Director, Science Communications

About Us:  
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) was founded in 2000 with one clear objective: accelerating meaningful therapeutic advances and, ultimately, a cure for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The Foundation applies extraordinary scientific, business and media assets to this singular focus—thus creating a unique and dynamic organization. Since inception, MJFF has quickly grown into the largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s disease research, having funded over $1.5 billion in research projects in both academic and industry labs worldwide.

Core to our philosophy is how we think of our capital and its risk profile relative to other stakeholders in the drug development pipeline. We work aggressively to de-risk various therapeutic strategies and tools in the hopes of building a robust pipeline of new treatments for patients. In order to achieve our mission of finding a cure for PD it is critical that we engage with, and bring together, members of the PD community including researchers, physicians, health professionals and most important, people with Parkinson's and their families. 

We believe that to find a cure for PD as quickly as possible, our capital needs to push research forward today—we therefore deliberately hold no endowment or excessive reserves. We instead seek to deploy funds raised as quickly and wisely as possible. MJFF raises over $100 million annually. Today, the Foundation has approximately 200 full-time employees. We offer a collegial and collaborative environment where optimistic problem-solvers and entrepreneurial, resourceful individuals can thrive and make a tangible difference for millions of people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Position Summary:
We are looking for an individual with experience creating holistic project plans and content that support partnerships on funding, research resources and tools, training support, and field leadership. The ideal candidate will have working knowledge and interest in both biomedical research and marketing practices and excellent writing skills; formal scientific training is not required nor necessarily relevant to success in this role.

This position offers flexibility in working in person at our New York (Midtown) office, remotely or a hybrid schedule. Some travel will be required (~5%).

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement communications and marketing strategies to promote Foundation and partner research opportunities, resources and initiatives to research teams and institutions; identify key efforts that should be communicated to lay audiences.
• Serve as key point of contact with research partners to align on promotion strategies, messaging and use of MJFF brand in communications of grants and collaborations.
• Create clear and compelling language and materials to support research marketing objectives to professional and lay audiences.
• Represent Foundation on cross-institutional communications working groups.
• Work closely with colleagues and freelance contributors to produce high-quality content.
• Manage and mentor team members.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 7-10 years’ experience in marketing/communications, preferably in biomedical research.
• Experience developing and executing communications strategies and plans that support business objectives.
• Comfort interacting directly with PhD scientists to understand and communicate their work to varied audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex scientific concepts into compelling, accessible storytelling and promotional materials (samples required).
• Ability to place specific Foundation-driven research findings into the context of our mission to speed a cure, and place our mission into the context of the larger Parkinson’s research and care landscape.
• Familiarity with media relations; ability to partner with colleagues in PR to translate complex science into pitches and outreach to relevant reporters/outlets.
• Editorial experience: Demonstrated ability not just to write one-off pieces but to conceptualize, write and compile written reports, publications and the like for maximum impact; ability to edit the work of others as relevant to your projects.
• Leadership and drive to manage owned portfolio of work.

Preferred Qualifications and Experience:

• Art direction; experience working with visual designers and guiding/directing layout and design of reports, publications and the like.
• Hands-on approach; willingness to “roll up the sleeves” and contribute as a team player.
• Intellectual curiosity; avid reader of science reporting/literature; inquisitiveness about science and the research endeavor as it relates to curing disease.
• Ability to work with colleagues and contributors at all levels; diplomatic personality; ability to remain calm and professional under pressure.
• Sense of humor.

Vaccine Statement:
At The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), the health and safety of our team and our community is a priority. MJFF has made the decision to require all staff receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment. Successful applicants for this position must be fully vaccinated by date of hire and proof of vaccine is required. Full vaccination is defined as two weeks after both doses of two-dose vaccine or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine has been administered. Anyone unable to be vaccinated, because of medical or religious reasons, can request a reasonable accommodation for consideration.

How to Apply:
Interested candidates should submit a resume and thoughtful cover letter describing their specific qualifications and interest in the position. Applicants who best match the position's needs will be contacted.

MJFF is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from individuals who will contribute to our efforts to build and support a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce. Diversity may refer to characteristics including, but not limited to, race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic circumstance, geographic background, ability and disability, political ideology and age.