Vice President and Senior Scientific Officer, SFARI

The Autism and Neuroscience Division is comprised of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), Neuroscience Collaborations, and Informatics. The mission of SFARI is to advance the basic science of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders and the goal of the Neuroscience Collaborations is to bring together outstanding scientists to address fundamental questions about brain function. The Informatics team works across the division to operationalize its commitment to open science.

The division funds innovative research, promotes field-building and collaboration, data sharing and open science, and develops data, tools, and resources that accelerate discovery.

Reporting to the Executive Vice President (EVP) of Autism and Neuroscience (A&N), the Vice President and Senior Scientific Officer (VP/SSO) will serve as a member of the division’s leadership team and oversee a team of 3 – 5 Scientific/Senior Scientific Officers. The incumbent will oversee a large grant portfolio composed of research in autism and neurodevelopmental disorders, which spans a wide range including genetics/genomics, developmental biology, molecular and cell biology, circuit and systems neuroscience, and human subjects research.

The VP/SSO will also provide strategic input to the EVP on SFARI’s overall grants portfolio (which currently includes grants to 300 Investigators), and on plans for new Request for Applications (RFA).

In addition, the VP/SSO will contribute to SFARI’s entire scope of activities, which include clinical cohorts and biorepositories (e.g., SPARK, Simons Searchlight, Autism Brain Net), animal models (e.g., mice and rats) and induced pluripotent stems cells. SFARI operates with an annual budget of approximately $100 million. It is expected that this role will complement the current scientific knowledge areas on the team and have a strong focus on basic science and computational approaches.

The VP/SSO will partner closely with another SFARI VP/SSO who oversees SFARI’s autism cohorts and cohort-related grant funding.

As a member of the A&N leadership team, the VP/SSO, SFARI will also work closely with the VP Neuroscience Collaborations, the VP Informatics, the Senior Director SFARI Data and Biorepositories, and the VP Finance and Administration. Under the direction of the EVP, the leadership team works on overarching strategy, defining scientific goals, and steering day-to-day operations. Members of the A&N leadership team also work collaboratively with the SFARI administrative and program management teams and with members of the Simons Foundation’s leadership and shared services teams.

This is a full-time position located at the Simons Foundation offices in New York City, and travel to conferences is expected. Visit the Simons Foundation career page to learn more.

• Serve as the scientific lead for the SFARI grants process. This includes RFA development, evaluation of progress of funded grants, leading scientific review panels, making funding recommendations, analysis of current portfolio, etc. In addition, the VP/SSO will work to ensure that SFARI RFAs optimally leverage SFARI resources, including its cohorts, data, and biospecimens. Lead process improvement efforts pertaining to the full grant making cycle.
• Manage a portfolio of funded grants. This includes working directly with investigators to evaluate progress and review relevant reporting, working in collaboration with the Simons Foundation’s grants team.
• In close coordination with the EVP and the second VP/SSO, contribute to shaping and advancing SFARI’s strategic planning and scientific priorities. Organize and lead working groups and workshops/meetings with the aim of refining SFARI’s scientific priorities and developing new scientific initiatives.
• In partnership with SFARI leadership, design strategies to increase inclusive excellence in autism research, work to advance scientific collaboration and data sharing, and identify opportunities to partner with other organizations.
• Provide leadership support for Autism Brain Net (ABN). In partnership with the SFARI SSO who oversees ABN, and…