Board Chair/Director

• Founding Chair position
• Start up, novel, commercial entity
• One of a kind facility in Australia

 
The Position
The Doherty Institute seeks to appoint a Board Chair to lead the governance of its newly created entity, Doherty Clinical Trials Ltd. As the Founding Board Chair/Director, this position, in conjunction with the leadership team from the Doherty Institute, will lead the establishment of a commercial enterprise that will research and develop treatment and prevention of disease in human beings. This will include a Human Infection Challenge (HIC) clinical research facility, making it the only one of its kind in Australia. This new clinical trials business will not only enrich the Institute’s academic research and teaching mission, it will directly contribute to greatly accelerated development of new therapies and vaccines for infectious diseases.
The Founding Board Chair/Director will lead the incorporation of the entity and will recruit other board members as well as core company employees, such as the Chief Executive Officer. The appointee will establish an effective governance structure for the entity including the constitution of the Board and subcommittees as required, as well as standard operating procedures of the Board. They will set the strategic direction for the organisation, in conjunction with Board members and oversee the development of a robust business development strategy and guide the company to financial and operational sustainability.
The Founding Board Chair/Director will be entrepreneurial and will demonstrate expertise and experience in the establishment of small to medium enterprises. They will evidence a record of commercial success and will have strong networks and connections across multiple industries coupled with an understanding of scientific research and rigor. Ideally possessing experience as a Board Chair, Director or senior leader, the Chair will be energetic, innovative, and eager to take a leadership role in the start-up of a novel business. They will have gravitas and excellent interpersonal communication skills. They will have a strong understanding of managing the needs of stakeholders as well as the needs of prospective clients. The Chair is not expected to be a medical researcher, clinician or have a strong track record in clinical trials but will have the skills, experience and temperament to lead a team of highly respected academics and researchers.
The Doherty Institute
The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (the Doherty Institute) is a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital. The Doherty Institute has more than 700 staff who work on infection and immunity through a broad spectrum of activities. This includes discovery research; diagnosis, surveillance and investigation of infectious disease outbreaks; and the development of ways to prevent, treat and eliminate infectious diseases.
Doherty Clinical Trials Ltd.
The Doherty Institute is establishing a clinical trails unit, including a Human Infection Challenge clinical research facility. The development of the facility is led by the Doherty Institute, in collaboration with the University of Melbourne; Royal Melbourne Hospital; Murdoch Childrens’ Research Institute.
Formal clinical trials are the mainstay of modern medicine, allowing the safe introduction of new therapies with recognised risks and benefits. However, a major limitation of these studies is that they cannot easily test prevention strategies, such as vaccines. Human Infection Challenge clinical trials differ to traditional clinical trials in that the protocol includes deliberate infection of the trial participants with the infection in question, under highly controlled conditions. This approach has the advantage of knowing that all participants actually have the infection, plus knowing the exact time of that infection. Importantly, HIC studies can evaluate prevention and treatment strategies at high throughput and low cost.
For more information visit:  www.doherty.edu.au
Applications close: 29 October 2021
To apply – using reference DOIcha0921, address your cover letter and resume to Deborah Komesaroff of Fisher Leadership, or call +61 1300 347 437 for further information.