Preparedness and Response Manager

at  CEPI

ABOUT CEPI

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is a global organisation with a mission to stimulate and accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and to enable equitable access to these vaccines for people during outbreaks. CEPI’s 100 days Mission is an aspiration for the world to be able to respond to the next Disease X with a new vaccine in just 100 days.
CEPI’s Preparedness & Response Division is hiring for a preparedness and response manager, whose primary responsibility will be the establishment and conduct of an Epidemic Vaccine Preparedness Exercise Program. The program will systematically test and inform CEPI and partner preparedness to respond to outbreaks by advancing development and manufacturing of vaccines, with a focus on CEPIs 100 Days Mission.
The key responsibilities are to develop a cyclical series of preparedness exercises to test different elements of a vaccine research, development, and manufacturing (R&D&M) response to an outbreak or epidemic, either to be used internally by CEPI teams or in conjunction with CEPI’s partners. The Preparedness Manager will coordinate with third party exercise provider(s) to deliver exercise design, facilitation and multimedia. The preparedness manager will also assume other preparedness responsibilities, such as working with teams on general preparedness planning, or supporting a vaccine R&D response and after-action analyses should that become necessary.
We are looking for candidates that are motivated by CEPI’s mission. We prefer candidates with experience planning and running preparedness exercises for public health emergency response and/or direct experience in public health emergency response incident management or decision support.
If you are interested in joining the CEPI team and think you have the appropriate qualifications for this role, please read the detailed job description below and follow the instructions for applying.
In CEPI we strive for diverse thinking, and we want diverse pools of candidates for all our vacancies. We work for an inclusive working environment where each employee can contribute and grow.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCE

• Bachelor’s degree and 2-5 years of experience in emergency management, global health, public policy, project management, vaccine R&D&M, or a related field
• Understanding of the role of vaccine research, development, and/or manufacturing in outbreak response
• Knowledge of concepts and tools used in emergency planning and preparedness
• Ability to analyze and understand complex, multisectoral and ecosystem issues and develop strategic approaches to them
• A desire to learn new things and contribute new ideas; naturally proactive
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills
• Excellent communication skills

TRAVEL AND LOCATION REQUIREMENTS

• Travel will be required (<15%)
• This position can be based in London, Oslo or Washington D.C.

Additional, specific objectives/projects will be assigned based on the unique skills of the appointee as well as the needs of the Preparedness & Response Division at the time. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Ecosystem development, in collaboration with the Policy, Partnerships, and Access Division
• Developing internal templates and tools for outbreak response coordination and management
• Developing communication materials around preparedness and response activities and concepts
• Conducting lessons learned exercises around real outbreak responses
• Contributing to matrixed working groups shaping strategic preparedness concepts and approaches (e.g., vaccine libraries, stockpiling, etc.)
• Development of pandemic preparedness playbooks and joint response plans with CEPI partners
• Supporting internal management of response efforts in the event of an outbreak
• Other duties as assigne

ABOUT THE ROLE

The primary purpose of this role is to establish and deliver a strategic program of preparedness exercises as a critical tool for testing theories, familiarizing ourselves with our response plans, and identifying where those plans need improvement – before an outbreak starts.
The role supplements the existing team by providing opportunities for these preparedness and response plans to be tested, validated and enhanced.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The role(s) will support CEPI’s outbreak response planning, policy development, and operational execution. This entails:

• Establishing and developing a program of internal and external preparedness exercises to be used by CEPI and/or partners to test the technical and/or policy and decision-making elements of a vaccine-focused outbreak response
• Establishing standard operating procedures for planning and execution throughout the exercise cycle
• Providing project management and administrative/event support for exercises, including liaising with third-party service providers
• Summarising lessons learned and using outputs to develop and update CEPI preparedness and response plans

Additional, specific objectives/projects will be assigned based on the unique skills of the appointee as well as the needs of the Preparedness & Response Division at the time. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Ecosystem development, in collaboration with the Policy, Partnerships, and Access Division
• Developing internal templates and tools for outbreak response coordination and management
• Developing communication materials around preparedness and response activities and concepts
• Conducting lessons learned exercises around real outbreak responses
• Contributing to matrixed working groups shaping strategic preparedness concepts and approaches (e.g., vaccine libraries, stockpiling, etc.)
• Development of pandemic preparedness playbooks and joint response plans with CEPI partners
• Supporting internal management of response efforts in the event of an outbreak
• Other duties as assigned