Chief Science Officer
The Opportunity
The Innovation and Value Initiative Foundation, Inc. (IVI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advancing the science of—and improving the practice of—value assessment in healthcare. Since its creation, IVI has focused its mission on improving the science and practice of value assessment in healthcare. IVI is a membership organization with both organization and individual members. Revenues for 2019 were in the $2.6 million range. While IVI is headquartered in Alexandria, VA, it has embraced a virtual staffing model from the start. As such, this position can be based anywhere in the continental U.S. Currently, staff are located throughout the country.
IVI is working to raise the level of discussion of value in healthcare and is also working to find common ground in approaches to measuring value through research, method development, scientific communication, and engagement. The U.S health system is diverse, complex, and ripe for innovation in the value space, and IVI is uniquely positioned to challenge outdated thinking and methodologies.
In support of this mission, IVI is seeking a Chief Science Officer (CSO) who will develop a strategic portfolio of research projects that advance patient-centered and flexible value assessment. These projects will impact the overall discussion of healthcare value assessment, as well as provide value to the key stakeholders within the space. The CSO will develop and engage a diverse network of researchers in academic, think tank, and clinical organizations that can accelerate the execution of IVI research projects. In addition, the CSO will collaborate with leading scientific and economics advisors to ensure fidelity to methods and processes as the organization evolves. Key to all of this will be developing a network of partners that provide diverse perspectives from the scientific and academic communities, as well as from the health economics arena.
IVI: An Overview
Founded in late 2016 as a project by academics associated with Precision Health Economics, IVI sought to influence health economics and outcomes research thinkers, academics, and value assessors through policy papers, commentary, and events that made the case for novel approaches to value assessment methodologies. In 2018, IVI published its first Open-Source Value Project (OSVP) model addressing Rheumatoid Arthritis, the same year that it began to transition to a nonprofit entity. In August 2019, it was granted 501(c)(3) status, and funding transitioned from sponsorships to an organized membership program. An initial Board of Directors was appointed and helped establish organizational bylaws and policies. Since then, the organization has grown further in membership, has built out its professional staff, and has initiated collaborative research with external research partners.
About IVI’s Members
IVI’s membership is comprised of three groups:
- Organizational members: These are both nonprofit and for-profit stakeholders with interest in value assessment. Sectors represented include payers, employers, providers, technology and life sciences organizations, researchers, foundations, academics, patients, and families.
- Innovators Circle members: These are organizations and individuals that have made significant investments or founding contributions in the mission and vision of IVI.
- Individual members: These are individual researchers, patient/family members, or policymakers who choose to participate as unaffiliated individuals.
About IVI’s Work
IVI’s mission is to advance the science and improve the practice of value assessment in healthcare. In pursuit of this goal, IVI designs, conducts, and disseminates research reflecting five principles:
- Scientific rigor: IVI uses contemporary scientific methods to rigorously derive actionable insights directly from both clinical and real-world evidence.
- Transparency: IVI develops open-source tools to promote value-based decision making in healthcare. To facilitate the evaluation and replication of its work, IVI publicly releases research methods, assumptions, results, and external reviews.
- Patient-centricity: IVI engages patients as active participants in value assessments. Its research attends to diversity across patients in their clinical characteristics, preferences, and other circumstances.
- Innovation: IVI examines how new treatment interventions and government policies affect the well-being of society and its stakeholders. IVI promotes approaches that rapidly incorporate the latest scientific evidence in a changing healthcare landscape.
- Market-based solutions: IVI aims to promote better value-based decision making in a decentralized marketplace, not to use centralized authorities to mandate prices through bureaucratic processes.
Structure of IVI
IVI is led by a 9-member Board of Directors, which sets the organization’s vision and direction and provides guidance to the Executive Director. A 7-member Patient Advisory Council advises the Board on matters of patient focus and transparency. A 14-member Scientific Advisory Panel helps set IVI research priorities, steers the research agenda in collaboration with scientific leadership, and provides guidance on ongoing research efforts. The CSO will be the principal staff liaison to the Scientific Advisory Panel.
The Chief Science Officer Role
The CSO will report to the IVI Executive Director and will lead a mix of agenda-setting, partnership-building, fundraising, and communication efforts.
IVI is headquartered in Alexandria, VA. The location for the CSO role is flexible, as IVI supports a totally virtual staffing model.
Key Responsibilities
Research Agenda Development
- Partner with the Executive Director, Board, research staff, Scientific Advisory Panel members, and others to develop a long-range roadmap of research that supports the IVI vision and strategy
- Chair the Scientific Advisory Panel to the Board of Directors
- Cultivate and deliver a patient-centered perspective to developing the IVI research agenda
- Develop and advise on research project RFPs and protocols
- Articulate research and scientific protocols and guidance relevant to IVI scientific research and model development
Partnership Development
- Guide the expansion of IVI’s research network; develop a bench of talent that will excel in the execution of the pipeline of research
- Effectively manage and guide a diverse pool of resources, both internal and external to IVI, that are experts in their given research fields
- Develop relationships between the scientific and research community and IVI that expands access to a variety of viewpoints across the healthcare economics and value assessment space
Fundraising
- Contribute to the development of IVI grant applications for research funding
Communication and Outreach
- Collaborate with the Executive Director and Communications team to articulate IVI’s positions and effectively disseminate results of research agenda at scientific conferences, in publications, and through earned media communications
- Recommend and execute a cadence of IVI engagements to include talks, panels, and other forums
- Partner with the Executive Director to provide insights from a research perspective to value assessment policy applications and communication
Candidate Profile
Professional Qualifications
- Doctorate-level degree in a discipline relevant to healthcare economics and patient-centered research preferred
- At least 5-plus years of experience managing and executing research in the healthcare economics space, to include health economics outcomes research, value-based economic frameworks and modeling, translational research, and research design
- Experience building a successful research program to include developing an agenda, recruiting and mentoring staff (both internal and external), and delivering a portfolio of quality research on time and on budget
- Experience establishing and maintaining partnerships in support of developing a broad research network
- A collaborative approach with patients and key stakeholders to develop a patient-centric research agenda that meaningfully impacts the health economics debate
- Experience with qualitative and quantitative methods and research
- Experience leading discussions of evidence among multiple stakeholders with an ability to effectively communicate complex scientific research to a layperson
- A track record of success in small, entrepreneurial environments with a positive, can-do attitude
Personal Qualities
- An entrepreneurial mindset and approach
- An individual who can build rapport and respect with a largely virtual team
- An individual who is open to some travel (25-30%) to support conference attendance and meetings with current and potential research partners
Compensation
A competitive compensation package will be offered to attract an outstanding candidate.
To Apply
To apply, please send a cover letter and current résumé (Microsoft Word® format preferred) to [email protected]. The cover letter should outline how your experience fits the requirements of the position as this will be an important factor in considering your candidacy.
IVI is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer committed to inclusion and cultural diversity in the workplace. Employment selection and related decisions are made without regard to sex, race, color, age, disability, religion, national origin, sexual preference, genetic information, or any other protected class.
Additional Information
For more information, contact:
Sterling Martin Associates
1025 Connecticut Avenue | Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20036
David S. Martin | Managing Partner
[email protected]
(202) 257-1627
Stacy Saltzer | Senior Executive Recruiter
[email protected]
(330) 666-5059
