Director, Curing NF

The ideal Director of Curing NF is a scientist by education with experience leading team members to achieve challenging targets. With a proven ability to strategically manage and grow complex scientific funding initiatives, lead a team, and build bridges between the various NF communities, the Director will lead a team of 3-5 team members to accelerate treatments and cures for NF.

The mandate for the Director is to coordinate internally and externally to ensure the maximum impact of the full portfolio of investments made by Gilbert Family Foundation and the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute in funding external science and research. Experience in the strategic design and implementation of research grants and funding initiatives as well as in their organization and management with a proven track record of accomplishment and achievement of successful and impactful research is a requirement of the position. At the personal level, the candidate will be a collaborative, dynamic, proactive individual who applies the highest ethical standards while assuming ownership and accountability for the success of the organization they lead.

As a leadership role, this position is expected to be full time, located in the city of Detroit.

About the Role

• Provide leadership and coordination of the team members engaged in scientific programs within the Gilbert Family Foundation

• Ensure agendas are aligned toward a clear purpose across GFF science funding programs, in deep collaboration with the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute – NGNRI

• Ensure team members and partners are meeting clear deadlines and are following processes created to support high-quality, peer-reviewed research

• Support the Executive Director of Gilbert Family Foundation and the CEO of NGNRI to guide strategies, keep agendas on track and make decisions as necessary

• Seek partnerships and alliances to further efforts in fighting NF, with a special emphasis on the Children’s Tumor Foundation, NTAP, and Penny’s Flight

• Promote the GFF organization and its funding initiatives

• Manage the peer review and community feedback processes across all initiatives and funding types

• Establish programs and activities to engage the NF1 and broader scientific community including collaboration with other foundations and initiatives engaged in finding cures for NF (for example, the Children’s Tumor Foundation and ‘NTAP’).

• Establish robust reporting structures for all research projects ensuring accountability for the research partners

• Nurture relations with research institutions and principal investigators in the NF community

About You

Minimum Qualifications

• Advanced scientific or medical degree that includes training in the biomedical sciences and at least five years of relevant experience in drug discovery, preclinical development, and/or clinical studies

• Demonstrated successful track record as a leader in a biomedical research environment

• Advanced scientific or medical degree that includes training in the biomedical sciences and at least five years of relevant experience in managing grants, science administration, drug discovery, preclinical development, and/or clinical studies

• Ability to be in person in the Detroit office Tuesday-Thursday

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading and managing an organization or team

• Experience managing research grants and / or contracts

• Experience and proven credentials in achieving challenging research goals in collaboration with others

• Ability to provide vision and inspire a team

• Substantive corroborated experience leading challenging goal-driven research programs or biomedical product development opportunities to success

• Experience solving problems and overcoming obstacles, flexibility to consider and adopt alternative strategies when needed

• Outstanding interpersonal skills, communication and team building

• Proactive, go-getter with a can-do attitude together with the stamina to attend to details along the way

• Experience assuming accountability for projects or research driven initiatives

• Experience with clinical trial design

What you’ll get

Our team members fuel our strategy, innovation and growth, so we ensure the health and well-being of not just you, but your family, too! We go above and beyond to give you the support you need on an individual level and offer all sorts of ways to help you live your best life. We are proud to offer eligible team members perks and health benefits that will help you have peace of mind. Simply put: We’ve got your back. Check out our full list of Benefits and Perks.

About us

The Gilbert Family Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation founded by Jennifer and Dan Gilbert to accelerate a cure for neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and build economic opportunity and equity in the city of Detroit. The Gilbert Family Foundation supports groundbreaking, cutting-edge research in hopes of eradicating NF1, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves anywhere in the body. Additionally, the Foundation supports the economic stability and mobility of residents in Detroit by investing in wealth-building opportunities and breaking down systemic barriers.

There are over 26 manifestations of neurofibromatosis. The Gilbert Family Foundation invests primarily in research related to brain tumors, vision defects, cognitive impairment and gene therapy. Alongside those investments in specific research, Gilbert Family Foundation invests in Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data infrastructure. Lastly, Gilbert Family Foundation has made a $250M, 10-year commitment to building the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute (NGNRI).

NGNRI is the first brick-and-mortar research institute dedicated to curing NF. Named in memory of Nick Gilbert, who passed away from complications related to NF in 2023, NGNRI seeks to discover and develop improved treatments and cures for neurofibromatosis type 1 and other debilitating neuronal diseases and related conditions. NGNRI paves the way for more personalized health care by leveraging next generation technologies, including ‘organoids’ or organ-like assemblies of tissues grown in a lab environment. NGNRI will be housed within the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences Research Campus.

Ultimately, these investments collectively represent a research pipeline that allows projects to seamlessly progress from bench to bedside. Over time, the research grants that Gilbert Family Foundation is directly managing today will become NGNRI’s extramural research program, to maximize collaboration and impact. This role will be an integral part of that transition.

This job description is an outline of the primary responsibilities of this position and may be modified at the discretion of the company at any time.  Decisions related to employment are not based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.  The company provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable state and federal laws.  Applicants requiring reasonable accommodations in completing the application and/or participating in the application process should contact a member of the Human Resources team, at [email protected].