Role purpose

The President, Global Immunization is a member of Sabin’s Executive Management Team, reporting to the CEO and working with the Board of Trustees, including the Board-level Global Immunization Committee. The President is a respected thought leader in the immunization and vaccine community with a proven track record of success in advancing innovation and impact, specifically in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs).

At a time when immunization is faced with multiple crises including declining vaccine rates, funding risks and vaccine mistrust, the President brings futuristic thinking to tackle these challenges aiming to safeguard and improve lives. While cultivating Sabin’s standing with global organizations, the President also leads Sabin’s effort in fostering country and locally driven solutions through collaborations with local partners. This role requires a commitment to sustainable, evidence-based and innovative approaches to improve equitable uptake of life-saving vaccines in LMICs. The President is adept in creative problem-solving and building purposeful partnerships, especially with local organizations and change-makers, to achieve impactful outcomes.

The President is responsible for leading and operationalizing Sabin’s Global Immunization strategy and programs; building upon and expanding the team’s core strengths and skills; and attracting financial support. The President amplifies Sabin’s position as a thought leader, trusted partner and data-driven voice for vaccines and immunization globally with multi-lateral organizations, national policymakers, NGOs, funders/donors and global, regional and in-country partners. The President manages immunization-related programs, staff, and resources.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Executive Management

• Innovative Strategy Implementation: Infuse new thinking and reimagine Sabin’s efforts to create impactful results on the ground in the context of stagnating vaccination rates. Leverage innovative approaches to overcome existing challenges and significantly advance Sabin’s strategic goals.

• Program & Skill Enhancement: Strengthen and expand Sabin’s core skills and programs by building on Sabin’s existing capabilities in evidence-generation, implementation research, collaborative learning, thought leadership, advocacy, and coalition-building. Proactively identify and build new opportunities to advance Sabin’s mission.

• Strategic Communication: Clearly articulate Sabin’s value and impact to diverse audiences, including global, regional and local organizations, funders, policymakers, government officials, scientific communities, the media, and the public.

• Strategic Partnerships & Leadership: Strengthen Sabin’s role as a leader and partner in vaccine and immunization efforts; address challenges in LMICs using science, data, and partnerships; anticipate future challenges and proactively design programs for resilient immunization. Showcase Sabin’s leadership in global, national, and local forums.

• Collaboration & Relationship Building: Forge strategic partnerships with organizations that complement and enhance Sabin’s impact and programs, especially with local organizations closest to the challenges. Establish and maintain positive, productive relationships with leaders and funders in the vaccine and broader global health community, including NGOs (such as WHO, Gavi, UNICEF), philanthropy (such as the Wellcome Trust, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) and national governments and officials, including pertinent US federal agencies and personnel.

• Governance and Board Relations: Cultivate a respectful and productive relationship with the Board-level Global Immunization Committee and Sabin Board of Trustees, working collaboratively and building on Trustee input, experience and guidance.

People Management

• Manage Staff: Effectively supervise and proactively manage global immunization team to ensure alignment with organizational values & goals, high standards of performance, and effective implementation of strategic programs alongside vice-president-level direct reports.

• Build & Maintain Positive Team Dynamic: Foster a solution-oriented and respectful team environment that encourages innovative solutions, recognizes individual contributions, and actively breaks down barriers within program/grant teams.

• Encourage Learning & Professional Growth: Promote continuous professional development and learning opportunities, support skill enhancement and provide clear pathways for career advancement.

• Promote Cross-Functional Collaboration: Initiate and support cross-departmental projects and knowledge sharing to enhance organizational synergy and foster an integrated approach to problem-solving.

• Effective Communication: Implement inclusive communication strategies that engage all staff levels from vice-presidents to early career employees, adapting to multigenerational and multicultural needs and establishing robust feedback mechanisms.

• Performance Evaluation: Regularly assess staff performance against organizational goals, identify key risks and opportunities for improvement, and provide constructive feedback to optimize team dynamics and project execution.

Fundraising

• Resource Development: With assistance from the Resource Development team, identify and secure new sources of funding, including conceptualizing and guiding funding proposals. Review funding opportunities, and with input from staff, determine go/no go decision and GI staff to participate in preparing funding opportunities.

• Stakeholder Engagement and Relationship Management: Establish, cultivate and/or maintain relationships with C-level or equivalent representatives for current and prospective key funders.

• Strategic Alignment: Align Sabin’s skills and major global immunization initiatives, such as WHO’s Immunization Agenda 2030 and Gavi 6.0, to ensure relevance and increase funding opportunities.

Financial Management

• Budget Management: Develop and manage the annual budget for Global Immunization, ensuring fiscal discipline and strategic allocation of resources to maximize impact and efficiency.

• Risk Management: In cooperation with the finance team, identify financial risks and develop strategies to mitigate them, ensuring the financial health and sustainability of the organization.

• Cost Control: Implement effective cost-control measures to optimize resource utilization and reduce unnecessary expenses.

• Capital Allocation: Strategize the allocation of capital investments to maximize returns and support the strategic growth of the organization.

Core Qualities:

• Visionary and passionate immunization/vaccine leader with a proven track record of success and a commitment to Sabin’s mission of ensuring vaccines and vaccine-related innovations benefit everyone, everywhere.

• An innovative thinker who challenges the status-quo, inspires curiosity and a learning mindset, and leverages extensive experience and networks in the global health community to drive impact-focused strategy, program-design, and decision-making.

• Proven capability in building creative and effective partnerships to support sustainable programs and impact in the areas of vaccine-related science, policy, advocacy, capacity-strengthening, and data-generation.

• Effective communicator and careful listener who engages and inspires external stakeholders, institutional partners, and Sabin colleagues and staff with a specific emphasis on leading the Global Immunization team.

• An inclusive leader who fosters diversity, equity, inclusion and meaningful representation across all levels of the organization.

Required Professional Experience:

• Minimum of 20 years of public health experience advancing immunization/vaccine programs, partnership and policies with at least 15 years of focused work with LMICs; candidates who have lived and worked in or are from LMICs strongly preferred.

• Established record of leadership in vaccines, immunization, and the global health community, including research (peer-reviewed journals, grey literature publications, or other written products) and presentations at conferences and other expert forums.

• Demonstrated understanding of the immunization/vaccine and global health landscape and ability to position Sabin effectively in that landscape.

• History of securing funding /or grants from bilateral and multilateral agencies, governments, foundations, and other public and private sector organizations.

• Experience collaborating at senior/executive levels with global and international organizations, such as WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, Wellcome Trust, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Required/Preferred Management Experience:

• Proven record of developing and delivering strategies and innovative programs to implement those strategies, including initiating sustainable catalytic partnerships that engage global and local entities.

• Extensive experience in people management, with demonstrated ability to effectively engage at all levels (Trustees, peers, direct reports, early-career staff) and empower culturally diverse, inclusive, and successful teams.

• Works effectively in a matrixed environment with other departments and teams and with others over geographical distance.

Required/Preferred Training & Skills:

• Master’s or doctorate in public health, medicine, or relevant life or social science discipline.

• Understanding of strong link between immunization programs and vaccines, including the ability to evaluate relevant data to increase uptake of current vaccines and support decision-making about introduction of new vaccines.

• Outstanding presentation and communication skills (written and spoken) and the experience and proclivity to be an outgoing spokesperson, relationship-builder and fundraiser.

• Strategic thinker and problem-solver.

• Proven ability to move between short-term & long-term goals and tactical & strategic issues; prioritize competing demands to meet deadlines.

• Strong attention to detail and well-organized.

• Fluent in English (written and spoken); secondary language a plus.

• Ability to travel both domestically and internationally with notice.

Other:

• Must demonstrate interest in furthering Sabin’s mission.
• Per Sabin hiring practices, final candidates must agree to:
  • Criminal background check
  • Provide three professional references
  • Verification of education/degrees

Attributes Important to Sabin:

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Problem-solving and Critical Thinking
• Decision-Making
• Communication and Professionalism
• Initiative and Ownership
• Productivity and Quality Control
• Professional Development/Personal Learning

Terms of Appointment

This is a full-time role. The salary range is up to $360,000 USD annually, the final salary will depend on the experience of the selected candidate. Information on benefits will be provided to candidates upon request.

Role Location

This a remote role and can be performed from anywhere in the United States. Visa support will not be provided.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please ensure you complete the Application Form provided below by 20 January 2025 (23:59 hrs, GMT -5). It is essential that you submit your CV in English, specifically in Microsoft Word format (.doc/.docx), not exceeding 10MB.

Applications in other languages or formats will not be considered.

Rest assured, all information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.

SRI Executive is exclusively retained by Sabin Vaccine Institute to undertake this assignment.