Institute for Environment and Development in London before becoming Representative of the Ford Foundation in New Delhi from 1988 to 1992.

[2][3][4][5] Conway was elected the eleventh President of The Rockefeller Foundation in April 1998, a position he held until 2004.

[7] He took up his appointment as the UK Department for International Development's Chief Scientific Adviser in January 2005, serving until 2009.

It was an independent advocacy initiative, and was based at Imperial College London and was supported through the Agriculture for Impact Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.