[Remote] Legal Counsel

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) is an international coalition focused on accelerating the development of vaccines against epidemic threats. The Legal Counsel will provide strategic legal guidance to support CEPI's mission, working closely with various teams to manage collaborations and ensure compliance with legal frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Directly reports to the Head of Legal, Business Transactions and Access
• Member of a team of lawyers who work closely with Research & Development (R&D), Manufacturing and Supply Chain (M&SC), Access and Business Development, and Preparedness and response (P&R) to serve as lead lawyer for selected CEPI projects in formation and implementation phases including some or all of the following:
• CEPI’s grants and other investments in product candidates (potentially through lifecycle from pre-clinical through to marketing approval) and platform technologies
• CEPI’s work to enable sustainable networks including laboratory networks and manufacturing networks for its vaccine candidates and platform technologies
• CEPI’s work to enable clinical trial networks and pharmacovigilance support are available for its vaccine candidates and platform technologies
• The candidate will be a legal business partner who will provide legal advice in forming and managing collaborations with various actors in the vaccine and/or biologics R&D and M&SC value chain, including advice on legal aspects of late-stage development and pathways to market/commercialization of products
• The candidate will also be responsible for translating commercial terms into contractual commitments with CEPI’s partners with a focus on drafting and negotiating access and commercialisation terms in CEPI funding agreements
• The candidate will advise on the application of CEPI’s policies and procedures as required
• Create and maintain legal and agreement templates including their automation as needed, advise on legal and risk issues, drawing on and managing outside counsel and internal subject matter experts as required
• Engage externally with senior stakeholders, legal, commercial and operations teams as required. And engages externally with industry, sector or functional bodies as a representative of CEPI as required
• Be a role model of CEPI TRAITS (Teamwork, Respect, Achievement, Integrity, Transparency). Be an active member of the legal team and cooperate and support the division in tasks and activities and other ad hoc responsibilities as may be required by business needs from time to time

Skills

• Preferably has 3-7 PQE with experience working in a major law firm, or as in-house counsel for companies or organizations
• Transactions experience is necessary and industry experience associated with pharma or vaccine development is desirable
• Preferably being common law qualified lawyer
• Experienced legal counsel with legal technical skills, contracts experience and demonstrable track record of drafting and negotiation of agreements within a cross-functional team
• Sound knowledge of contract law, commercial law, legal and regulatory frameworks applicable to the life science health industry and CEPI's partner ecosystem
• Good working knowledge of other relevant legal areas for CEPI, e.g., IP, antitrust, trade sanctions
• Experience of working with business development colleagues (supporting subject matter experts) is highly desirable
• A good understanding of R&D, M&SC or commercialisation elements of the pharma/vaccine sector experience or experience of access to medicines is strongly preferred
• Experience of working in international environments and ideally experience of being part of cross-functional, multi-jurisdictional teams
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English are absolute must
• Strong focus on engagement and driving to outcomes
• Strong & confident communicator able to successfully engage and influence at all levels of the organisation
• Knowledge sharing and continuous learning: actively contributes to a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous learning by exchanging legal/transaction insights and best practices
• Starter – Finisher: seeing activities through to successful completion in a collaborative manner
• Resilient, self-motivated, and quick to learn, with the ability to hit the ground running and work autonomously
• The ability to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines and manage time effectively in a fast-paced working environment
• Curiosity and enthusiasm for new situations, ideas and approaches
• Can challenge and disagree diplomatically then commit to path forward
• Broader experience in life sciences and/or global public health will also be considered
• Additional languages such as Norwegian, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and others are an added advantage

Benefits

• The opportunity to work together with leading experts on solutions for global challenges
• Experience in the international effort on developing vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and accelerating vaccine development response to outbreaks
• A diverse and inclusive working environment

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