Strategy Implementation Officer, Malaria R&D (2 year LTE)

Your Role  

This Strategy Implementation Officer role works with the Malaria R&D team and facilitates planning of our pipeline and portfolio. Products in the pipeline span the categories of drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, biologics, insecticidal vector control (e.g., bed nets), and genetically modified mosquitoes (e.g., gene drive mosquitoes). In this role, you will collaborate with and help the technical team to keep our product strategies current and aligned to overall malaria eradication use cases and evolving scientific data and then monitor there is a healthy portfolio/pipeline of product candidates in place to balance timeline, probability of technical & regulatory success (PTRS), launch readiness & deliverability, and internal and external funding considerations. Throughout, you will synthesize information around and facilitate end-to-end roadmap discussions on product candidates and portfolio mix needed over the next 10-12 years To facilitate these functions, you will work with the internal Malaria team, cross-functional teams, external partners to maintain target product profiles (TPPs) and integrated product development plans (IPDPs) across the R&D portfolio, build data packages and leadership communication materials to drive stage-gate decisions, and ensure R&D portfolio management data systems stay current. You will work with and coordinate multi-disciplinary teams, including disease specialists, biopharma/AgChem functional experts [clinical, chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC), regulatory, launch, etc.] toward these goals.  

In addition to focusing on the aforementioned strategy implementation activities focused on our R&D investment portfolio, you will contribute to the broader Malaria Strategy, Planning, and Management (SPM) team. This will include providing structured problem solving and rapid qualitative/quantitative analytics, secondary research and synthesis of strategic and technical information for leadership and external advisory board discussions, and building and validating reasons for resource planning decisions. You will report to the Senior Strategy Officer and be guided by the Deputy Director for Strategy, Planning and Management (DDSPM), and as needed, you will function as a delegate for them within the Malaria PST and across the broader Gates Foundation. The role is based out of Seattle, WA and may involve international and domestic travel 20% of the time.  

*This position begins as a limited-term position for 24 months based in our Seattle, WA office that, during that time, may be converted to 36 months total or full-time depending on performance and business needs. Relocation will be provided. 

What You’ll Do  

Malaria product R&D investment strategy implementation  

• Collaborate with the technical team (e.g., program officers with responsibilities and expertise for each of product and functional area) to:  

• Develop and vet long-term and end-to-end R&D portfolio optimization, product development and launch readiness plans aligned with product strategies and the overall malaria eradication strategy. 

• Map out and maintain a view on long horizon decision points and resourcing needs across a product portfolio/pipeline and the resultant scenarios and dependencies for discovery, development, and launch  

• Work collaboratively across the foundation to develop and implement target product profiles (TPPs) integrated product development plans (IPDPs) with foundation partners and grantees. 

• Liaise closely with internal subject matter experts to co-develop and test R&D strategy implementation plans and facilitate change management through effective communication and relationship management. 

• Maintain awareness of and recommend coordination with other related efforts within the organization and partner ecosystem (such as mRNA vaccine platform efforts)  

• Provide an independent perspective on potential R&D timeline acceleration opportunities, based on experience and secondary research 

• Identify and assess key risks at both the portfolio and product level (e.g., manufacturing and IP risks) while also developing and leading mitigation and contingency plans. 

• Work closely with key external partners to keep plans current, well vetted, and shared with key collaborators, such that there is timely visibility of acceleration opportunities and/or risks. 

• Propose to the team and partners internal/external analysis from subject matter experts to ensure acceleration opportunities and risks are managed (e.g., drug synthesis and formulation analysis to drive down costs of goods) 

• Conduct ad hoc Excel-based (‘back of the envelope’) quantitative analysis and literature reviews as needed to guide strategic decision making 

Overall Malaria Strategy, Planning, and Management (SPM)  

• Work with the team’s SSO and DDSPM to contribute to malaria program team vision, goals, and resource allocation decisions  

• Support the leadership team with analytics and thought partnership to enable complete portfolio management, ensuring alignment across efforts within the team, and with the foundation's malaria eradication goals. 

• Identify resource trade-off decisions and recommend options for leadership decision-making, including assessing large, long-term investments for efficiencies (in partnership with Financial Planning & Analysis) 

• Support the technical program team in developing high-quality memos and meeting materials for executive leadership (i.e., foundation co-chairs and CEO). 

• Gather and synthesize relevant data, insights, and program updates into clear, executive-level communications.  

Your Experience  

We are looking for team members who enjoy working on complex problems and collaboratively crafting R&D strategy and implementation plans that have the potential to transform the lives of people around the world. Candidates must be excellent team players who are excited to work across a diverse set of disciplines and issue areas. 

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in a STEM field. Advanced degree (PhD, MPH) or equivalent experience preferred. 

• Minimum 7 years of experience preferred focused on pharma & life sciences R&D strategy and operations, at either a pharma, life sciences, and/or AgChem company and/or top-tier management consulting firm.  

• Understanding and experience with lessons learned in taking products through stages of development, including clinical/field trials, manufacturing, regulatory approval, and/or launch 

• Familiarity with industry standard practices, such as use case and TPP development, cross-functional/integrated product planning, and stage-gate decision-making 

• Demonstrated experience with critical thinking in new and ambiguous situations; ability to learn new content quickly, identify connections and second-order implications, and establish credibility with internal/external teams. 

• Ability to work in a self-guided manner, in highly unstructured and changing situations, and can multitask across priorities; self-starter with a bias for action, thought partnership, efficiency, humility, intellectual curiosity, and investing in relationships  

• Ability to question and challenge colleagues including managers, senior leaders, and partners in constructive manner 

• Core professional services skillset is critical to be successful in this role: Excellent organizational, facilitation, verbal, and written communication skills. Ability to work effectively and with sensitivity across barriers such as language, culture, and distance. Excellent software skills with Microsoft Office applications, including a demonstrated ability to convey complex information using supporting tables, graphs, and other visual representations 

• Excellent listening skills and empathy 

• Ability to travel up to 20% domestically and internationally 

• Commitment to our core values, mission, and programs with an approach that is consistent with the foundation’s guiding principles and holding self to the highest ethical standards 

*Must be able to legally work in the US without visa sponsorship. 

#LI-SC2