Executive Director , Medicines Patent Pool

The Medicines Patent Pool (“the Pool”) was created by UNITAID in 2010 to improve the health of people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries. UNITAID is an innovative financing mechanism, whose mission is to contribute to scaling up access to treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in low- and middle-income countries. The Pool is an independent foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Pool’s vision is to improve access to appropriate affordable HIV medicines in developing countries. Its mission is to bring down the price of HIV medicines needed for the treatment and prevention of HIV and facilitate the development and production of improved formulations suitable for use in developing countries by providing access to intellectual property relating to these products. The Pool does this by negotiating with patent holders to share their intellectual property with the Pool, and then licensing it to other manufacturers to facilitate the production of affordable generic medicines and the development of improved formulations.

During its first year of operations, the Medicines Patent Pool negotiated and signed its first two licence agreements covering six products, entered formal negotiations with a total of seven patent-holders and signed three sub-licence agreements. It has received declarations of support from a wide range of governments, intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), patent-holders, companies, civil society organisations and opinion-leaders and has been extensively covered in the global media. In December 2011 it secured an additional four years of funding from UNITAID. The Pool is regarded as an integral part of the global response to HIV by key players such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO) and others.

For more information, please see our website, www.medicinespatentpool.org.

Main Duties/Responsibilities

The Executive Director will lead the Pool and reports directly to the Pool’s Governance Board.

Responsibilities include:

• Guiding overall strategic direction of the organisation and ensuring execution of the Pool’s overall strategy
• Leading licence negotiations with licensors and sub-licensees
• Building strong collaborations and relationships with both public and private sector stakeholders, including national governments, United Nations agencies, corporations and civil society
• Advocating for and representing the organization in a range of settings worldwide
• Leading donor relations
• Liaising with the Pool’s two governance bodies – the Governance Board and the Expert Advisory Group
• Managing the organisation’s staff members
• Managing the organisation’s operations and finances.

Experience and background

The Executive Director should preferably have:

• 10-15 years of experience in HIV, access to medicines and/or intellectual property in the public and/or private sectors
• Extensive experience of, and/or engagement with, the pharmaceutical industry
• Experience in pharmaceutical licensing negotiations with the private sector
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in international settings ranging from high-level diplomatic, including national governments and the United Nations, to corporate to grass-roots settings
• A network of relevant contacts
• Track record of forming strong external collaborations
• Experience in donor relations
• Experience of managing teams and budgets
• Superior oral, written and interpersonal communication skills.

Personal Qualities

• Leadership skills including setting strategic directions, managing external relations, managing staff, and meeting facilitation
• Strong negotiation skills
• Good advocacy skills
• Willingness to travel – approximately 30% of the Executive Director’s time
• Sensitivity to different cultures and work styles
• Demonstrated commitment to public health and to the goals of the Patent Pool

Education

Advanced university degree in a related field required.

Languages

Fluency in English is required. Oral and written proficiency in a second language is strongly preferred.

It is the policy and practice of the Pool to provide equal employment to qualified individuals (employees and applicants) regardless of their race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic origin, marital status, disability, and to conform to all applicable laws and regulations. Women and candidates from developing countries are encouraged to apply.

Salary is commensurate with experience. The Pool offers a competitive compensation package, including social benefits.

When applying for the position, please indicate whether you currently have Swiss employment authorisation.

Please send a cover letter and C.V. to recruitment@medicinespatentpool.org by 31 May 2012.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.