Assistant Director / Deputy Director (Scientific & Strategy), CADENCE

Overview
 
The Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation, Singapore (CRIS) brings together seven national R&D, clinical translation and service programmes to advance clinical research and innovation for Singapore, and establish important capabilities for a future-ready healthcare system.
 
The Business Entities under CRIS include:
•    Singapore Clinical Research Institute (SCRI)
•    National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC)
•    Advanced Cell Therapy and Research Institute, Singapore (ACTRIS)
•    Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE)
•    Singapore Translational Cancer Consortium (STCC)
•    Cardiovascular Disease National Collaborative Enterprise (CADENCE)
•    Singapore Medical Foundation AI model (SIMFONI)
 
Together, CRIS makes a positive difference to Singapore patients and researchers by ensuring that these clinical research platforms and programmes are at the cutting edge of capability development and innovation. If you are as passionate as we are in clinical trials and research, we want you!
 
CADENCE
 
The Cardiovascular Disease National Collaborative Enterprise (CADENCE) is a national program for Cardiovascular Research that aims to strengthen the overall impact of cardiovascular research and translation in Singapore through: (1) synergising efforts across Singapore through the establishment of Joint Platforms to improve patient outcomes and establish Singapore as a global leader in cardiovascular disease (CVD) research; (2) overcoming common barriers to research at the systems level; (3) driving commercialisation efforts; and (4) demonstrating the power of these synergies through a series of practice-changing Use Cases.
 
CADENCE operates as a business unit within the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation, Singapore (CRIS), a wholly owned subsidiary of MOH Holdings (MOHH). The programme is anchored by the cardiovascular research and commercialisation capabilities of its partner institutions, including MOHT, NHCS & NHRIS, NUHCS & CVRI, NHG Heart Institute, KTPH, A*STAR, NUS, Duke-NUS, and LKCMedicine.

CADENCE brings together Singapore’s key basic, clinical and translational cardiovascular research teams and healthcare institutions in joint platforms to establish and deliver collaborative cardiovascular research programmes, supported by a national cardiovascular clinical trials network spanning eight public hospitals and growing regional reach through initiatives such as ASPIRE.

The Programme Office is led by two complementary leadership roles, at the Assistant Director or Deputy Director level, both reporting directly to the Executive Director: Strategy & Scientific Planning, which defines what CADENCE should pursue, and Strategy & Operations, which ensures agreed priorities are effectively translated into outcomes. Each leads their own function and supports the other so that strategy and delivery remain aligned.

What you will be working on
 
The Assistant Director / Deputy Director, Strategy & Scientific Planning leads scientific planning and portfolio development for CADENCE and supports the Executive Director and Co-Director in shaping the programme’s strategy, priorities and next phase of development. The role assesses new scientific and strategic opportunities, develops major funding proposals and strategic initiatives, and builds the partnerships that extend CADENCE’s capabilities and impact, ensuring that the programme’s scientific direction is coherent, well-evidenced and aligned with national priorities.

Reports to: Executive Director, CADENCE
Works closely with: Co-Director; Assistant Director, Strategy & Operations; scientific and functional leads

Responsibilities:

• Supporting the Executive Director and Co-Director in developing and refining CADENCE’s programme strategy, priorities and forward plan, including assessing programme needs, scientific opportunities and the external environment, and preparing recommendations on where CADENCE should focus and invest.
• Leading scientific planning and portfolio development across CADENCE’s platforms, projects and use cases; assessing new opportunities for scientific merit, strategic fit, feasibility and potential impact; and identifying gaps, overlaps and opportunities to connect capabilities across the programme.
• Leading the planning, coordination and proposal development for CADENCE’s major funding workstreams, including the new national initiative and the RIE2030 programme, working with scientific leads, institutional partners and funding agencies.
• Developing and assessing regional and other strategic initiatives that support CADENCE’s longer-term direction, including the scientific and strategic development of the regional network within the direction set by the network Chairperson.
• Leading the development of selected academic, healthcare, industry and international partnerships that support CADENCE’s strategy, scientific priorities and capability development, and taking forward opportunities of strategic value together with programme leadership and relevant functional leads.
• Maintaining a programme-level view of scientific progress, milestones, dependencies and risks; analysing performance against strategic and scientific objectives; advising on major priorities and resource trade-offs; and preparing strategic reviews, position papers and board papers.

Requirements:

• Doctoral degree (PhD, MD or equivalent) in biomedical sciences, life sciences, medicine, public health or a related discipline; a background in cardiovascular research would be an advantage.
• Strong experience in biomedical, clinical or translational research, including research strategy, scientific planning, portfolio development or research programme development.
• Experience assessing research opportunities, developing programme priorities and preparing strategic recommendations, funding proposals and papers for senior leadership, governance bodies or funders.
• Experience working across multiple scientific areas, institutions and stakeholders, including senior scientific leaders, healthcare institutions, government agencies, academic partners and industry.
• Strong strategic and scientific judgement; able to assess options, risks and trade-offs and make clear, well-reasoned recommendations.
• Strong analytical, writing and communication skills; able to distil complex scientific and programme information for senior stakeholders.
• Able to bring together different scientific and organisational priorities and to work effectively with senior stakeholders across institutions.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently and as part of a team with minimal guidance; willing and adaptable to take on tasks beyond the job description as required

 
 What you need to know
 
Successful candidate will be offered a 3-year renewable contract. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 
 
For more information about CRIS and the Business Entities, visit our websites below:
CRIS – https://www.cris.sg
SCRI – https://www.scri.edu.sg
NHIC – https://www.nhic.sg
ACTRIS – https://www.actris.sg
PRECISE – https://www.npm.sg
STCC – https://www.stcc.sg
CADENCE – https://www.cadence-cvd.sg
SIMFONI - https://www.simfoni.sg