Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.
Are you a senior leader passionate about public health, genomics, and product development? Have you led transformative projects for high-profile clients at the intersection of science, technology, and health?
If you have a deep understanding of public health requirements from genomic surveillance and are passionate about using genomics to make a real difference on a national and global level, then keep reading because we have an exciting opportunity for you!
As part of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Genomic Surveillance Unit (GSU) is looking for a Head of Research and Product Development. This is a key role that will lead the technical and research development portfolio of the GSU and oversee the programmes and projects to establish the framework for genomic surveillance of multiple pathogens both on a national and global level.
About the role
As Head of Research and Product Development, you will be responsible for:
Developing a technical strategy and managing a programmatic approach for technical development and product roadmap
Determining technical development needs and desires through requirements analysis and development of use cases for surveillance
Designing and recommending the strategy and scope of present and future product lines
Appraising new product ideas and/or product or packaging changes
Building strategic relationships with key global stakeholders
Managing and coordinating GSU Programmes, ensuring alignment with broader GSU goals
Working with teams to assess, identify, prioritise and develop solutions for product requirements
Working with R&D and service operations groups to understand processing bottlenecks and lead product development teams across to develop effective solutions
Full line management responsibility including setting objectives and managing staff performance
About you
To excel in this role you will need the following skills and experience:
Technical skills
Deep understanding of public health requirements from genomic surveillance
Major Programme and Project Management experience
Experience with set up and delivery of sequencing services of two of the following: sequencing startup methodologies, viral genomics methodologies, set up of multiple products/services delivery platforms
Experience shaping successful products, including defining vision, strategy, outcome-driven product roadmaps and creating and managing backlogs
Experience working directly with clients and leading projects
Experience shaping both new products as well as improving upon existing ones
Competencies and behaviours
Ability to innovate and create practical solutions to complex problems
Skilled at defining products and prioritizing product features
Excellent leadership and line management experience
Experience articulating and testing product hypotheses
Persuasive negotiation and influencing skills and the ability to lead over a continuum of stakeholders at varying levels and in different contexts
Ability to quickly understand scientific, technical and process challenges and break down complex problems into actionable steps
Ability to work in a frequently changing environment with the capability to interpret management information to amend plans
Ability to prioritise, manage workload, and deliver agreed activities consistently on time
Strategic thinking and the ability to see the ‘bigger picture’
Able to facilitate collaborative decision-making in a workshop context
Able to quickly understand a specific client domain and identify trends and opportunities
Able to work collaboratively with a range of internal and external stakeholders including navigating complex decision-making
About us
The GSU is dedicated to global public health, bringing expertise in genomics, data science, product development, and sequencing operations to bear on surveillance solutions for important human diseases. We currently focus on malaria, COVID-19, and a range of other respiratory viruses.
The culture in the GSU is innovative, fast-paced, international, and multidisciplinary. With backgrounds in business, technology, academia, and global health, our team solves problems with perspectives from multiple angles.
Examples of our work include:
Extensive involvement in COVID-19 and respiratory virus surveillance activities in the UK, providing the UK Health Security Agency with insight to detect and manage outbreaks;
Fighting malaria — a disease which kills hundreds of thousands of children every year — by tracking drug and insecticide resistance;
Working with research partners around the world to translate scientific discoveries into operational surveillance products;
Our world-leading COVID-19 and malaria genomic surveillance streams have a proven track record of successful implementation. We support partners around the world at every stage of the process, from sample collection and lab set-up to training, data generation, and analysis.
Our priorities are to continually increase benefits to public health, while improving the accessibility and quality of genomic surveillance data. Driven by the needs of our partners, we create analytical tools, lab methods, and data pipelines that push the boundaries of what’s possible.
For more information, visit https://www.sanger.ac.uk/collaboration/genomic-surveillance-unit/
Additional information
Please note: This is a hybrid role with 2-3 days per week onsite.
Please include a cover letter along with your CV. In your cover letter include detail on how your knowledge, skills and experience match the requirements of the role described.
Salary: £93,000 - £116,000
Closing Date: Sunday 07-APR
View the Sanger Institute’s 2022-2023 Highlights here: https://bit.ly/SangerHighlights
Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and the role may close when a successful appointment has been made.
Hybrid Working at Wellcome Sanger:
We recognise that there are many benefits to Hybrid Working; including an improved work-life balance, with more focused time, as well as the ability to organise working time so that collaborative opportunities and team discussions are facilitated on campus. The hybrid working arrangement will vary for different roles and teams. The nature of your role and the type of work you do will determine if a hybrid working arrangement is possible.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:
We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We have a supportive culture with the following staff networks, LGBTQ+, Parents and Carers, Disability and Race Equity to bring people together to share experiences, offer specific support and development opportunities and raise awareness. The networks are also a place for allies to provide support to others.
We want our people to be whoever they want to be because we believe people who bring their best selves to work, do their best work. That’s why we’re committed to creating a truly inclusive culture at Sanger Institute. We will consider all individuals without discrimination and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, where everyone can thrive.
Our Benefits:
We are proud to deliver an awarding campus-wide employee wellbeing strategy and programme. The importance of good health and adopting a healthier lifestyle and the commitment to reduce work-related stress is strongly acknowledged and recognised at Sanger Institute.
Sanger Institute became a signatory of the International Technician Commitment initiative In March 2018. The Technician Commitment aims to empower and ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines.
