Deputy Director (Science), HIV Programmes and Advocacy At International AIDS Society

About the IAS:

IAS – the International AIDS Society – leads collective action on every front of the global HIV response through its membership base, scientific authority and convening power. Founded in 1988, the IAS is the world’s largest association of HIV professionals, with members in more than 170 countries. Working with its members, the IAS advocates and drives urgent action to reduce the impact of HIV. The IAS is also the steward of the world’s most prestigious HIV conferences: the International AIDS Conference, the IAS Conference on HIV Science, and the HIV Research for Prevention Conference.

The IAS promotes and invests in HIV advocacy and research on key issue areas through our strategic programmes, initiatives, and campaigns that advocate for urgent action to reduce the global impact of HIV, including increased investment in HIV cure research; optimizing treatment and care for infants, children and adolescents with HIV in resource-limited settings; preventing and treating HIV-related co-infections; and expanding access to prevention, treatment and care for key populations vulnerable to HIV acquisition – such as men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers and transgender people – including protecting their human rights by combatting punitive laws and discriminatory policies.

More information on IAS can be found at www.iasociety.org.

Details of Employment:

The Deputy Director (Science), HIV Programmes and Advocacy will be based in Geneva, Switzerland and report to the Director, HIV Programmes and Advocacy. The position is open-ended and full-time to start as soon as possible.

Purpose of the Position:

The incumbent will lead one of the IAS’s flagship programmes, the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise (“Enterprise”), providing direction and technical expertise in support of the three pivotal commitments of the Enterprise:

1. Contribute to the global effort to design innovative HIV prevention efficacy trials in a changing prevention landscape.
2. Facilitate alignment between stakeholders for the next steps of research and development of immunization for HIV prevention.
3. Identify issues and roadblocks, old and new, within HIV vaccine research and innovation that the IAS can help resolve or progress as a trusted convener.

The successful candidate will closely monitor the HIV vaccine field and proactively engage with key actors and networks to develop and implement a work plan of convenings, policy development and advocacy actions to unite stakeholders to share knowledge, foster collaboration, enable solutions and expand support critical to the development of—and future access to—an HIV vaccine. The incumbent will be supported by a small team of project managers and support staff and a pool of senior consultants.

Additionally, as a scientific lead for the IAS, the incumbent will oversee and provide scientific guidance to strengthen other flagship scientific programmes such as the Towards an HIV Cure Initiative and the Collaborative Initiative for Paediatric HIV Education and Research (CIPHER), and serve as the lead science advisor for IAS communications, public affairs, industry and partner engagement, conferences and other events convened by the IAS.

Main Responsibilities:

Line-managing 4-6 direct reports, and matrix managing and mentoring others, the incumbent will be responsible for the following:

Lead, the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise

• Monitor the HIV vaccine field and engage with key research and development consortia leads, including scientific leads represented in the Collaborative HIV Immunogen Project (CHIP), the leads of African and European HIV vaccine research and development initiatives, and the leads of industry HIV vaccine programs.
• Engage at conferences and scientific meetings, to proactively identify the most important needs and challenges in HIV vaccine science, trial design, product development, regulatory and access planning
• Facilitate information flow among HIV vaccine scientists in different geographies, with an emphasis on elevating opportunities for African scientists to increase awareness of developments in the US and Europe and increase opportunities for collaboration
• Lead the Enterprise work plan, including developing clear strategic goals and operational plans for programme execution that reflect inputs from the Enterprise Advisory Group (EAG), the major HIV vaccine funders, including the National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other stakeholders
• Conceptualize and convene stakeholder meetings – in-person and virtual – of public research institutions, industry, funders and international finance and development agencies to meet work plan objectives across HIV vaccine research, product development, rollout and scale up
• Develop and oversee the implementation of a communications and advocacy plan, including development of publications and other collateral, to expand awareness of the latest HIV vaccine science and advocate for enhanced investment in HIV vaccine research and innovation, in collaboration with the IAS Communications and Public Affairs team
• Develop and manage annual budgets, and oversee the monitoring, evaluation, and perpetual improvement of the Enterprise
• Contribute to concept notes, proposals, outreach and reporting to support resource mobilization efforts for the Enterprise, in collaboration with the IAS Development and Partnerships team.

Science Advisor

• Nurture synergistic connections between the IAS’s flagship scientific programmes, providing direct oversight of select initiatives and contributing to the strategic direction of others
• Provide technical expertise across the IAS, in particular an understanding of product development priorities, practices and principles to help foster field-wide efforts for the conduct of research and innovation, including clinical trials, in an evolving prevention landscape
• Offer strategic direction on IAS engagement with regard to the latest scientific developments related to HIV
• Provide technical input to and strategic guidance on IAS conference programme content, in collaboration with the IAS Conference team, including the HIV Research for Prevention (R4P) conference
• Guide scientific engagement with multiple stakeholders on relevant priority issues, involving the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries as well as academic institutions, donor agencies and international organizations, in collaboration with IAS Development and Partnerships team.

Perform any additional tasks requested by the Director, HIV Programmes and Advocacy.

Academic Qualifications:

• MD or PhD in microbiology, immunology, life sciences, or other related field.

Work Experience:

• At least 5 years’ experience in a similar management position
• At least 10 years’ experience in global health, including in the HIV vaccine field and prevention research
• A scientific track record in HIV vaccine or prevention research (e.g. immunology, virology, epidemiology etc.)
• Experience in building and managing successful relationships with a diversity of stakeholders, including scientists and research networks, members of governments, pharmaceutical companies, NGOs, and/or multi‐lateral organizations
• Experience in project management: including grant writing, budgets and work plans, management of grants and donor relations, and coordination of consortiums.

Skills/Competencies:

• Excellent knowledge of the different aspects of HIV prevention and vaccine research, preferably in an international context
• Demonstrated ability to effectively engage individuals in senior leadership positions; this includes the ability to handle complex issues and navigate competing stakeholder priorities with sophistication, confidence, and flexibility
• Strong understanding of product development priorities, practices and principles
• A track record of leadership and an active network of established collaborators
• Strong stakeholder management and team management skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Highly organized, systematic and with strong analytical skills
• Creative and out of the box thinker, with demonstrated track record of problem‐solving and seeking solutions to challenges
• Applied understanding of matrix management principles
• Sense of diplomacy, cross-cultural interpersonal skills
• Ability to self-motivate, propose and implement strategic initiatives in uncertain and evolving environments
• Ability to travel internationally.

Languages:

• Advanced level English. Knowledge of other languages is an asset.