Open position as Sustainability & Commercialisation Manager for the European Platform for Neurodegenerative Disorders

Reporting to senior management, the Sustainability & Commercialisation Manager (SCM) will be co-responsible for the creation and execution of a business strategy for a European research platform focused on providing access to bio-samples and high-quality data in neurodegenerative diseases. This is in the context of the European Platform for Neurodegenerative Disorders (EPND), an ambitious public-private collaboration funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative involving 28 industry, healthcare, academic and patient advocacy partners.

The objective of EPND is to develop a self-sustainable European platform to facilitate access to bio-samples and related data. We will build EPND using infrastructures that have shown proven value in public-private multi-stakeholder settings. In connection with the AD Workbench, EPND will support resource and participant level discovery, data harmonisation, central and federated data and sample storage and data analysis. The design of EPND is guided by ethical, legal and regulatory experts, patients and other stakeholders. EPND will also provide protocols for data and sample collection. For more information on the funding call related to this project see page 32 of this document.

The selected candidate will be co-responsible for structuring and coordinating the project sustainability planning so that an operating entity can be achieved within 5 years of project start, with a view to self-sustainability soon after.

This position will also be responsible for effective communication, collaboration and advocacy (potentially including some fundraising activities in year 4 and 5) within and external to the consortium, related to the implementation of the business model.

The SCM will work closely with senior advisors and report to EATRIS Operations & Finance Director. He/She will work closely with the leadership and technical teams of the EPND consortium and will represent EATRIS in the Steering Committee and General Assembly of EPND.

Responsibilities

  • Benchmarking and landscape analysis to propose business strategy, model, operating structure and minimum viable product, working in close collaboration with consortium partners;
  • Definition of operating scenarios to support selection of final operational and governance structure of future entity;
  • Development of a business and funding plan, subsequently coordinate and execute fundraising strategy in year 4 and 5;
  • Work with legal counsel from all parties to conclude the necessary agreements amongst consortium partners for the entity to have freedom-to-operate after project close.

 Your profile 

 The ideal candidate will have the following characteristics:

  • MSc or PhD in life sciences, and/or
  • Advanced degree in business related discipline with extensive experience in diagnostics or biobanking industry;
  • Minimum 4 years of experience in business modelling or commercialisation strategy, preferably in a life sciences field;
  • Proven business and scientific competences; demonstrated ability to perform analyses such as competitive analyses, market analyses;
  • Excellent communication skills, verbally and in writing; comfortable communicating with senior stakeholders;
  • Excellent organisational skills;
  • Excellent collaboration skills;
  • Ability to work independently;
  • Fluent in written and spoken English

Competitive remuneration package, depending on experience.

Application process

The position is for 24-36 hours per week (60-90%), starting at the end of October 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter. The role is foreseen for a minimum 5 year duration. Secondment from EATRIS institutions is possible, and in limited circumstances remote working will be considered.

Applications will be reviewed upon submission and suitable applicants may be contacted for interview prior to the closing date. Please note that a reference check is part of the selection process.

Please send a copy of your CV plus motivation letter by 22 October 2021 to: office@eatris.eu

For further information feel free to contact us using the above contact information.

You can download the full job specification here.

More about EATRIS

EATRIS is a European academic research infrastructure in translational medicine, established in 2014, with its coordination office located in Amsterdam.  The mission of EATRIS is to utilise cutting edge technologies and expertise to improve translation of scientific results into new therapies and diagnostics. We do this by identifying tools and technologies that can support drug and diagnostic development and facilitating access to our 115 research institutions in 14 EU countries, who provide capacity and expertise to support research requests. One of our major strategies to fulfill our mission is to facilitate industry-academic collaborations for developing next generation research tools and resources. To achieve this EATRIS was recently awarded significant funding to support the development of research tools in the field of neurodegeneration, see below. Find out more about EATRIS on our about page: www.eatris.eu/about