Project Leader

About CEPILaunched in 2017, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is an international coalition of governments, academic, philanthropic, private, public, and intergovernmental institutions whose vision is to create a world in which epidemics and pandemics are no longer a threat to humanity. Our mission is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can be accessible to all people in need. CEPI played a central role in the global response to COVID-19, creating the world’s largest portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines – seven of which are approved for global or domestic use - and co-leading COVAX, the global initiative to support equitable access which supported the delivery of over 2bn vaccine doses globally. CEPI has CEPI has contributed to a number of scientific breakthroughs in vaccine development against other infectious diseases, including the first ever licensed Chikungunya vaccine and the first Nipah and Lassa virus vaccines into Phase 1 trials.As COVID-19 has demonstrated, emerging infectious diseases represent an existential threat to our way of life. COVID-19 is not the first pandemic of the 21st century, and unless we act now, we can be sure that it will not be the last. Unlike some of the other big threats that humanity faces, we have the tools to systematically reduce and even eliminate the risk of future pandemics. It is vital that we capitalise on the rare alignment of political will, practical experience, and technical and scientific progress emerging from the pandemic to prevent such devastation happening again. CEPI’s five-year plan for 2022-2026 – known as CEPI 2.0 - aims to dramatically reduce or even eliminate the future risk of pandemics and epidemics. Central to the plan is CEPI’s goal to accelerate the time taken to develop safe, effective, globally accessible vaccines against new threats to just 100 days. Achieving this ‘100 Days Mission’, which has been embraced by the G7 and G20, would give the world a fighting chance of containing a future outbreak before it can spread to become a global pandemic, potentially averting millions of deaths and trillions of dollars in economic damage.CEPI is a not-for-profit association under Norwegian Law and has offices in Oslo (HQ), London, and Washington DC.In CEPI we strive for diverse thinking, and we want a diverse pool of candidates for all our vacancies. We work for an inclusive working environment where each employee can contribute and grow.More details about CEPI and our mission can be found on our website: www.cepi.netAbout the roleLead several R&D projects as part of CEPI’s overall R&D Programs Portfolio ensuring strategic oversight, scientific excellence and successful delivery. Approaches to prophylaxis may include monoclonal antibodies in addition to active immunization.Contribute to the overall success of CEPI’s wider R&D Programs Portfolio through sharing lessons learned, improvement of project tools and development of the R&D programs team.Contribute to program area oversight, related to the respective projects, through KOL networks, events, publications and global/regional coordination with key stakeholders.Act as CEPI subject matter expert in their field, and as an ambassador for CEPI.This is a full-time, fixed-term role for 12 months.ResponsibilitiesAs the Project Leader, act with full accountability for the strategic, scientific and operational excellence of their project(s). The Project Leader must provide strong oversight of partner activities and continuously strive for acceleration of activities and ensure state-of-the-art scientific application.Work closely with colleagues across CEPI, Consultant Experts and CEPI Partners to ensure the successful delivery of the projects within their responsibility.Build effective project teams and ensure that the team benefits from timely and high quality input from the respective R&D programs and another departments and divisions within CEPI, and functions as a high performing and impactful team. This also includes working with product development partners and CEPI R&D programs, functional divisions and departments to facilitate cross-project reviews of data, including analytics, plans and cross-cutting opportunities for alignment.Engage, motivate and coach project managers and other members of the team to enable success in all areas; foster critical thinking and establish an environment in which team members seize opportunities to improve deliverables.Accountable for meeting the KPIs of the projects they lead and respective product development and enabling sciences project plans.Lead and represent the CEPI team in governance meetings (e.g. Joint Monitoring and Advisory Committee) with our product development partnersAdvise and collaborate with CEPI’s partners to ensure that the product development is performed according to the integrated Product Development plan(s) and constantly seek ways to improve performance, advance the scientific agenda and accelerate the project.Identify areas where capacity is needed and where subject matter experts should provide support to vaccine development partnersIdentify potential technical issues or obstacles and work with product development partners to resolve themEngage, motivate and coach Project Managers and other members of the team to enable success in all areas. Foster critical thinking and establish an environment in which team members step-up and seize opportunities to improve project deliverables.Ensure communication excellence for the projects across the organization, and externally, on behalf of CEPI.Contribute to stage gate and portfolio analysis processesLead and contribute to technical cross cutting working groups to facilitate the advancement of the R&D Program portfolio, encourage synergies between projects.Collaborate with other Project Leaders to bring together collective experience, seek new improved ways of working, cross-project scientific, strategic and operational synergies.Education, Experience and CompetenceEssential: advanced degree (PhD and/or MD) in relevant field.Minimum 10 years of pharmaceutical industry or non-profit vaccine development experience in a multi-disciplinary, global environment and with experience working in a global matrix team. Extensive experience leading vaccine research and development projects.End-to-end, in-depth knowledge of product development (from research to late-stage development, licensure, and implementation) with a broad knowledge of product development including pre-clinical and clinical development, translational sciences, CMC and regulatory.Strong leadership skills, with the ability to build trust with partners and manage a team of experts in a matrix international environment.Excellent ability to think critically, strategise and persuade key stakeholders to resolve differences in an effective mannerAbility to make decisions in a fast paced and changing environment that produce the best possible results for the projects they lead and for the organisationDemonstrated experience of continuously seeking improvements in team performance, deliverables and scientific excellence in the field of vaccines, including novel technologies that accelerate activities and lower project-related risks.Strong interpersonal skills, team player, able to work in different cultural environments, to negotiate timelines and develop effective international collaboration. Experience working in southeast Asia, India, South America, the Arabic Peninsula, or West Africa is a plus.Strong communication skills, able to represent CEPI at international events and ensure the appropriate flow of information across CEPI divisions and departments, the project team and across projects.Strong critical and objective interpretation of complex development and scientific dataFlexibility and tolerance to best manage change and differing opinions with diplomacy and competence.Travel and Location RequirementsThis role can be based in the UK, US (East Coast) or Norway.Up to 20-30% travel.What we can offer youThe opportunity to work together with leading experts on solutions for global challengesExperience in the international effort on developing vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and accelerating vaccine development response to outbreaksA diverse and inclusive working environmentHow to applyFor more information on how to apply, please visit: https://cepisites.secure.force.com/careersShould you have any issues submitting your application or have questions please contact jobs@cepi.netBackground verification will be conducted to verify information provided in the CV and available documentation.Deadline for receiving applications is 21st November 2025 at 23:59 CET