Senior Director, Emerging Infectious Disease Vaccines

Location: New York, New York, USA or Other

Reports to: Vice President, Emerging Infectious Disease and Scientific Strategy

Position Summary:

IAVI is seeking an exceptional Senior Director, Emerging Infectious Disease (EID) Vaccines who will facilitate the scientific program strategy and oversight of one or more of IAVI’s EID vaccine programs. This position will provide an exciting opportunity to lead the internal project team(s) to ensure timely execution on program milestones and address barriers or challenges to meeting those program milestones. Additionally, this position will facilitate and develop scientific and funding partnerships to fulfill the longer-term mission of end-to-end product development for the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) platform as well as other viral vector platforms in the future in order to work towards IAVI’s mission to produce vaccines that are globally affordable and accessible.

In addition, this role will work closely with the Design and Development Laboratory in Brooklyn, the project managers supporting the development program(s), the EID Portfolio Manager and the Product Development Center.

Key Responsibilities:

· Works directly with the Vice President, Emerging Infectious Disease and Scientific Strategy and Project Managers to lead designated EID vaccine programs and projects.

· Maintains and builds relationships with key thought leaders and external collaborators to support existing IAVI-led vaccine development consortiums as well as establish new collaborations as needed for viral vector vaccine programs more broadly, including engagement with regulatory experts as needed to facilitate EID vaccine development where traditional regulatory pathways are not applicable.

· Ensures systems and processes are in place to support a working relationship and communication among program collaborators and IAVI team members as well as key vendors involved in the program.

· In collaboration with the DDL, identifies alternative pathogens suitable for development using VSV and/or viral vector platforms and contributes to the scientific strategy outlining synergies EID between vaccine and antibody programs.

· Maintains a detailed understanding of the contract requirements of all program agreements including the technical proposal, cost proposal, Other Transactions Agreement (OTA). Serves as internal expert for stakeholders to translate contract requirements as it relates to overall scientific program strategy.

· Facilitates the development of a robust strategy for IAVI’s VSV and Viral Vectors Program, in collaboration with leaders including the Vice President of EID and SS, Executive Director of the viral vectors program, key scientific leads at the DDL and across the other IAVI laboratories (NAC, HIL).

· Assess broader vaccine development efforts externally in the viral vector space (e.g. VSV) and look for opportunities to bring in new technology to further enhance the applicability and usability of our platform technologies and methods to advance our existing technology (e.g. other replicating platforms, methods to facilitate more rapid production of VSV platform, etc.).

· Supports IAVI’s efforts to build alliances and partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and key stakeholders locally and internationally.

· In collaboration with IAVI resource mobilization, develops an integrated fund-raising strategy to secure ongoing programs, including U.S. and European government funding and help secure funding.

Education and Work Experience:

· An advanced degree in life science, Public Health, Organizational Management or a related discipline is required; PhD in one of these fields is desirable.

· Minimum 15 years in R&D experience, including leadership managing vaccines and therapeutic development programs is required. **

Qualifications and Skills:

· Strong organizational and communications skills with experience in fostering collaborations and building innovative partnership models are required.

· Track record as a strong strategic thinker who can drive quickly to a clear and concise synthesis of complex issues and concepts and work towards novel solutions is required.

· Ability to expertly navigate internal and external governance processes to drive complex projects forward is required.

· Excellent judgment, proven ability and skills to present programs to scientific and non-scientific stakeholders are required.

· Strong interpersonal and intercultural skills and experience, and ability to work collaboratively with colleagues from a wide range of disciplines, countries and cultures are required.

· Ability to travel – up to 20% of time is required.

· Experience in emerging infectious diseases is desirable.

· Proposal writing skills are desirable.

Organizational Overview:

IAVI is a nonprofit scientific research organization dedicated to addressing urgent, unmet global health challenges including HIV and tuberculosis. Our mission is to translate scientific discoveries into affordable, globally accessible public health solutions. Through scientific and clinical research in Africa, India, Europe, and the U.S., IAVI is pioneering the development of biomedical innovations designed for broad global access. We develop vaccines and antibodies in and for the developing world and seek to accelerate their introduction in low-income countries. IAVI programs and partnerships are grounded in the regions of the world where the disease burden is the greatest, and our approach emphasizes sustainability. Our network of clinical research center partners in Africa and India helps strengthen in-country research capacity and supports the training and education of the next generation of scientists. The global impact of our science includes fundamental contributions to understanding the biology of HIV infection, which IAVI and others are applying toward advancing vaccine science and immunology. IAVI accelerates scientific discovery and development by fostering unique collaborations among academia, industry, local communities, governments, and funders to explore new and better ways to address public health threats that disproportionately affect people living in poverty. Our global reach, including a clinical research network in five countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in India, has allowed us to make fundamental contributions to understanding the epidemiology, transmission, virology, and immunology of HIV. This work played a key role in facilitating the design of promising HIV vaccine candidates, as well as the discovery of broadly neutralizing antibodies that are now being advanced as promising approaches for HIV prevention. Our integrated capabilities in vaccine and antibody discovery, development, and clinical research take advantage of bio-pharmaceutical industry expertise to accelerate the development and testing of prevention methods for HIV and other diseases. Through the Product Development Center, we support external researchers with technical and scientific expertise to accelerate the development of their own products.

IAVI CORE VALUES:

• Dedication to the Mission: We are committed to the translation of scientific discoveries into affordable, globally accessible public health solutions.
• Innovative Evolution: We are committed to solving complex problems in creative and innovative ways, learning from our mistakes and successes and never giving up
• Integrity: We are committed to meeting the highest ethical and professional standards in everything we do and to taking responsibility for our actions to earn respect
• Collaboration: We are committed to embracing diversity, the power of global teamwork and the belief that by working as one we can make a difference
• Disclaimer: Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required of personnel so classified. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship. IAVI is an equal opportunity employer and applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

IAVI IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER actively committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive global organization. IAVI believes that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical, and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a representative candidate pool. At IAVI, we celebrate the spectrum of colleagues’ experiences and believe that dedication to our mission above all is essential to our success as a scientific global non-profit. IAVI upholds these principles through IAVI’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

IAVI has zero tolerance for discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, caste, national origin, home language, ancestry, religion, marital or civil partnership status, age, physical or mental disability, HIV status and any other medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and veteran status, in addition to any other status protected under the law in any of our locations worldwide.