Associate Director, Global Markets Team – Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) – United States
Chaired by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems in the developing world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Based on the premise that business-oriented strategy can facilitate solutions to global health challenges, CHAI acts as a catalyst to mobilize new resources and optimize the impact of these resources to save lives, via improved organization of commodity markets and more effective national and sub-national level management.
Background on the Global Markets Team:
The hallmark of CHAI’s approach is simultaneous and intensive engagement on both the demand and supply sides of the market. On the demand side, CHAI’s country teams help governments to scale up treatment programs, improve procurement and supply chain management.
Meanwhile, the Global Markets Team (GMT) works to address supply-side barriers to access and foster a healthy marketplace to ensure the sustainable supply of vaccines, drugs and vaccines. The GMT works closely with manufacturers and multilateral organizations to lower vaccine, drug and diagnostic prices, encourage the adoption of stringent quality standards, and facilitate the entry and uptake of new improved products. The GMT plays the lead role in managing relationships with major vaccine, pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies to shape their access to medicines policies and programs.
Selected news about CHAI and GMT work on access:
- GSK press release, June 2011: http://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/2011/millions-of-children-in-the-world-s-poorest-countries-could-receive-vaccination-against-rotavirus-diarrhoeal-disease-under-new-offer-made-by-gsk-to-the-gavi-alliance/
- CHAI press release, October 2012: http://www.clintonfoundation.org/main/news-and-media/press-releases-and-statements/press-release-chelsea-clinton-and-chai-support-the-government-of-nigeria-saving-one-million-lives.html
- WHO press release, September 2012: http://www.who.int/pmnch/media/news/2012/20121018_clinton_and_norway/en/index.html
- CHAI press release, July 2012: http://www.clintonfoundation.org/main/news-and-media/press-releases-and-statements/press-release-agreement-with-generic-drug-makers-will-bring-prices-down-even-further.html
CHAI is currently applying the techniques it has used successfully to improve access to HIV/AIDS and malaria treatment in developing countries to achieve the same for essential vaccines and cold chain equipment. Immunization is widely acknowledged as the most cost-effective and focused disease intervention and yet each year an estimated three million children under the age of five lose their lives to preventable illnesses. A majority of these deaths occur in low-income countries, where poverty and lack of affordability prevent access to life-saving vaccines.
There is an unprecedented wave of new vaccines expected to become available within the next decade that could transform the global burden of disease. However, the cost of deploying these products while maintaining access to current vaccines is expected to exceed $4 billion annually by 2015. Given the current difficult financial climate, governments and donors may be unable to meet the escalating cost burden generated by these new products. As a result, the pricing and market conditions of new and existing vaccines will be a critical determinant of coverage levels and, therefore, health impact in the coming years. Also, in order to increase vaccine cold chain capacity to cater for the introduction of new vaccines, national governments and donors will expect to spend up to $1.7 billion to purchase and operate cold chain equipment over the next 10 years.
CHAI has already begun to work with key partners to negotiate price reductions for major current vaccines and cold chain equipment. This work resulted in a reduction in the price of vaccines, including the rotavirus vaccine by two-thirds and the pentavalent vaccine by almost 50%, and other vaccines, resulting in substantial savings of over USD900M for global donors and governments by 2018. By working with key stakeholders, the CHAI Global Markets Team (Vaccines) aims to support the achievement of affordable yet sustainable vaccine and vaccine cold chain equipment prices, thereby increasing value for money and enabling accelerated introduction of new vaccines in developing countries.
The Global Markets Team (Vaccines) is currently recruiting an Associate Director to help manage this work. We are seeking a highly motivated individual with significant experience in the vaccines industry, with expertise in research and development, manufacturing or business development for vaccines.
Responsibilities:
- As part of the Global Markets Team, the Associate Director will support the achievement of affordable yet sustainable global vaccine and cold chain equipment prices, including but not limited to the following responsibilities:
- Develop CHAI’s overall strategy within vaccine and cold chain market shaping, including developing clear strategic and operational plans for vaccine and cold chain equipment program execution, and continually identify opportunities for CHAI to add value and maximize impact;
- Lead vaccine and cold chain equipment pricing negotiations including shaping the scope of prospective deals coordinating among donors and manufacturers in the partnership;
- Develop, and execute high-impact strategies in vaccine and cold chain market shaping which may include innovative financing mechanisms and price negotiations;
- Act as primary point of contact and expert liaison for external stakeholders, build a trusted relationship and dialogue with the key partners including major global institutions, manufacturers and governments based on a track record of delivering results that exceed expectations in speed and quality;Provide strategic and technical advice to vaccine and cold chain equipment team-leads in developing strategies;
- Any other duties as required by the Director, Global Markets Team (Vaccines);
- The Associate Director will spend ~20-30% of his/her time travelling as required.
Qualifications:
- Minimum 10+ years of experience in the vaccines or pharmaceutical industry with a focus on infectious diseases, vaccines development, or epidemiology
- Proven expertise on the end-to-end value chain for vaccines, with a focus on research & development, manufacturing or business development ; good understanding of various vaccine markets across the world
- Excellent relationship manager, able to build and develop strong relationships with external experts and able to participate in robust and transparent scientific dialogue
- Exceptional problem-solving and critical thinking
- Exceptional strategic development skills, able to identify and pursue high-impact strategies in complex, uncertain and evolving environments
- Entrepreneurial mindset, including ability to work independently, self-motivate, and propose and implement new initiatives
- Excellent analytical (quantitative and qualitative) and communication (written and verbal) skills, including the ability to communicative effectively with people of varied professional / cultural backgrounds
Advantages:
Additional years of experience in the vaccines or pharmaceutical industry will be a plus (15+ years)
Experience managing the implementation of complex projects with remote teams
MBA or PhD in the field of immunology, vaccinology, systems biology or other relevant field will be a plus
