Director: Translational Science, Inflammation and Immunity

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) connects the world's leading public and private organizations to accelerate biomedical breakthroughs for patients. The FNIH brings together leading scientist to navigate and solve complex human health problems and advance development of new therapies, diagnostics, and potential cures; advance global health and equity in care; and celebrate and train the next generation of scientists.

Established by Congress in 1990 to support the mission of the NIH, the FNIH is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) charitable organization. For more information about the FNIH, please visit fnih.org.

The FNIH is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. The FNIH celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) is seeking a Director for Translational Science, Inflammation and Immunity to lead a dynamic team and oversee a diverse portfolio of impactful public-private research collaborations. This role is crucial in driving forward the development of innovative biomarkers and therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, while also addressing the pressing challenges of infectious diseases. The Director will work with leading experts from biopharmaceutical companies, healthcare not-for-profit and patient advocacy organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions to design, fund, and implement projects that have a tangible impact on the lives of people living with these conditions. Join us in making a meaningful difference in the field of healthcare.

Directors play a pivotal role at the FNIH, providing expertise within their domain, executing their own projects, and shepherding ideas from external partners through the design and development process, maximizing both scientific impact and funding interest. While this is a non-research role, the position requires a can-do attitude with strong knowledge of the biomedical landscape, including the ability to identify those programs that will advance the translational science field. Due to the complexity of public-private partnerships of this scale, it also requires excellent interpersonal and writing skills, a high level of organization, diplomacy, and executive and collaborative acumen in matrixed research and leadership environments. Because inflammation is a key mechanism in a broad range of conditions, the individual in this role must actively collaborate with their counterparts in other therapeutic areas and fully utilize FNIH's broad network of key opinion leaders.

The Director will provide management of all aspects of the team and portfolio, including:

• Oversight of disease area activities including all governance bodies and key meetings with senior NIH and FDA leaders for the portfolio.
• Management of a dedicated team, including supervision, mentorship, professional development, and training.
• Review and approval of research plans, budgets, contracts, and timelines.
• Active business development to identify new projects for the portfolio, focusing on external partnership outreach.
• Recruitment of new external stakeholders and enrichment of existing relationships.
• Presentation at appropriate external meetings to represent projects and FNIH-wide interests.
• Thought leadership and strategic communications to support the portfolio

Collaboration with other organizational leaders to harmonize departmental strategies and approaches.

Successful candidates for the role will be able to demonstrate:

• Ability to oversee and optimize a portfolio of projects to align with organizational mission, balance resources, and deliver meaningful impact.
• Proven track record of team building - fostering productivity, collaboration, and professional development while aligning with organizational objectives
• Deep understanding of the therapeutic area to drive insights, innovation, and informed decision-making
• Expertise in the development and management of grants/contracts, including evaluation and refinement of statements of work, project budgets, milestones, and deliverables
• Strong record of managing relationships among scientific and administrative partners from diverse sectors of biomedical science
• Ability to diplomatically facilitate discussion involving diverse interests, leading groups to consensus and guide others to enhance this skill
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to tailor communications to relevant audiences and develop rapport with colleagues and partners
• Strong analytical, critical-thinking abilities to proactively identify potential problems and work with teams to fill gaps identified
• Ability to learn quickly, and make decisions independently to meet tight deadlines
• Attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• High degree of flexibility and ability to adapt to organizational priorities

Preferred Qualifications:

• An MS/PhD in a scientific/technical field and relevant technical understanding and experience in drug development and regulatory science with a focus on basic, translational, or clinical research.
• 10+ years of relevant professional experience in scientific project management in biotech, pharmaceutical or health related fields with strong analytical, critical-thinking abilities to proactively identify potential problems and work with teams to fill identified gaps.
• 5+ years of experience in staff and small team management; Or demonstrates transferable ability to manage teams.
• 5+ years of relevant stakeholder management experience within a similar organization(s).

The salary range for this position is $190,000 - $205,000 annually.

*Note: Remote positions require travel to the office once per quarter for three days for structured team-building activities. In addition, travel is required to relevant meetings and conferences.

At FNIH we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. If you are excited about this role and the work of the Foundation, but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with all the qualifications in the job description, we encourage you to apply, nonetheless. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles at FNIH.

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