CHDI FOUNDATIONCHDI

Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Huntington's Disease

Program Manager

Title: Program Manager

Type of employment: full-time

Location: Los Angeles, CA or Princeton, NJ / currently hybrid

Other:  Vaccination against COVID-19 is a prerequisite for employment at CHDI Management.

 

Description:

CHDI Foundation, Inc. is a privately-funded, not-for-profit, biomedical research organization that is exclusively dedicated to rapidly discovering and developing therapies that slow the progression of Huntington’s disease (HD). Our scientists work closely with a network of more than 600 researchers in academic and industrial laboratories around the world in the pursuit of these novel therapies, providing strategic scientific direction to ensure that our common goals remain in focus. This helps bridge the translational gap that often exists between academic and industrial research pursuits and that adds costly delays to therapy development. In its role as a collaborative enabler, CHDI seeks to bring the right partners together to identify and address critical scientific issues and move drug candidates to clinical evaluation as rapidly as possible. Our activities extend from exploratory biology to the identification and validation of therapeutic targets, and from drug discovery and development to clinical studies and trials.

 

At CHDI, we are seeking a highly motivated and organized project manager with a strong experience in the coordination and management of translational and preclinical studies. In addition the candidate should be very detail-oriented and have significant experience working with Ph.D. level scientists. The position offers significant growth opportunities, exposure to a new model of non-profit orphan disease drug discovery, and an entrepreneurial work environment with high impact.  Salary will be commensurate with experience.

 

Job requirements:

  • Bachelors or Masters Degree in life sciences or chemical sciences.
  • Contract management experience and hands-on experience coordinating studies with collaborating sites.
  • Experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
  • Experience in licensing, technology transfer and alliance management in industry or academia a plus.
  • Self-motivator and resourceful.
  • Strong organizational and multitasking skills.
  • Superior written and oral communication skills.
  • Highly proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

 

Job responsibilities:

  • Work with scientists to understand project goals and deliverables and to propose a contract structure tailored to meet those objectives.
  • Work with scientists and the legal department to prepare contracts with collaborators, including fee-for-service companies, academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies.
  • Work with scientists and the financial officer to evaluate and optimize proposed budgets for new projects.
  • Use existing tracking tools to monitor the progress of executed contracts in accordance with the rules of engagement as specified in each contract.
  • Identify and communicate potential issues and delays to scientists, the legal department and the financial officer in a timely manner and propose solutions to remedy the issues in an expedited fashion.
  • Liaise with collaborative counterparts to ensure: a) that studies are conducted in accordance with corresponding contracts; and b) that deliverables are delivered on time and per allocated funds to each such study.
  • Work with biorepository and animal breeding managers to ensure: a) that materials are available and can be provided for a given study prior to the execution of contracts; and b) that materials generated by collaborators are properly registered in CHDI’s databases, consequently tracked and deposited.
  • Participate and host monthly steering committee meetings, prepare meeting minutes, follow up on action items and perform in an ‘advisory’ role on matters related to operations, finances and legal issues.
  • Upon the execution of a contract, present the “rules of engagement” including CHDI’s internal policies as they pertain to expenditure, travel, licenses, subcontracted services, etc. to the steering committee.
  • Review monthly invoices, cross-reference with financial terms of corresponding contracts, flag discrepancies and resolve issues with collaborators and/or the CHDI financial officer in an expedited fashion to meet the monthly timeline.
  • Review academic financial audit reports and reconcile. Work with principle investigators and grant analysts at academic institutions to understand and resolve budgetary discrepancies.
  • File scientific reports and project management documents in CHDI’s document management system and distribute internally to relevant individuals.
  • Participate in monthly project managers’ team meetings and host selected meetings in accordance with the pre-established schedule.
  • Update project management documents such as resource, expenditure and deliverable trackers and file such documents in CHDI’s document management system.
  • Propose tools and strategies to streamline and optimize tracking of studies and expenditures whenever possible.

Salary range: $80,000-120,000.  Exact compensation will vary based on skills and experience.

 Please send resumes to