Legal Counsel Transactions and Contracts

About the role

Launched in 2017, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is an international coalition of governments, academic, philanthropic, private, public, and intergovernmental institutions whose vision is to create a world in which epidemics and pandemics are no longer a threat to humanity. Our mission is to to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can be accessible to all people in need. CEPI has played a central role in the global response to COVID-19, creating the world’s largest portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines – two of which are already saving lives around the world - and co-leading COVAX which is delivering equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines to participating economies worldwide. During this period, CEPI has also overseen several scientific breakthroughs in developing vaccines against other infectious diseases, including the first phase 3 trial of a Chikungunya vaccine and the advancement of the first ever Nipah virus and Lassa virus vaccines into phase 1 clinical trials.

There is an urgent need to do more to mitigate the immediate threat of COVID-19 variants and to prepare now for the next pandemic. As COVID-19 has demonstrated, emerging infectious diseases represent an existential threat to our way of life. COVID-19 is not the first pandemic of the 21st century, and unless we act now, we can be sure that it will not be the last. But unlike some of the other big threats that humanity faces, we have the tools to systematically reduce and even eliminate the risk of future pandemics. It is vital that we capitalise on the rare alignment of political will, practical experience, and technical and scientific progress emerging from the pandemic to prevent such devastation happening again. CEPI has a US$3.5bn five-year plan to tackle the risk of pandemics and epidemics, potentially averting millions of deaths and trillions of dollars in economic damage. This plan will urgently address the immediate threat of COVID-19 variants so we can bring the COVID-19 pandemic to an end; and enable us to prepare now for future threats. This includes our aim to reduce the vaccine development timeline to a 100-day ‘moonshot’ target and to advance the development of broadly protective vaccines that can protect against COVID-19 and its variants, as well as other known or novel coronaviruses.CEPI is organised as a not-for-profit association under Norwegian Law and has offices in Oslo (HQ), London, and Washington, DC.In CEPI we strive for diverse thinking, and we want a diverse pool of candidates for all our vacancies. We work for an inclusive working environment where each employee can contribute and grow. More details about CEPI and our mission can be found on our website: www.cepi.net

Søknadsfrist: 31.desember

Arbeidssted:  London (UK), Oslo (Norway) or Washington DC (US)

Jobbtype:  Legal Counsel Transactions and Contracts

Type stilling: Fast

SØK STILLINGEN HER

CEPI has experienced rapid growth and therefore requires strengthening CEPI’s legal team to support its activities. CEPI is looking to hire up to four transactional lawyers who will be supporting the business development work (Access and Private Partnership (APP)).

Seeing contracts underpin CEPI’s cross-ecosystem of collaboration, legislation and financing, the team under the Associate General Counsel, which includes the legal counsels for transactions and contracts, will be on point to support and work alongside other Divisions and Departments in ensuring CEPI’s strategic and mission critical objectives are met, and that contractual and transactional arrangements entered into by CEPI are strategically and operationally viable. 

The job holders will do so by advising CEPI teams on applicable laws and regulations, how to achieve CEPI’s desired balance of risk and reward and further CEPI’s mission and business strategy. The job holders will also be on point to ensure that geo-specific legal, contracting & regulatory expertise and support is sourced and delivered in the right manner, working with external counsel where required.

Responsibilities

• Three transactional roles add to the lawyers in a team of transactional lawyers who work closely with CEPI’s access and private partnerships (business development) department to serve as lead lawyer for selected CEPI projects in formation and implementation phases including some or all of the following: 

1. CEPI’s grants and other investments in product candidates (potentially through lifecycle from pre-clinical through to marketing approval) and platform technologies
2. CEPI’s work to enable sustainable networks including manufacturing networks for its vaccine candidates and platform technologies.
3. CEPI’s work to enable clinical trial networks and pharmacovigilance support are available for its vaccine candidates and platform technologies.

• The fourth role will also support the business development on diverse aspects of contracting. 
• The candidates 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. The candidates will also be responsible for translating commercial terms into contractual commitments with CEPI’s partners.
• The candidates will also advise on the application of CEPI’s Conflicts of Interest Policy and other applicable internal policies and procedures as required.
• Create and maintain legal and agreement templates for CEPI including their automation as needed, advise on legal and risk issues, drawing on and managing outside counsel and internal subject matter experts as required.
• Engages 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.

Education, Experience and Competence

• Fully qualified legal counsel – 5+ PQE - EEA jurisdiction/the UK/ US. Preferably being common law qualified lawyer.
• An experienced commercial law practitioner with strong negotiation skills and deal-making experience. Preferably has experience working in a major law firm, or as in-house counsel for organizations.
• Experienced legal counsel with extensive legal technical skills, contracts experience and demonstrable track record of drafting and negotiation of agreements within a cross-functional team. Experience of working with business development colleagues (supporting subject matter experts) is highly desirable. 
• Strong/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 relevant legal areas for CEPI, e.g., IP, antitrust, trade sanctions, GDPR. Expertise in at least one of CEPI’s key geographies i.e., Norway, UK, USA, will be preferred.
• A good understanding of R&D, M&SC or commercialisation elements of the life sciences industry (vaccine sector experience desirable but not necessary) or experience of access to medicines strongly preferred but not required. Alternatively, experience advising clients who are engaged in scientific/highly technical fields helpful.
• 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 and candidates may be asked to complete a short-written exercise as part of the interview process. Additional languages such as Norwegian, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and others are an added advantage.
• Strong leadership style focussed on engagement and driving to outcomes.
• Strong & confident communicator able to successfully engage and influence at all levels of the organisation.
• Confident decision-maker.
• Starter – Finisher: seeing activities through to successful completion whilst creating a platform for engagement & collaboration. Takes ownership of their work and delivers solutions even when there may be ambiguity.
• Resilient and self-motivated.
• 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.
• Be an active member of the legal team and cooperate and support the division in various tasks and activities such as maintain legal and agreement templates and contract management activity and other ad hoc responsibilities as may be required by business needs from time to time

Travel and Location Requirements

• These positions can be based in London (UK), Oslo (Norway) or Washington DC (US)

What we can offer you

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

How to apply

• For more information on how to apply, please visit: https://cepisites.secure.force.com/careers
• Background verification maybe conducted to verify information provided in the CV and available documentation.
• Interviews would be conducted on a rolling basis, we urge interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.
• Deadline for receiving applications is 31st December at 23:59 CET
• Questions to:  jobs@cepi.net