Chief Vaccine Programmes and Markets Officer

Chief Vaccine Programmes and Markets Officer (CVPMO)

Location: Geneva, Switzerland 

Gavi is a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. Gavi brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi is committed to working with its partners to protect the next generation and realise its mission to save lives, reduce poverty and protect the world against the threat of epidemics. From 2000 to 2022, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of over 1 billion children and the prevention of more than 17.3 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries and creating economic benefits of over $220.5 billion for the countries in which it operates.

2024 is a critical year for Gavi as it works to deliver on its 5.0 strategy, while developing an ambitious strategy for the next strategy period (Gavi 6.0: 2026-2030) and preparing for a successful replenishment.

For more information on Gavi, please visit its website.

A detailed description of its funding and governance model is available here.

The 5.0 strategy is available here. A one-pager on Gavi 5.1, an updated, focused version for 2023 – 2025 is available here.

The minutes and presentations from the most recent Gavi Board meeting, June 2024, are available here.

The Role

The Chief Vaccine Programmes and Markets Officer (CVPMO) will be a key member of Gavi’s senior leadership team, reporting directly to the CEO.

The Vaccine Programmes and Markets department will serve as a hub for deep technical vaccine, market shaping and policy development expertise, ensuring that Gavi’s programmatic policies and vaccine programmes are designed to deliver on our mission to save lives and protect people’s health by increasing the equitable and sustainable use of vaccines.

Purpose of the position:

Lead the Vaccines Programmes and Markets department, providing deep technical expertise combined with implementation experience to inform the design and development of Gavi’s vaccine programmes, market shaping strategies, global health security approach and technical policies.

Key Functions and Responsibilities

The CVPMO will lead the Vaccine Programme and Markets department, overseeing the Vaccine Markets and Health Security, Vaccine Programmes and Policy functions.

Specifically, this will include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Contributing to the achievement of Gavi’s strategic goals and mission as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team responsible for the performance, culture and priority-setting for the organization;
• Leading Gavi’s technical hub for programmatic policies, vaccine programmes, global health security, and market shaping, ensuring Gavi’s support is designed to leave no one behind with immunization;
• Leading and managing the activities of the department including priority-setting, people management, and ensuring effective and efficient delivery aligned with organisational norms and standards Ref: Chief Vaccine Programmes and Markets Officer (CVPMO) Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance Private and Confidential 2 of 3;
• Leading the planning and engagement with key programmatic and technical fora including (1) internal to the Gavi Secretariat for the development and design of programmatic areas (including co-chairing the Programme Leadership Team), (2) across the Vaccine Alliance ensuring effective coordination of Gavi programmes, and (3) liaise with the Chair of the Gavi Board’s Programme & Policy Committee (PPC) to align on committee priorities and oversee the Secretariat strategy and content preparation for bringing forward programmatic policies, strategies and decisions to the PPC and Board.
• Representing Gavi on technical and programmatic areas in high-level meetings of the Gavi Board and committees and externally as Gavi spokesperson and in high-level meetings, including other key boards and steering committees.

Note: The essential functions listed in this section are not exhaustive of the job responsibilities; other duties may be assigned consistent with organisational needs.

Candidate Profile

Qualified candidates will possess most of the characteristics set out below.

Skills & Experience

• Deep technical knowledge of vaccines and vaccine policy, as well as experience of working with vaccine manufacturers;
• A profound understanding of the global public health architecture, including the R&D value chain;
• A record of success and achievement as a senior leader in complex business environments (public company or multilateral organisation experience preferrable), with demonstrated ability to lead high-functioning teams;
• Experience working in country contexts, ensuring that the countries Gavi supports are at the centre of policy and programme development;
• A proven track record of complex policy development working across a variety of stakeholders, developing buy-in and finding common ground;
• Ability to develop and drive a strategic vision and direction aligned with organisational priorities, and achieve organisational alignment and buy-in;
• Experience managing complex stakeholder relationships in global public health;
• Proven ability to engage at the Board and Board Committee level;
• A track-record of being a member of an Executive/Leadership Team, advising the CEO and bringing informed views and data to engage constructively in strategic discussions.

Competencies

The CVPMO will be a person of unimpeachable personal integrity, with a passion for Gavi’s mission, and will demonstrate the key competencies and behaviours identified below:

Setting Strategy and Formulating Policy

• Strategic, intellectual, conceptual and analytical skills;
• Ability to formulate and present strategy and policy at a high level and provide collaborative leadership in the development of global policies, directions, and new vaccine development;
• Capacity to diagnose and resolve multiple, concurrent problems;
• Successfully drives and anchors change in a complex, evolving organisation by demonstrating agility and stimulating creativity and innovation;
• Creates realistic goals and implementation plans, based on an understanding of Gavi’s requirements and capacity for change; Ref: Chief Vaccine Programmes and Markets Officer (CVPMO) Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance Private and Confidential 3 of 3 Executing for Results;
• Highly driven and focused on organisational and individual performance and managing for results. Demonstrates strong operational skills and superior judgment in evaluating opportunities and risks;
• Sets clear and challenging goals, while committing the organisation to improved performance; tenacious and accountable in driving results;
• Comfortable operating in highly nuanced and quickly evolving environments; demonstrates the ability to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations;
• High confidence and reasoned decision-making ability;
• A self-starter, able to manage multiple projects simultaneously and maintain focus on priorities; Leading Teams
• Proven ability to identify, motivate, develop and retain a highly professional multicultural staff by fostering a culture of feedback and development; collaborative leadership style;
• Management expertise including ability to clearly define and monitor team objectives and key results, and ensure that these are aligned to the broader strategies of the organisation;
• A leader who is self-reflective and aware of their own limitations; leads by example and drives the organisation’s performance with an attitude of continuous improvement by being open to feedback and self-improvement;
• Proven ability to lead culturally diverse and multi-disciplinary teams. Relationships and Influence;
• Highly developed interpersonal skills and a demonstrable ability to inspire, collaborate and influence a wide range of different institutions, interest groups, stakeholders, including affected populations, to drive impact and change;
• Ability to work in an international, diverse and multi-stakeholder environment with a global perspective, establishing effective and harmonious working relationships both within and outside Gavi;
• Political sensitivity, with the ability to work effectively and strategically with colleagues and partners at all levels;
• Attuned international perspective, equally comfortable operating in more developed and less developed countries, and extensive experience working successfully in multiple locations, across multiple cultures;
• Effective influencer in complex and rapidly changing environments, inspiring trust by presenting compelling points of view, passion in their beliefs, and their drive and energy to succeed;
• Tact, diplomacy and discretion in dealing with sensitive issues;
• Advocacy with ability to bring credibility in leadership of Gavi at the highest levels. 

To view the position specification, please visit: www.rraresponses.com. Please send your application to [email protected] by Monday 30th  September, 2024