Collaboration Manager

Job profile:

Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative (QLHC) is seeking an experienced individual who will support the identification, recruitment and management of new partners for the clinical trial and biomarker discovery activities sponsored by Quantum Leap. This position is responsible for introducing potential new agents to be evaluated in QLHC-sponsored studies, collaborating with internal stakeholders and external pharma partners to reach agreement on participating in QLHC-sponsored studies, and introducing agreed-upon new agents into QLHC-sponsored studies.

This position includes cultivating and maintaining relationships with academic researchers and leaders in the pharma industry, attending conferences and talks, presenting information to pharmaceutical teams and presenting new therapeutic products, research and approaches to both QLHC investigators and pharma industry stakeholders. The successful candidate will engage with trial principal investigators, QLHC’s clinical trial project management office, contracts personnel, and business development to prepare, negotiate, and execute contractual research and study agreements with pharma partners on behalf of QLHC, and successfully on-board new agents into sponsored trials.

While working with the QLHC executive team, the candidate must be able to perform in a fast-paced environment, create and reset priorities as the need arises, identify and raise issues before they become critical, and adjust quickly to the changes of a dynamic organization. The successful candidate will be a team player with a strong work ethic, positive personality, self-motivated and self-directed, and capable of working effectively in an unstructured, entrepreneurial environment.  S/he will perform job duties in accordance with mission, vision and values of QLHC. This position will report to the Chief Operating Officer of the Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative and will be based in our San Francisco office.

Responsibilities:

Manage all aspects of  pharma partner collaboration including: defining key prospect criteria as related to QLHC-sponsored clinical research, actively seeking out pharmaceutical agents that meet those criteria, managing the opportunity pipeline and funnel, coordinating due diligence activities and assessment of potential new agents, working closely with colleagues in the clinical trial and management office to value and structure the review and implementation of potential new agents to meet QLHC’s objectives, negotiating with potential partners and presenting recommendations to management.

Facilitate and build partnerships with healthcare professionals, investigators, and industry parties to communicate QLHC’s scientific interest in new agents that focus on QLHC’s areas of research—specifically in Breast cancer, including:

• Partner with QLHC investigators to identify and source potential new agents to be introduced into QLHC-sponsored studies, including advanced due diligence reviews.
• Collaborate with QLHC agents committee(s) and other internal stakeholders to identify, prioritize and secure collaborations and partnerships with the most promising new pharmaceutical agents across a range of therapeutic areas, primarily oncology, with a particular focus on breast cancer, and update them on current status of specific agents under consideration for evaluation. Support the agents committee(s) in their evaluation of new agents for entry into our trial(s).
• Engage with key decision-makers in the pharma industry to present our areas of research and the benefits of collaboration with QLHC. Negotiate with a variety of pharmaceutical companies, from small startups to the largest pharma companies, along with sequencing and biomarker discovery partners, to secure agreement to participate in all phases of our adaptive clinical trial platform, the I-SPY TRIAL, with the goal of bringing the right drug to the right patient at the right time while reducing the overall cost, time, and number of trial patients required to bring new drugs to market.
• For agents of interest approved by the agents committee(s) to be entered into the study: represent QLHC to collaborate with medical affairs, commercial and business development counterparts within potential  Pharma partners including investigators, pharma leaders and QLHC’s clinical trial and management office to spearhead the evaluation and study implementation processes including assessment of drug availability and distribution, new protocol development, and the on-boarding of new agents into the trial.
• With QLHC internal stakeholders, assist in the documentation of new agent trial protocols for inclusion in trial amendments.

Collaborate with our Pharma industry partner’s Medical Affairs and Clinical organization to enhance their engagement in QLHC-sponsored clinical trials, maintain contact with the clinical trial project management office and investigators participating in ongoing studies, and provide clinical presentations and information in response to solicited and unsolicited questions (as appropriate) in clinical and research provider settings.

Further responsibilities of this position include:

Participation in scientific conferences and activities (assist in the preparation of abstracts, posters, case studies and peer reviewed papers) as needed.

Qualifications:

Education:

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, other scientific and/or medical discipline.
• Strongly Preferred: MS, PharmD, MSN or PhD in biological or life sciences, in addition to 5 or more years of relevant post-graduate experience in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry.

Skills/ experience:

• At least 5 years post-education clinical or research experience in oncology or similar specialized therapeutic area; or a combination of experience / education in science, and medicine, with a deep interest in and an aptitude to quickly understand new science and clinical opportunities.
• Previous experience in a drug discovery and development environment, including demonstrated ability to evaluate and interpret complex situations. Experience with clinical trials is a plus.
• Proficient interpersonal skills, oral and written communication skills, quantitative and analytical capabilities, cross-functional team interaction skills, and the ability to manage and drive multiple projects simultaneously. 
• Strong presence with Senior Executives including ability to communicate effectively on a prepared and ad-hoc basis is essential.
• Good organizational and planning skills, strong attention to detail and accuracy. 

Requirements:

• Travel will be required.

• Position will be based in QLHC San Francisco office.
• Demonstrated technical aptitude and working proficiency with using Google drive, basic applications in Microsoft office suite, and web-based conferencing.

About QLHC:

Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative (QLHC) is a 501c(3) charitable organization that develops and implements innovative trial designs and rapid-cycle learning through patient centered solutions and the integration of care and research. Founded by leaders recognized for innovative approaches to seemingly intractable problems, QLGC pursues multi-disciplinary initiatives and demonstration projects, including transformative clinical trial models that drive healthcare value and improve outcomes.

Our mission is to create and implement more effective and efficient ways to deliver high quality, patient-focused healthcare. Our founders, Board of Directors, staff, collaborators and the patients we serve, have in the aggregate, unmatched experience in developing innovative approaches, methodologies and models that unite clinical research and healthcare delivery to ensure patient benefit. Our work is cutting edge, often disruptive, and our flagship programs are extendable to many forms of cancer and other diseases.

QLHC is the sponsor of the I-SPY TRIAL, a national Adaptive Platform Trial researching neoadjuvant treatments for early stage, high-risk breast cancers.