R&D Project and Partnership, Associate Lead

Overall Purpose

The R&D Partnership and Project, Associate Lead (AL) will be responsible for ensuring the project management excellence and end-to-end execution of one or several of GARDP’s strategic development project.

Working closely with the Associate Director, STI Portfolio (AD), R&D team members, external partners, and senior management, s/he will drive the proper implementation and delivery of comprehensive cross-functional drug/treatment development plans within the Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Portfolio, across all trans-disciplinary workstreams and full life cycle, including clinical, manufacturing and regulatory components.

The AL provides cross‑functional coordination and operational leadership, ensuring that development plans are coherent, resourced, risk‑managed, and executed in line with GARDP governance, donor requirements, and portfolio priorities.

The responsibilities will encompass to proactively monitor and manage the assigned project(s), ensuring the project goals and timelines are achieved within quality requirements and target budgets, and to maintain an efficient information and communication flow between internal and external stakeholders.

By maintaining a clear visibility between project‑level execution and portfolio‑level objectives, the AL plays a key role in enabling consolidated reporting and informed decision‑making.

In addition, the role includes active R&D partnership management and leadership of selected technical workstreams, as delegated by the Associate Director and aligned with the AL’s expertise.

As a team-player and effective communicator, the R R&D Partnership and Project, Associate Lead must be able to drive momentum and build consensus, at the interface of multi-disciplinary and cross-functional teams.

Strong organizational skills and ability to develop and manage successful collaborations with external and internal stakeholders is a key driver of success.

Key responsibilities

• Project Management
• Responsible to plan, integrate and manage the execution of the comprehensive cross-functional Project Plan to deliver the agreed milestones, deliverables, and outcomes against set performance and objectives, within scope and agreed timelines.
• Collaborate with the Associate Director in the definition of project scope and objectives working closely with relevant project stakeholders (internal and external).

Manage project scope, including identifying, implementing and managing changes to achieve project goals.

• Develop detailed task lists and work effort assessment and short and long-term resources/capacities need plans based on input from all key players and team members.

Collaborate with Functional Leads on resources/skills requirements for the project.

• Lead the project budget, procurement plan, and actuals monitoring to ensure a clear visibility on project funding needs, its execution within the agreed budget, and compliance to GARDP and donors’ policies and requirements.
• Drive the monitoring of the project contractual framework and liaise with the operational contract owners to ensure the contracts execution and control are on track and in compliance with GARDP and donors’ policies and requirements.
• Act as a key operational interface with external stakeholders, ensuring alignment on scope, deliverables, timelines, and governance.
• Identify, measure, and elevate risks and potential roadblocks and relational issues. Proactively implement and track mitigation measures and resolution plans.
• Monitor, analyse and report on the progress and performance of the project, both internally and externally in alignment with GARDP governance and reporting framework (i. e., manage and support the development of R&D governance meetings presentations and reports for the project and contribute to reporting to GARDP’s donors).

Responsible of the documentation of the project and maintenance of effective communication channels to provide accurate information to the R&D leadership team.

• Plan, manage, and facilitate regular cross-functional Core & Extended Project team meetings, act as the key point of contact for the non-R&D department (Legal, Procurement, Finance, Communications) and vendors/service providers involved in the project.
• Input into the development of the Project strategy and plan in close collaboration with the Associate Director and propose staffing and budget decision and tactical prioritization.
• Workstream leadership
• Within the assigned project, lead or co‑lead specific technical, regulatory, or operational workstreams as agreed with the Associate Director.

Ensure workstream plans are integrated into the overall project plan, with clear deliverables, timelines, risks, and interfaces to other functions.

• Lead internal experts and external partners contributing to the workstream, ensuring timely progress and issue resolution.
• Partnership management
• Responsible for ensuring the partnership management excellence of R&D and/or co-development collaborations associated to the project.

Drive the definition and revision of the co-development strategy and plan in close collaboration with the Associate Director and Business Development.

• Lead the collaborative work with the partner(s) with the goal to fulfil on a timely and efficient manner the collaboration/partnership requirements and objectives.
• Lead the management of the partnership governance structures, including joint steering committees, technical working groups, and escalation pathways.
• Monitor partner performance against contractual and collaborative commitments; proactively address risks, misalignments, or execution challenges.
• Foster effective, trust‑based collaboration across diverse partners, cultures, and organizational models, while safeguarding GARDP’s objectives and obligations.
• Contribution to the PPM function
• Within the Project & Portfolio Management team, contribute to the development of internal tools, systems, processes, and best practices related to project management.
• Share lessons learned and support harmonization of ways of working across the R&D project portfolio.
• Reporting line s/he reports to the Head of R&D Portfolio and Operations Strategy

The role is deployed within the specific STI portfolio under the leadership of the Associate Director

• Interactions
• Close collaboration with the Associate Director and the Project Team members
• Regular interactions with the Project & Portfolio Management team members
• Regular interactions with GARDP R&D and non-R&D team members
• External partners and consultants
• Job Requirements

Skills and Attributes

• Results driven and goal oriented with the ability to anticipate potential problems and resolve before cost and schedule are impacted
• Self-starter with the ability to make sound decisions about scheduling, managing priorities and to work independently
• Strong ability to use initiative, prioritize, multi-task, and work well under pressure to meet deadlines
• Clear and systematic thinking that demonstrates good judgment, problem-solving competencies and analytical skills
• Strong communication skills in multicultural, multi-lingual environments including strong oral and written English communication, facilitation, and presentation skills
• Ability to organize and present technical overviews to cross functional departments, and upper management
• Strong people management skills, including demonstrated ability to manage a cross-functional team, and gravitas to influence at all levels as well as without formal authority
• Quality oriented, well organized and structured, comfortable with managing process
• Has autonomy for taking actions and decisions
• Good conflict management skills
• Energetic, flexible, resourceful self-starter
• R&D Technical Skills
• Experience in drug product development, good knowledge of clinical and pre-clinical development and regulatory requirements and processes with the ability to translate this into meaningful plans that can be used to set expectations and track project delivery
• Able to combine a strategic perspective, understanding the technical, regulatory and other objectives and constraints of disease areas and project teams, with a high level of focus in operational detail and the feasibility of project plans
• Working knowledge of the applicable clinical trial regulations and Good Clinical Practice and c GMP regulations
• Background in microbiology and DMPK is a plus

Education and Experience

• Doctoral degree in medical sciences, biology, chemistry, pharmacy, or related scientific discipline, with 3+ years in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry, or
• MSc in medical sciences, biology, chemistry, pharmacy, or related scientific discipline, with 5+ years in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry
• At least 5 to 8 years performing project management role within biotech/drug development industry or healthcare environment
• Professional training in project management, PMP/Prince II certification a plus
• Antibiotic development experience a plus
• Other Requirements
• Fluency in English
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Suite and experience in use of diverse PM tools and document management systems (e. g. MS Project, Share Point, Teams)

Closing date for applications

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