Assistant Director (Scientific & Strategy), CADENCE

Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation, Singapore (CRIS); Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation Singapore (CRIS) seeks an Assistant Director (Scientific & Strategy) to lead CADENCE’s national cardiovascular research roadmap, aligning scientific discovery with funded initiatives and multi-institutional collaborations.

The role requires deep cardiovascular expertise, a track record of cross-institutional program leadership, and the ability to translate science into funded programs and policy briefs.

Qualifications

• PhD or MD/PhD in Cardiovascular Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Pharmacology, or related field.
• Proven track record in securing competitive grants and managing multi-institutional research portfolios.
• Experience leading translational cardiovascular research and cross-sector collaborations.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic scientific leadership and roadmap execution across CADENCE's platforms and partnerships.
• Lead and coordinate high-quality grant applications and end-to-end lifecycle management.
• Design and negotiate framework agreements for multi-sector collaborations and alliances.
• Translate cardiovascular science into policy briefs, white papers, and impact reports for funding bodies.
• Represent CADENCE at scientific forums and with senior investigators to shape research milestones.

Skills

Scientific leadership

Strategic thinking

Grant governance

Stakeholder engagement

Data governance

Education

PhD or MD/PhD in Cardiovascular Medicine or related translational health science

Job description

Overview

The Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation, Singapore (CRIS) brings together seven national R&D, clinical translation and service programmes to advance clinical research and innovation for Singapore, and establish important capabilities for a future-ready healthcare system.

• Singapore Clinical Research Institute (SCRI)
• National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC)
• Advanced Cell Therapy and Research Institute, Singapore (ACTRIS)
• Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE)
• Singapore Translational Cancer Consortium (STCC)
• Cardiovascular Disease National Collaborative Enterprise (CADENCE)
• Singapore Medical Foundation AI model (SIMFONI)

Together, CRIS makes a positive difference to Singapore patients and researchers by ensuring that these clinical research platforms and programmes are at the cutting edge of capability development and innovation. If you are as passionate as we are in clinical trials and research, we want you!

CADENCE

The Cardiovascular Disease National Collaborative Enterprise (CADENCE) is a national program for Cardiovascular Research that aims to strengthen the overall impact of cardiovascular research and translation in Singapore through: (1) synergising efforts across Singapore through the establishment of Joint Platforms to improve patient outcomes and establish Singapore as a global leader in cardiovascular disease (CVD) research; (2) overcoming common barriers to research at the systems level; (3) driving commercialisation efforts; and (4) demonstrating the power of these synergies through a series of practice-changing Use Cases.

CADENCE will be housed as a business unit within the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation Singapore (CRIS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Health Holdings (MOHH) Pte Ltd and anchored by the CVD research programmes and commercialization platforms of partner institutions (MOHT, NHCS & NHRIS, NUHCS & CVRI, NHG Heart Institute, KTPH, A*STAR, NUS, Duke-NUS, LKC).

What you will be working on

The Assistant Director (Scientific & Strategy) serves as the intellectual and operational engine of CADENCE, the National Clinical Translational Programme for cardiovascular research. Reporting to the Executive and Co-Directors, this role is responsible for shaping Singapore's national cardiovascular research roadmap, translating scientific discoveries into fundable strategic initiatives, and governing research portfolios across the programme's joint platforms and partnerships. The successful candidate will align scientific excellence with fiscal and strategic objectives to maximise the consortium's healthcare impact, while establishing Singapore as the leading Asian hub for high-impact cardiovascular research. The ideal candidate is a visionary scientific leader with deep expertise in cardiovascular research, a strong record of multi-institutional collaboration, and the ability to convert scientific strategy into competitive, funded programmes.

Responsibilities

1. Scientific Leadership & Roadmap Execution
   • Provide strategic scientific leadership and vision across CADENCE's joint platforms, research programmes, and external partnerships, ensuring coherence and alignment with national and international cardiovascular research priorities, including heart failure prevention, ischaemic heart disease diagnostics, and digital health.
   • Drive the prioritisation and integration of translational research initiatives, fostering synergy across academic institutions, clinical networks, and industry collaborators within the National Cardiovascular Clinical Trials Network.
   • Critically review and synthesise complex scientific data, clinical trial proposals, and research outputs to advise executive leadership on scientific risks and opportunities.
   • Champion scientific rigour and innovation across the full research pipeline, from early discovery and biomarker development through to clinical translation and population-level impact.
   • Establish and support internal scientific review panels to vet proof-of-concept projects before they are scaled for national funding consideration.
   • Drive the integration of digital health technologies, real-world data, and AI-enabled analytics into CADENCE's research platforms and clinical trial frameworks. Collaborate with data teams to establish robust data governance frameworks, ensuring ethical and secure use of cardiovascular health data across multi-institutional partnerships. Champion the adoption of digital biomarkers and precision medicine approaches to accelerate translational research outcomes.
2. Strategic Grant Governance & Financial Health
   • Lead and coordinate the development of high-quality, competitive grant applications, including major submissions to NMRC, NRF, and international funding bodies, framing scientific hypotheses into compelling, fundable strategic business cases.
   • Oversee the end-to-end grant lifecycle - from strategic planning, conceptualisation, and structural drafting through to budgeting, milestone tracking, and compliance - across large-scale, multi-institutional cardiovascular grants.
   • Manage complex milestone-based funding models, ensuring funds are strategically distributed across collaborating academic medical clusters and universities based on scientific performance and strategic priorities.
   • Collaborate with the CADENCE Business Intelligence & Dev't Unit (BIDU) to align scientific strategy with business development, multi-institutional contracts, and data sharing frameworks.
3. Ecosystem Strategy & Institutional Alliances
   • Serve as a key scientific liaison with principal investigators, industry partners, and funding agencies to shape and sustain national and international research partnerships.
   • Design and negotiate framework agreements for multi-sector collaborations involving academic institutions, pharmaceutical multinationals, and biotech startups.
   • Translate complex cardiovascular scientific insights into high-level policy briefs, white papers, and economic impact reports for government funding bodies and ministries.
   • Lead the scientific agenda for Steering Committees and International Scientific Advisory Boards, converting executive decisions into actionable research milestones.
   • Represent CADENCE at high-level scientific forums, advisory boards, and stakeholder engagements, articulating the programme's scientific direction and achievements.
   • Together with ED/Co-Director, support scientific guidance to investigators and research staff, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation across the consortium.
   • Contribute to long-term organizational planning by identifying and nurturing future scientific leaders within the consortium. Work with executive leadership to develop plans for key scientific roles, ensuring continuity and resilience in CADENCE's research capabilities. Support the evolution of the organization’s structure and culture to remain adaptive and competitive in a rapidly changing research landscape.

Requirements

1. Education & Background
   • PhD or MD/PhD in Cardiovascular Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Pharmacology, or a closely related translational health science field.
   • Evidence of scholarly or clinical excellence, such as peer-reviewed publications and successful grant awards, is highly preferred to establish immediate scientific credibility with senior investigators.
2. Experience
   • 6 to 10 or more years of progressive experience operating at the intersection of scientific research, funding administration, and corporate or healthcare strategy.
   • Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder research frameworks or large-scale institutional grant portfolios.
   • Proven experience in building or advancing translational research pipelines, clinical research networks, or national cardiovascular research infrastructure.
   • Proven experience working closely with senior leadership, government agencies, or healthcare policymakers.
   • Familiarity with cardiovascular data platforms, biobanking operations, or clinical trials ecosystems is advantageous.
3. Core Competencies
   • Translational insight: deep technical knowledge of the cardiovascular disease space, clinical trial design, and medical technology commercialisation pathways.
   • Strategic thinking: exceptional ability to see the broader picture, balancing scientific curiosity with timeline management, regulatory compliance, and resource realities.
   • Communication mastery: ability to convey complex scientific ideas to non-technical financial stakeholders, and to translate corporate strategic objectives for academic research audiences.
   • Strong stakeholder engagement and negotiation skills, with the ability to influence and align diverse scientific communities across institutional boundaries.

What you need to know

Successful candidate will be offered a 3-year renewable contract. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For more information about CRIS and the Business Entities, visit our websites below:

• CRIS – https://www.cris.sg
• SCRI – https://www.scri.edu.sg
• NHIC – https://www.nhic.sg
• ACTRIS – https://www.actris.sg
• PRECISE – https://www.npm.sg
• STCC – https://www.stcc.sg
• CADENCE – https://www.cadence-cvd.sg
• SIMFONI – https://www.simfoni.sg