Organizational Overview:
Founded in 1998 by Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder, the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation is dedicated to rapidly accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat, and cure Alzheimer's disease. The ADDF is the only public charity solely focused on funding the development of drugs for Alzheimer's, employing a venture philanthropy model to support research in academia and the biotech industry. Through the generosity of its donors, the ADDF has awarded more than $378 million to fund over 800 Alzheimer's drug discovery and biomarker programs and clinical trials in more than 21 countries. To learn more, please visit: http://www.alzdiscovery.org/
Position Summary:
The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation is seeking two Senior Program Officers / Assistant Directors to support the Search and Evaluation function by leading scientific due diligence, managing assigned portfolios, and informing investment decisions under the direction of the Head of Search and Evaluation.
The Senior Program Officer / Assistant Director, Search and Evaluation is responsible for identifying, evaluating, shaping, executing, and managing innovative investment opportunities for ADDF’s therapeutics and biomarker pipeline. This is accomplished by interacting with biotech and biopharma companies, academic institutions, venture firms, and other stakeholders from the life sciences industry ecosystem, for exploration of potential investment opportunities. The Senior Program Officer / Assistant Director is responsible for conducting scientific/technical due diligence, to ensure an in-depth understanding of the science behind each of these opportunities and actively managing the portfolio of funded programs.
Placement:
The Senior Program Officer / Assistant Director will report directly to the Head of Search and Evaluation. This is a full-time, exempt position, and candidates from out of state are welcome to apply.
Two positions are available. These roles are positioned within levels L5/L6 (Senior Manager / Assistant Director) of ADDF’s salary structure. Final title and salary will be determined based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, and demonstrated level of autonomy in leading due diligence and portfolio management, under the direction of the Head of Search and Evaluation. The anticipated salary range is $120,000–$165,000.
The anticipated start date for this position is early 2026. Due to the holiday schedule, interviews are expected to begin in January.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Serve as the primary scientific point of contact for assigned applicants and funding teams.
- Proactively source, evaluate, shape and execute on potential research and development investment opportunities that are aligned with ADDF’s therapeutics development strategy
- Develop deep understanding of innovation and scientific landscape in key areas related to ADDF’s therapeutics strategies
- Conduct landscape and in-depth analyses on select therapeutic/disease areas, indications, targets, classes of mechanism-of-action and modalities
- Lead diligence process by providing strategic guidance to applicants in developing scientific work plans and fostering connections with collaborators and consultants.
- Exercise independent judgement when shaping scientific work plans, identifying risks, and advising applicants.
- Present assigned programs, due diligence findings, and evidence-based recommendations to ADDF’s internal review committee to support investment decision-making.
- Work with the ADDF Mission Related Investments (MRI) team, external consultants and Therapeutics Leadership, to shepherd proposals through the diligence process to investment decision and contracting. This includes evaluation of the submitted proposals, managing the reviews from external experts, conducting deep due diligence, working with applicants to refine proposals, and presenting projects to leadership for funding decisions. The individual will be expected to consider a technical and business perspective when evaluating investment opportunities and provide a business rationale for informing investment decisions
- Partner with the MRI team to identify the optimal contract structure and support the progress from contract approval, execution and closure for scientifically approved programs.
- Portfolio Management Support
- Manage an assigned portfolio of funded programs with autonomy in day-to day monitoring, issue identification and progress against scientific, operational and financial milestones.
- Engage in strategic discussions with funded programs to support fundraising and value creation activities
- Communicate status of ongoing projects to ADDF management in a timely manner,
- Role may include the management of key partnerships to leverage funding and resources for ADDF supported programs including the Harrington Discovery Institute (HDI) and Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD)
Additional Responsibilities:
- Contribute to scientific reports and oral presentations for donors and family foundations in collaboration with the Development Team
- Promote ADDF’s scientific programs by speaking at donor and scientific events
- Generate scientific content in collaboration with the Communications Team
- Attend relevant conferences (ADPD, BIO, AAIC, CTAD, smaller seminars and meetings) to support S&E activities and communicate learnings from conferences to the ADDF team
- Develop scientific agendas for ADDF conferences and coordinate strategic advisory panels that address major obstacles or opportunities in Alzheimer’s disease drug development and/or biomarker development
- Contribute to the scientific literature through authorship on peer-reviewed scientific publications
- Other duties as assigned
Qualifications:
- MD, PhD, PharmD or equivalent experience in Life Sciences, with emphasis on Neuroscience (strong preference for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias expertise)
- 5+ years of research experience in neuroscience, neurology, or a related field with knowledge of drug discovery and development process for CNS diseases.
- Familiarity with clinical development of therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Should possess an understanding of clinical development strategy, clinical trial design and execution
- Practical experience in Search & Evaluation, Business Development, venture capital, technology transfer, or other partnering-focused professional experience
- Experience presenting for governance review/approval
- Exceptional project and time management skills with the ability to manage competing requests and shifting deadlines
- Ability to drive projects to deliver timely results and follow through on internal and external commitments
- Excellent written and oral communication skills to articulate findings and recommendations, at a level appropriate for the intended audiences
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work closely with partner organizations, key opinion leaders, investors, donors, and staff
- Track record of managing complex technical, scientific, and operational activities
- Strong commitment to ADDF’s mission and cause
How to Apply:
To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and salary expectations to jobs@alzdiscovery.org, including “Senior Program Officer / Assistant Director, Search and Evaluation” in the subject line. Please indicate in your cover letter whether you are applying at the Senior Program Officer or Assistant Director level. Only complete applications will be considered.
As noted above, the anticipated start date for this position is early 2026. Due to the holiday schedule, interviews are expected to begin in January.
ADDF is an equal opportunity employer, committed to attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional people. We welcome and encourage applicants for all positions respecting the full spectrum of education, experience, age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ancestry, marital status, veteran status or other military status, or citizenship status, genetic carrier status, genetic information, AIDS or AIDS-related complex or HIV status, being a victim of domestic violence, protected activity (i.e., filing a charge of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposing prohibited discrimination), or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.