Senior Program Officer, Toxicology, Global Health

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

The mission of Discovery & Translational Sciences (DTS) is to catalyze innovation for the discovery and translation of transformative solutions to global health and development inequity. As such, the primary role of DTS is to enable the foundation to achieve its ambitious global health equity goals as articulated by the disease-specific strategy teams (Program Strategy Teams; PSTs). For this, we exploit a unique advantage of the foundation in general and DTS in particular: the ability to invest in high-risk and/or long-timeline initiatives with potential for truly disruptive change. We channel resources into creating more practical (affordable, scalable, deliverable) versions of existing tools, develop transformative new tools where none exist, and speed the translation of scientific discovery into implementable solutions, seeking better ways to evaluate and refine potential interventions before they enter costly and time-consuming late-stage clinical trials. Key functions in support of this R&D mission include identifying and filling gaps in scientific knowledge, creating or implementing new technology platforms that can accelerate research in support of our goals, investing in potentially transformative ideas, continuous surveying of an ever-changing scientific and technological innovation space, and the fostering of an effective ecosystem of global health innovation, funding and partnership to advance the foundation’s mission. Our areas of focus include vaccines, biologics, drugs, microbiome interventions, and reproductive and sexual health.

Your Role

We are currently seeking a Senior Program Officer (SPO), Toxicology, to join the Translation Sciences (TS) team within DTS. This role will contribute to a collaborative innovative culture and help accelerate the translation of research into practical health solutions, especially in resource-constrained environments. As we respond to a general need at the Foundation for acceleration across the entire discovery-development-regulatory-uptake space, it has become clear that we need to front-load toxicological evaluation in a concerted fashion early on in order to decrease the likelihood of later safety failures in human studies. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in the current frontiers of toxicology and nonclinical safety assessment, paired with a passion for global health impact.

This SPO will work cross-functionally with discovery scientists, pharmacologists, and product developers to apply modern translational toxicology thinking to global health R&D. They will support safe and efficient progression of candidate therapeutics, vaccines, and other biologics from preclinical models into human and patients’ clinical studies, ensuring robust understanding of safety, tolerability, and pharmacologic liabilities.

The successful candidate will also guide investment strategies, conduct technical due diligence, and cultivate partnerships with academic, not-for-profit, biotech, and pharmaceutical organizations.

What You’ll Do

Strategy Development:

• Partner with the Deputy Director to shape strategies for nonclinical development of global health products.
• Promote early integration of investigative toxicology into discovery programs and ensure alignment with clinical development plans.
• Champion application of state-of-the-art safety and toxicology sciences approaches and regulatory strategy for innovative modalities.

Investment management:

• Manage a substantial portfolio of sophisticated investments (grants, contracts, equity investments) focused on toxicology, safety assessment, and preclinical development, requiring both relevant subject matter expertise and high-level leadership skills; including applying and evaluating milestone-based performance objectives and helping to make go/no-go decisions about specific projects and product candidates.
• Identify and select partner institutions (e.g., academic, not-for-profit, biotech, pharma, PDP) as well as develop the scope and strategy for selected grants, investments, MoUs and contracts.
• Serve as a thought partner and resource to grantees and partners to facilitate accomplishment of strategic objectives.
• Contribute to review of proposals and write proposal summaries.
• Keep Foundation colleagues advised of progress on individual grants and investments that may constitute solution sets for specific global health problems.
• Source and evaluate potential new investments; lead due diligence and investment framing.

Provide Subject Matter Expertise:

• Provide toxicological expertise and guidance to internal teams and external partners.
• Evaluate preclinical data packages and risk assessments across a range of modalities including small molecules, biologics, vaccines, and gene-based therapeutics.
• Track innovations in predictive and mechanistic toxicology, in vitro and in silico modeling, and safety biomarker development.
• Contribute to scientific learning and publications and represent the foundation in external forums.
• Contribute to foundation knowledge capture, evaluation, learning, and dissemination; including developing reviews, summaries and informative reports that summarize key activities as well as supporting monitoring and evaluation activities.
• Monitor and provide analysis on technology trends, innovations, and policy issues relevant to initiatives/portfolios.
• Represent the Foundation externally and be recognized as thought leader through participation in public events and meetings related to area of expertise and position responsibilities, as well as through written work in relevant journals and publications.

Partnerships:

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with external partners including CROs, academic centers, biotech firms, and regulatory bodies.
• Facilitate alignment of partner activities with foundation goals and ensure scientific and operational excellence.
• Actively contribute to global scientific and regulatory discussions relevant to toxicology and safety science in global health.

Your Experience

• PhD, DVM, or equivalent in Toxicology, Pharmacology, or related discipline with 15+ years of experience in pharmaceutical or biotech sectors.
• Extensive experience leading toxicology programs and contributing to the successful transition of therapeutics from preclinical to clinical development and to the market.
• Proven expertise in GLP-compliant toxicology study design, interpretation, and regulatory documentation (e.g., IND/CTA/NDA/BLA preparation).
• Familiarity with emerging safety science platforms (e.g., organ-on-chip, computational toxicology, high-content in vitro assays, AI).
• Experience with small molecules, biologics, vaccines, and/or gene therapies preferred.
• Strong leadership skills and demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate across scientific and organizational boundaries.
• Global mindset and enthusiasm for applying scientific rigor to address health inequities in low-resource settings.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, scientific curiosity, and a commitment to team-based problem-solving.
• Demonstrated excellence in scientific writing and data analysis, written and oral communication skills, and experience advocating and communicating with a broad and diverse audience.

Other Attributes

• Experience working on teams with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds.
• Scientific curiosity paired with a high appetite for risk and innovation.
• Experience in a role requiring collaboration in a complex organization and working with external organizations.
• Dedication to our core values, mission and programs with an approach that is consistent with the foundation’s guiding principles while holding oneself to the highest ethical standards.

**Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

The salary range for this role is $261,700 to $405,700 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $285,300 to $442,100 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.

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Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

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Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.