Conscience Medicines Network is a Canadian not-for-profit corporation affiliated with the Structural Genomics Consortium whose purpose is to develop an Open Science Drug Discovery (OSDD) ecosystem to investigate and develop drugs related to infectious diseases, pandemics, and unmet medical needs through open science.

Conscience Medicines Network is seeking an experienced Chief Executive Officer who is ready to provide inspired leadership in drug discovery, computational biology, and open science; lead the executive team; establish excellent working relationships with the board of directors; and set a course for open science drug discovery. The CEO will be expected to manage the organization’s day-to-day operations. They will be able to build relationships and raise funds with OSDD ecosystem stakeholders, who include charitable/patient organizations, the biotechnology, information technology and pharmaceutical sectors, academia and governments.

Conscience has a vibrant and engaged distributed work culture. The CEO will need to support building and maintaining that collaborative culture.

The CEO will report to the Board of Directors, and work closely with the CFO and Director of Program Operations, who support the daily operations of Conscience.

CEO Responsibilities:

• Provide inspired leadership for a rapidly-growing organization, operating in Canada and internationally, to advance open science, drug discovery, and AI

• Evolve and execute the organization’s strategic plan with the Board in consultation with ecosystem stakeholders and executive staff.

• Drive fundraising to support key programs and priorities, and develop and implement a sustainability plan.

• Play a leadership role in advancing stakeholder relationships and participation in the network strategies and policies.

• Work in partnership with the Board of Directors on strategy and impact.

• Develop and implement operational policies and implement the strategic plan.

• Provide oversight, including financial management and compliance with laws and regulations.

• Identify and address challenges and opportunities for Conscience Medicines Network.

• Build and sustain alliances and partnerships with other organizations, including ISED, Conscience’s inaugural funder.

• Actively engage governments, government agencies and intergovernmental organizations.

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the company.

CEO Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or master's degree in a relevant discipline, ideally in a field relevant to drug discovery or computational methods applied to biology and drug development.

• Superior negotiation and fundraising skills, and a demonstrated track record of achievement.

• Experience of operations, governance, and management in the non-profit sector.

• Knowledge of open science ecosystems.

• Ability to build consensus and relationships among executives, partners, and the workforce.

• Ability to communicate clearly with a wide-range of stakeholders.

• Understanding of human resources and personnel management.

• Ability to understand new issues quickly and make wise decisions.

• Ability to inspire confidence, motivate performance, and create trust.

• Ability to work under pressure, plan personal workload effectively, and delegate.

• Fluent in English, proficiency in French (written and spoken) an advantage

Job environment

The Conscience team works virtually in a remote environment built around Slack, Zoom, collaborative docs, and email, along with structured in-person time as needed (regular staff retreats, working meetings). We do not have a central office. We provide every employee with the essential work tools like a laptop and other peripherals. Remote work allows for some work hour flexibility, which is helpful when managing life commitments and family. Most roles include some travel as needed.

We offer a competitive salary with benefits (medical, dental, vision and an RRSP matching program through Sunlife) and a generous time off policy.

While we’re legally based in Canada, our approach to drug discovery and science is global. We believe that collaboration can happen in every corner of the world, from the most established leaders to also the most unlikely of partners. With that in mind, we invite candidates from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, including those from historically marginalized or underestimated groups — women, indigenous people, people with disabilities, people of colour, formerly incarcerated people, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or gender nonconforming, first and second generation immigrants, and people from low-income families. A diversity of lived experiences makes our work, and our network community, stronger.

Salary and benefits

The salary range for this position will be commensurate with experience, to be determined by the successful candidate’s relevant skills and training. In addition, we offer a competitive benefits package that includes enhanced medical, pharmacare, dental, and disability coverage, along with annual matched RRSP contributions. We provide a minimum of 4 weeks paid vacation annually, plus flexible work hours, as part of a hybrid work environment.

About Conscience

Conscience Medicines Network (Conscience) is a Canadian non-profit based in Toronto, launched with support from the Structural Genomics Consortium and a $49M grant from the Canadian government. We narrow in on areas of market failure – places where traditional models have left people behind with few options, and not enough support, like rare diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic preparedness.

Conscience will focus on two things:

• A global approach to open science that will bring new medicines forward for communities that otherwise would be left behind; and,

• Advancing the infrastructure to make AI a viable tool for drug discovery, using a competitive model that will benchmark predictions in the lab and share data openly.

Together, we think those two things can make medicines more accessible and affordable.

We’re creating incentives to attract attention and investment in neglected areas that often go unnoticed due to market failures. The end result will be more and faster innovation in AI drug discovery, new medicines, and more equitable access to medicines for everyone, across Canada, and around the world.

This job posting will close on January 31st (or when a suitable candidate is hired).