As a key member of the Vaccine Development team, the Program Officer (PO), Integrated Vaccine Development, is accountable for executing and managing a portfolio of grants and contracts in support of the creation of sound clinical and integrated vaccine development plans for internal and external projects. You will provide essential project management, grant management, and communication plan on Vaccine Development & Surveillance priorities as well as for internal Program Strategy Teams (PSTs), Product Development Partners (PDPs) and other foundation partners. You will also partner closely with the Deputy Director (DD), Integrated Clinical Development and Deputy Director (DD), Chemicals, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) to contribute to the continued development of the team’s strategic vision including participating in the setting of the overall strategy and goals for the group.
- Negotiate, implement, and manage a portfolio of grants or performance-based contracts; including alignment of internal and external stakeholders, review of letters of inquiry and grant proposals as well as providing clear, concise and insightful written analyses and recommendations for funding.
- Partner closely with team leadership, including the Director, DD Integrated Clinical Vaccines Development, DD CMC Vaccine Development and DD Vaccine Regulatory, to communicate and implement the overall Vaccine Development strategy.
- Manage information related to grant portfolio and domain-level data (Clinical and CMC), such as documenting key activities and decisions; inputting into key business processes and performance measurement tools; preparing materials for communication with foundation leadership
- Consult, provide thought partnership, and support to grantees and other partners to maximize the impact of projects and the creation of well-integrated vaccine development plans, clinical study designs, statistical analysis plans, and clinical assays for vaccine clinical studies
- Drive facilitation, project management, stakeholder management, and follow-up on action items for cross-cutting initiatives led by the Clinical Development and CMC domains (e.g., Combination Vaccines and Correlates of Protection)
- Partner with the Strategy, Planning and Management team to provide overall program management support for the Clinical and CMC domains to ensure strategic and financial objectives are met: establish and execute work plans, facilitate and monitor progress against milestones and decision points; manage stakeholder interactions; assess needs and implement improvements in processes and projects that increase the impact of the program
- Provide technical guidance and support on the foundation process for Integrated Product Development Plans (IPDPs) and the development process including definition of critical milestones and stage gates. Support product development process as defined by the foundation for our internal and external partners.
- Represent the foundation and program to the external world as relates to position responsibilities:
- Forge collaborations with key global experts in vaccine development. Work with external advisors to maintain cutting edge approaches to vaccine development.
- Represent foundation interests in developing networks for the program
- This role will require the ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally
We are looking for people who enjoy the opportunity of working on complex projects and collaboratively creating solutions that have the potential for transformational change. We seek a self-starter who can integrate a diverse set of perspectives to build consensus, structure and drive forward progress on complex topics, and provide both technical and operational capacity to the Vaccine Development & Surveillance portfolio. We are looking for individuals with:
- Background with technical content in one or more of the following areas: clinical research & development, vaccine development, infectious diseases and/or immunology
- Demonstrated ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and enthusiasm in a fast-paced and complex internal and external environment
- Proven program and stakeholder management skills: ability to coordinate inputs from many people; to track progress against targets and identify barriers to progress; to plan agendas and facilitate meetings; and to organize, evaluate, and communicate information
- Strong judgment with a demonstrated ability to handle complex issues, multiple tasks, confidential information, and competing priorities with skill, discretion, a strong attention to detail, flexibility and diplomacy.
- Tolerance for ambiguity and ability to apply structure to simplify complex problems
- Intellectual quickness, curiosity, discipline, resourcefulness and resilience.
- Exceptional listening, verbal, and written communication skills, able to effectively calibrate input and synthesize information to connect with diverse audiences
- Excellent interpersonal and diplomatic skills. You must possess excellent relationship management skills to develop trusting and productive relationships with a wide range of colleagues, dignitaries, leaders, grantees, consultants and other partners.
- A sense of humor.
- Demonstrated passion for the Foundation’s values with a commitment to deliver results against our mission.
Education and Experience
- Demonstrated experience in scientific writing and data analysis, written and oral communication skills, and experience advocating and communicating with a broad and diverse audience.
- Experience with business and technical due diligence assessments of potential investments. Ability to synthesize technical and commercial information toward strategic decision making.
- Ideal candidate will have experience in working with and/or leading Clinical Development programs / portfolio within the Pharmaceutical/Life Science sector. Management Consultants with advanced scientific degrees are also highly suggested to apply.