Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Strategic Fund

The Director of the AD Strategic Fund is a role for a scientist committed to accelerating neurodegeneration research with a strong interest in collaborative, open science. The Director is primarily responsible for leading activities related to and funded through the Alzheimer’s disease Strategic Fund (ADSF), including oversight and leadership for the Neuroimmune consortium.

The Alzheimer’s Disease Strategic Fund (ADSF), established in 2019 by the Alzheimer’s Association and an anonymous foundation, aims to support innovative, high-risk, collaborative team science opportunities that investigate and focus on outstanding questions related to the biological underpinnings of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The ADSF expects timely sharing of data and resources generated from funded projects in accordance with the sharing principles detailed below. The ADSF has focused in three areas to date including neuroimmune, endolysosomal function and dysfunction and the contributions of APOE biology to disease.

This position is based in the Home Office in downtown Chicago, IL and will work closely Vice President of Medical & Scientific Relations, as well as the Chief Science Officer of the Association. In addition, the Director will work closely with ADSF Committee members, the consortia leadership and project managers associated closely with ADSF funded initiatives.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Work with the CSO and VP of Med Sci along with AD Strategic Fund board and the consortium scientists and leadership, to develop and maintain the strategic scientific vision and collaborative infrastructure of the consortium, ensuring that goals support the mission and values of the consortium, including mapping out strategic consortium goals and short and long term milestones.

• Oversight and leadership of the ADSF related consortia scientific vision, work to enable inter-disciplinary collaborations to address pressing questions in the field and advise consortium leadership and key stake holders on progress, challenges and opportunities, through informal meetings, progress reports and presentations.
• Plan regular [quarterly] all-consortium meetings (in-person and virtual) and [bi-monthly] working group meetings (primarily virtual), including scientific agenda (with consortium leadership), scheduling, logistics and budget as well as identified think tank opportunities to generate ideas and to scope new candidates for consortium participation. This includes working with Med Sci meetings team to organization logistics and work with the ADSF to organize agenda for these meetings.
• Work the Association’s grant team to ensure appropriate translation of the think tank and consortium meetings (both F2F and weekly workgroups) to create funding opportunities and ensure peer review is appropriately delivered to the ADSF Steering Committee for final review. In both face to face meetings and workgroup calls, the candidate will facilitate interactions and collaboration by leading meetings/working groups and working with consortium members to develop research projects that draw on the strengths of the consortium.
• Managing the weekly workgroup meetings, note taking and ensuring scientific progress as well as making connections for new opportunities within and across workgroups. In both face to face meetings and workgroup calls, the candidate will facilitate interactions and collaboration by leading meetings/working groups and working with consortium members to develop research projects that draw on the strengths of the consortium.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for consortium scientists, collaborators, and key stakeholders, facilitating communications, collaborations and consensus building; this includes but is not limited to working with new grantees to incorporate them into the ADSF consortium and ensure that there is continuous growth and collaboration within the consortium, to develop and manage financial strategies and forecasting for the group, and to work with the consortium members and leadership to identify scientific and operational gaps, and assist where possible to fill or otherwise address gaps. This also means working with consortium scientists to determine best practices to align group efforts and for setting the standards for data sharing and facilitating data exchange.
• Coordinating collaborative grant proposals, renewals and funding agency reports for consortium projects, ensuring that the strategic scientific vision is clearly communicated and seek and develop alliances with external groups for collaborative efforts, including other consortia, philanthropic groups, and industry partnerships, and liaise with related initiatives.
• Support consortium participation in external conferences, and other avenues, to highlight and disseminate the consortium’s work.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Must have experience leading scientific groups strategically and logistically; experience with large, multinational groups preferred
• Demonstrated record of team building, collaboration and strategic leadership
• Ability to manage multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously, mixing long-term projects with short term goals while meeting deadlines/deliverables; experience with project management preferred
• Ability to deal with highly confidential information, experience with human samples is a plus
• Ability to drive consensus across diverse stakeholders to achieve goals
• Ability to anticipate and proactively address issues
• Strong scientific acumen with a creative approach to solving problems
• Experience writing and coordinating grants is a plus
• Excellent oral, written, interpersonal and organizational skills
• Willingness to travel between Consortium sites (U.S. and Europe) and attend consortium meetings.Estimated travel 30-35%
• Requires a master's degree or equivalent with at least 5-10 years of experience in the field; advanced degree (e.g. PhD) strongly preferred and may account for some years of experience

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Position Location: Chicago, IL

Full time based on 37.5 hours week minimum

Position Grade: 511

Reports To: Vice President of Medical & Scientific Relations

Who We Are

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia- by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support.

At the Alzheimer’s Association, our employees are at the core of all we do. Our network of more than 1,900 employees across the United States makes a difference each and every day for those impacted by Alzheimer’s and those at risk for the disease

Our Vision
A world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia.

At the Alzheimer's Association®, we believe that diverse perspectives are critical to achieving health equity - meaning that all communities have a fair and just opportunity for early diagnosis and access to risk reduction and quality care. The Association is committed to engaging underrepresented and underserved communities and responding with resources and education to address the disproportionate impact of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

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