Emergency Response Senior Manager

CEPI; Greater London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An international health organization in London is seeking a candidate with a public health advanced degree and at least 5 years of experience to drive outbreak preparedness and response activities. The role involves leading cross-functional teams, creating strategic preparedness plans, and coordinating response efforts during vaccine-related outbreaks. Candidates should have strong leadership and communication skills, and a deep understanding of vaccine research. This opportunity allows for engagement with leading experts focused on global health challenges.

Benefits

Work with leading experts

Diverse and inclusive environment

Experience in international vaccine development

Qualifications

• 5 years of experience in public health or related fields.
• Deep understanding of vaccine research and outbreak response.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts effectively.

Responsibilities

• Guide project teams in preparedness planning and emergency response.
• Establish and lead R&D response team during outbreaks.
• Support CEPI-wide policies regarding preparedness issues.

Skills

Understanding of vaccine research

Strong leadership skills

Excellent communication

Ability to analyze complex issues

Collaborative skills

Education

Advanced degree in public health

Job description

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Job description

About CEPI

Launched 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 2 bn vaccine doses globally. 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.net

About the role

The purpose of the role is to drive outbreak preparedness and response activities across the organization and with global partners. This will be accomplished by nurturing a proactive "response mindset" in colleagues; coaching project teams through challenging questions; creative scenario planning; and strategic, cross‑functional planning. The goal is for CEPI and partners to conduct a vaccine research response to outbreaks rapidly, effectively, and nimbly when they occur, in support of our product development and equitable access commitments. This, by necessity, involves activities and leadership within CEPI, as well as with the global organizations and countries that must prepare for and execute a vaccine response to outbreaks.

This position would ideally start in March or April 2026 and last at least through December 31, 2026. This is a key role to provide emergency preparedness planning and response leadership. A critical success factor in this role will be your deep understanding of the role of vaccine research and development in outbreak response.

We are looking for candidates that are motivated by CEPI's mission, have an Advanced degree (masters or PhD) in a public health related discipline coupled with at least 5 years of experience in this field.

Responsibilities

• Rapidly get up to speed on issues that the incumbent in this position is dealing with
• Serve as the Preparedness & Response (P&R) representative on several matrixed project teams within CEPI, providing expertise on preparedness planning and emergency response and creating a two‑way communication channel with the P&R Division.
• Proactively guide these project teams to develop and update their preparedness plans for responding to outbreaks of pathogens related to CEPI's core portfolio. Support the Executive Director for Preparedness & Response in coordinating CEPI's research response in the event of an outbreak, leveraging the project teams and implementing the preparedness plans.
• Establish and lead a R&D response team in the event of an outbreak of one of CEPI core pathogens.
• Establish and ensure the delivery of divisional strategic goals while contributing to the development of CEPI-wide strategy and implementation through participation in and/or leadership of matrixed teams.
• Serve as an expert within the organisation on preparedness planning and emergency vaccine research response and participate in preparedness and response planning with global or regional partners.
• Support development of CEPI-wide policies/strategic approaches regarding specific preparedness issues as they arise (stockpiling, evidence generation, vaccine libraries, etc.) and lead working groups to implement these.
• Support a CEPI-wide readiness exercise program to systematically test the technical, operational and/or policy and decision‑making elements of a vaccine research‑focused outbreak response. This includes leading exercises within the organization; supporting the development and maintenance of a work plan for implementation, including roles, responsibilities, timeline and budget; and promoting the implementation of lessons learned across the organization.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education, Experience and Competence

• Advanced degree (masters or PhD level) in a public health related discipline coupled with extensive experience from this field.
• Deep understanding of the role of vaccine research and development in outbreak response and of incident management system principles.
• Ability to analyze and understand complex, multisectoral issues and develop strategic approaches to them.
• Comfort communicating and understanding technical concepts and ability to rapidly learn new subject matter on the job.
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills and demonstrated ability to work in cross‑functional teams.
• Strong leadership skills.

Travel and Location Requirements

• Travel may be required.
• The position will be based in London, UK.

What we can offer you

• The opportunity to work together with leading experts on solutions for global challenges
• Experience in the international effort on developing vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and accelerating vaccine development response to outbreaks
• A diverse and inclusive working environment

Background verification will be conducted to verify information provided in the CV and available documentation.