The purpose of this position is for the incumbent to serve as the Director of Medical Countermeasures (MCM) Preparedness and Response in the BARDA OD and reports to the Director of MCM Programs. The incumbent primarily focuses on addressing these three critical gaps: lead efforts to improve response capabilities, develop and implement a more structured response plan, and support ASPR and whole-of-Government response to address new, future emergencies.
Duties:
- Leads BARDA’s efforts to improve the HHS preparedness and response posture.
- Develops strategic approaches to develop and implement improvements to advance new and existing MCMs that accelerate their approval and facilitate their use in a response.
- Identifies and implements cross-cutting BARDA initiatives and establishes public, private, and not-for-profit partnerships that accelerate the availability of MCMs including enabling their equitable access prior to and during outbreaks.
- Serves as the incident management team (IMT) lead for BARDA when needed. In this role, the incumbent leads and directs BARDA’s response which may include, but not be limited to, managing BARDA’s operational, logistical, informational, planning, workforce and financial assets.
- Leads BARDA response efforts to various outbreaks and other efforts requiring a rapid response and in coordination across other HHS and government agencies.
- Leads coordination of BARDA preparedness and response efforts, including identifying areas for improvement in response capabilities for MCMs under development, and addressing goals and objectives under the American Pandemic Preparedness Plan and National Biodefense Strategy.
- Provides support to the ASPR Immediate Office (I/O) during response periods by assuming leadership role(s) within BARDA, Disaster Leadership Groups, supporting other agencies in HHS, managing BARDA interests with non-HHS government stakeholders and representing BARDA in external stakeholder engagements.
- Manages BARDA’s critical inter-governmental partnerships with USG stakeholders, including DoD, NSC, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and others.
- Ensures that outwardly facing documents are consistent with departmental standards and are based on medical, public health, policy and regulatory needs.
- Represents BARDA at White House, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), HHS, ASPR and BARDA meetings, external scientific conferences, and interagency working meetings.
- Provides expert technical and scientific guidance and leadership across BARDA’s threat space. During a response, the incumbent leads a team of GS-13 to GS-15 federal employees, detailees, contractors, and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellows within BARDA to navigate the complex response environment and maximize the availability of MCMs, including their availability globally.
