The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is a global, not-for-profit, public-private partnership organization working to speed the search for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. Founded in 1996 and operational in 24 countries, IAVI, and its network of partners, research and develop vaccine candidates. IAVI also advocates for a vaccine to be a global priority and works to assure that a future vaccine will be accessible to all who need it.

MISSION
IAVI’s mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for use throughout the world.
As the world’s only organization focused solely on the development of an AIDS vaccine, IAVI researches and develops vaccine candidates, conducts policy analyses, and serves as an advocate for the field with offices in Africa, India, and Europe, as well as New York. IAVI supports a comprehensive approach to HIV and AIDS that balances the expansion and strengthening of existing HIV prevention and treatment programs with targeted investments in new AIDS prevention technologies.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
IAVI’s scientific program identifies and advances vaccine candidates by an active and growing intramural vaccine effort linked to a network of global partners comprising more than 30 private companies and academic and government agencies worldwide. IAVI manages a portfolio of R&D projects, prioritizing vaccine concepts and candidates given the latest science in an effort to move them swiftly through the vaccine development pipeline. IAVI supports and operates the second largest AIDS vaccine research and development program in the world and has invested more than US$250 million in vaccine R&D, including US$60 million in 2007.
In the last six years, IAVI and its network of partners have translated innovative technologies into six vaccine candidates that have entered human trials in 11 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. IAVI’s Human Core Immunology Laboratory, housed at Imperial College London, links HIV vaccine laboratories worldwide and provides comprehensive training and support to field laboratories and clinical staff involved in IAVI-sponsored trials. IAVI has also brought together leading international HIV researchers to form three integrated scientific consortia: the Neutralizing Antibody Consortium, the Immunologic Control of HIV/Live Attenuated SIV Consortium, and the Vector Design Consortium to address major obstacles in AIDS vaccine development.

In 2005 IAVI established the AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory (the Design Lab) to integrate IAVI’s R&D efforts. The Design Lab examines novel AIDS vaccine platforms and immunogens, standardizes preclinical testing of AIDS vaccine candidates, and develops candidates for use in clinical products. In addition, the Design Lab supports the activities of IAVI’s research consortia (the NAC, LAC, and VEC). The Design Lab will also develop common preclinical standards for the AIDS vaccine field as a whole. A new state-of-the-art, 30,000 square-foot fully equipped laboratory is now open in Brooklyn. The Design Laboratory is aligned with the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center, to support and complement its research activities.
IAVI’s HIV vaccine trials, conducted in collaboration with local scientists, are located primarily in Africa and India, where different subtypes of the virus are circulating. Local partner institutions include the Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative (KAVI), Rwanda’s Project San Francisco, the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the Zambia Emory HIV Research Project (ZEHRP) and partner sites in South Africa. In other areas of the world where IAVI is not currently sponsoring HIV vaccine trials—Brazil and China, for example—the organization works with on-the-ground partners to support national efforts in HIV vaccine research and mobilization.
IAVI implements a major part of its research, policy, and advocacy programs in developing countries, where 95% of new HIV infections are occurring. Partnering with and convening diverse stakeholders—including researchers, policymakers, and community and women’s health organizations—IAVI conducts educational initiatives, voluntary counseling and testing consultations, and capacity building to ensure an effective and transparent clinical trial process. In these settings IAVI helps to improve both the intellectual capacity of in-country partners and builds or upgrades clinics and laboratories and works to address such issues as informed consent, gender equity, and access to treatment and care. It also supports local partners advocating for the development of national AIDS vaccine plans to provide vaccine research and development guidelines.

IAVI is a young, dynamic and mission-driven organization, and the work environment is fast-paced and intellectually stimulating. IAVI’s culture, like that of a biotech company, is one that involves working collaboratively with a variety of internal and external peers, using scarce resources effectively, and sharing a common sense of commitment and purpose. Uniquely, however, it is the fundamental importance of IAVI’s mission and its sensitivity to the many global cultures in which it operates and to the vulnerable people around the world it serves that binds IAVI’s staff and its collaborators together. In a global search effort, IAVI seeks a Senior Director Vaccine Design.

Location IAVI’s Design and Development Lab, Brooklyn, New York.

IAVI has regional offices in Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Nairobi, and New Delhi with the Core Lab in London, and a new Neutralizing Antibody Center in La Jolla, California.
The Position
Overview
IAVI is recruiting for a Senior Director, Vaccine Design at its Design and Development Lab, situated at Brooklyn, New York. This individual will be responsible for all functions of the laboratory in implementing IAVI’s R&D work-plans, milestones and goals. These encompass:
• Identification of promising vaccine concepts in collaboration with IAVI’s consortium partners
• Translation of these concepts into vaccine leads
• Transition of leads into and through pre-clinical development
• Generation and testing of immunogens that will elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies
• Generation and testing of potent and safe vector candidates for vaccines
• Rigorous testing of the leads to be sure they can and should move forward
• Identification and implementation of predefined Go/No decision points.

IAVI’s AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory (the Design Lab) serves as a critical partner of IAVI’s global vaccine design and development effort, closely linked with IAVI’s Live Attenuated Consortia, Neutralizing Antibody Consortia, Vector Consortia and AIDS Vaccine Clinical Immunology Laboratory (London) and an expanding network of partners.

Other Responsibilities
• Lead the process for review, evaluation, and investment recommendations for new technologies and innovations for AIDS vaccine discovery in collaboration with the VP for Vaccine Design, other senior members of the R&D staff, the EO, and staff at IAVI responsible for business development.

Leadership and Management • Ensure that the highest quality of scientific skill, diligence and rigor is applied to all projects within the design laboratory.
• Manage short-term and long-term Design Lab resource needs and facility budgets to achieve organizational objectives in partnership with the Senior Director, R&D Operations.
• Manage Design lab staff and consultants, at approved levels by IAVI leadership: within these allocations staff the Lab effectively to achieve objectives; recruit and evaluate the performance of all personnel, providing coaching and mentoring to staff and developing and maintaining an organizational structure with appropriate functional responsibilities to accomplish business goals. Additionally, ensure that scientific staff remains at the cutting edge of the scientific disciplines required for peak performance in their jobs.
• Establish effective working relationships with other departments at IAVI, e.g., Executive Office, Policy/Advocacy, Country and Regional Programs, Finance and Administration, Communications, and Human Resources, and external biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners to advance IAVI’s mission.

Qualifications & Experience
We seek an individual who possesses a strong foundation in vaccine science with a solid scientific reputation internationally. The successful candidate will have:
• Experience directing a vaccine project from research to clinical development in industry, government and/or academia.
• Insight to recognize promising lead candidates early while balancing between speed of advancement and probability of success.
• Expertise in generation and interpretation of key data demonstrating preclinical vaccine performance.
• An understanding of priority-setting, resource management and the bridge-building required to foster scientific cooperation.
• Experience working on global vaccine design and development in partnership with diverse collaborations of international stakeholders.
• Ability to formulate scientific based go/no decision points, based on immunological, protection and safety endpoints.
• A M.D. or Ph.D. degree in a biological science, including immunology, microbiology, virology, biochemistry or bioengineering.
• Additional specific skill sets and experience in the following areas would be desirable; Animal model testing of vaccines, immunology, antigen design, adjuvants, HIV biology, generation of an IND, and application for peer review funding.

IAVI operates as an intense mission-driven organization trying to solve one of the most difficult and important scientific and policy challenges of our times; as a result, a passion for the mission is a critical attribute.

Leadership & Management Behavioral Competencies
A builder of strong, productive personal and professional relationships and interconnected networks of people and organizations.
• Highly developed and effective interpersonal and communication skills, verbal and written; able to communicate sensitively and compellingly with individuals as well as large groups across cultures and languages.
• Encourages open communication and participation with an emphasis on transparency and the sharing of information.
• Strong conceptual thinker who can drive quickly to a clear and concise synthesis of even the most complex issues and concepts.
• A visionary leader who exudes a passion for the mission that is inspiring and contagious.
• Defines ambitious goals and establishes priorities, designing processes and managing projects and resources that align to achieve those goals.
• Able to handle challenging situations, including daunting tasks and complex interpersonal issues, with a calm, assured, unflagging approach that keeps all “eyes on the prize.”
• A champion of innovation who responds to complex problems and challenges by applying new perspectives and exploring a variety of relevant possible solutions.
• A team player and team-builder who is willing to work with and patiently align diverse stakeholders who maintain their individual autonomy and decision-making.



Personal Characteristics
Respected for intellect and sound scientific judgment;
• Creative and flexible in approaching problem-solving and management in a globally diverse and highly matrixed environment;
• Dynamic, energetic;
• Strategic;
• Embraces change;
• Strong organizational skills;
• Values-driven with a high degree of integrity and moral authority;
• Disciplined and methodical;
• A resilient temperament;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, influencing skills and cultural competencies, with the ability to effectively manage across a global platform of partners and employees.

Please apply online at www.iavi.org