Health Investment Director in London

Duration: Permanent

Reports to: Chief Investment Officer

Background to MedAccess

We live in a golden age of medical science. But over two billion people can’t access the medicines they need, causing preventable illness, disease and death.

We’re here to change that.

MedAccess is a social enterprise committed to improving health in more than 120 countries. Our mission is to cut illness and death by speeding up access to lifesaving vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and technologies for people in underserved communities.

We broker and finance agreements – which otherwise wouldn’t be made – to bring medical innovations to more people, in more countries, as quickly as possible. We have helped to accelerate access to products that tackle infectious diseases such as HIV, TB, malaria and COVID-19, and non-communicable diseases including cancer and sickle cell disease.

We bring financial rigour and commercial acumen to address some of the most pressing global health needs. Using $170 million in capital from British International Investment, our team of global health and investment experts shape agreements that lower prices and secure supply of medical products.

Our team is purpose-driven, inspiring and innovative. We start from where partners are and work together to get where we need to be. But we’re not afraid to go against the grain – in fact, we pride ourselves on our honest and original approach and unconventional thinking.

MedAccess is independent and not-for-profit, with any operating surpluses invested into developing new agreements to accelerate access to healthcare.

To find out more about our mission, our impact, our values and our innovative finance tools, please visit www.medaccess.org

The role

This is an exciting opportunity for an individual to join the leadership of MedAccess at a time when innovative financing is more critical than ever to addressing the challenges facing global health. Reporting to Michelle Teo, Chief Investment Officer (CIO), the Health Investment Director will be a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) focusing on delivering against five priority areas:

▸ Strengthen regional manufacturing, especially in Africa
▸ Build next-generation procurement systems
▸ Enhance domestic and private financing
▸ Accelerate innovation uptake
▸ Scale proven solutions

Under the leadership of the CIO and working closely with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chief Development Officer (CDO), the Health Investments Director will co-lead MedAccess’ work to identify, develop and execute investment opportunities. Particular focus will be on loans and guarantees to support lower prices and greater availability of quality-assured medical products across priority health areas including a wide range of infectious diseases, nutrition and mental health. MedAccess supports investments for treatments, diagnostics, vaccines and medical devices as well as protective products such as mosquito bednets. Future expansion will include growing the portfolio of products to tackle non-communicable diseases, including sickle cell disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. In response to the rapidly evolving global health landscape, priorities for the role may include advancing next-generation procurement systems and investing in regional manufacturing to strengthen supply security and accelerate innovation.

In collaboration with Asif Ali, the Health Investment Director will co-lead the Health Investments Team. The allocation of responsibilities and portfolios between the two Directors will be agreed by the Chief Investment Officer, taking account of their respective expertise and organisational priorities. The role will contribute to the following objectives:

▸ Pipeline development: take ownership of the deal development process for specific opportunities and priority areas, including idea generation, sourcing opportunities and shaping deals, rigorous diligence on potential markets and deals, building a network of potential partners, establishing relationships with new partners and strengthening existing relationships, resulting in a strong pipeline of strategically aligned opportunities progressing to high-quality investment proposals and executed transactions.

▸ Portfolio management: ensure a smooth transition of executed transactions to implementation, working with the Head of Implementation within the Health Investments Team. Draw on transaction knowledge and partner relationships to support implementation colleagues in resolving issues, identifying and escalating risks and developing corrective action to maximise impact and manage financial exposure through the life of each agreement.

▸ Organisational sustainability: apply MedAccess’ agreed approach to fees and cost recovery across assigned transactions, balancing financial sustainability with affordability and impact. Manage allocated resources effectively and contribute to organisational income and efficiency objectives.

▸ Team leadership and line management of the Health Investments Team: lead, manage and develop the staff reporting to the Director, setting clear priorities and accountabilities, managing workloads and performance, and building capability in commercial analysis, transaction delivery and partner engagement. Promote MedAccess’ values and a collaborative, inclusive and supportive team culture.

▸ Strategic leadership: as an active member of the SMT, help shape and deliver MedAccess’ strategy and its response to the rapidly evolving global health landscape, bringing evidence from markets, transactions and the portfolio to inform organisational priorities and decisions.

▸ Key stakeholder management: sustain collaboration with global health organisations (e.g. WHO, Global Fund, Gavi), manufacturer partners, regional organisations (e.g. Africa CDC, African Union, PAHO) and development agencies and funders (e.g. Wellcome Trust, BMGF, Unitaid, CHAI).

Key responsibilities

Organisational leadership

▸ Work with the Board, CEO and SMT to shape MedAccess’ strategy to maximise health outcomes and achieve financial sustainability.
▸ Recruit, retain and manage a high-performing team of professionals to deliver MedAccess’ strategy.
▸ Contribute directly to MedAccess’ business strategy and business planning.
▸ Provide thought leadership by partnering with the CEO, CIO and CDO.

Provide technical leadership on global health markets

▸ Provide leadership to the MedAccess team on global health trends, new developments in medical supply markets and the international financing of global health procurement through public and private channels.
▸ Provide a high level of technical leadership on the sourcing and structuring of loans and guarantees.
▸ Manage, coach and develop members of the Health Investments Team.

Identify new market-shaping investment opportunities

▸ Develop and maintain a network of relevant contacts, including with ministries of health, international public health organisations and the pharmaceutical industry working in low- and middle-income countries.
▸ Sustain a strong network of contacts among co-financiers, including banks, DFIs and large philanthropic foundations.
▸ Lead and coordinate market-mapping exercises.
▸ Develop and curate a pipeline of near- and medium-term opportunities for guarantees, loans and other approved financing instruments, prioritising those with a credible pathway to additional impact and an appropriate risk profile.
▸ Be an ambassador for MedAccess through engagement with industry, global health and financing partners, including at relevant conferences and forums.

Evaluate and execute new investment opportunities

▸ Lead assigned investment opportunities from origination through due diligence, structuring, negotiation, Investment Committee approval and execution, with accountability for transaction quality and delivery under the CIO’s oversight.
▸ Lead and oversee due diligence on market-shaping opportunities, including financial, commercial, impact, legal, environmental, social and business integrity aspects, coordinating specialist input and challenging key assumptions, downside scenarios and proposed mitigants.
▸ Assess whether MedAccess’ participation is necessary to achieve the proposed outcomes and whether partners and markets are ready to deliver the expected benefits.
▸ Liaise with borrowers, co-financiers and market-shaping stakeholders to obtain necessary information and communicate MedAccess’ position on key issues, building alignment on transaction objectives and proposed terms.
▸ Contribute to structuring and negotiating key transaction terms, bringing commercial rigour to enhance global health outcomes.
▸ Work with the Chief Investment Officer to produce high-quality investment proposals setting out the investment rationale, expected impact, key risks, mitigants and recommendation, and present them to MedAccess’ Investment Committee for approval.
▸ Coordinate transaction completion with legal and other relevant teams, ensuring that agreed terms are reflected in documentation, conditions precedent are satisfied or appropriately addressed. Ensure implementation responsibilities are clearly established.

Resource mobilisation

▸ Work with the CDO and Director of Strategic Partnerships to identify and develop new funding relationships.
▸ Collaborate with MedAccess investors and funders to set priorities and demonstrate impact.
▸ Set out compelling propositions for scaling up health benefits in new disease areas.

Partnership and stakeholder management

▸ Manage and own relationships with key partners and suppliers.
▸ Oversee delivery of investment-related grant commitments within the Director’s remit, working with Finance, Impact and Implementation colleagues on budgets, donor engagement and reporting.

Candidate profile

Background

▸ Demonstrable alignment with the MedAccess mandate, mission and values.
▸ Experience leading complex commercial transactions, partnerships or financing arrangements through negotiation and execution. Experience with volume guarantees, market-shaping loans or other market-shaping instruments would be an advantage.
▸ A strong grounding in financial analysis and transaction assessment, gained through investment, development finance, investment banking, structured finance, credit/risk or a relevant corporate finance role. Experience originating and executing credit transactions would be an advantage.
▸ Relevant experience across one or more of MedAccess’ five priority areas.
▸ Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following: public health policy, market analysis, strategic cost reduction, financial instruments in healthcare, monitoring and evaluation.
▸ Extensive and demonstrable experience in an international environment, working across commercial and public-policy contexts.
▸ Time spent living and working in either Africa or South Asia would be a distinct advantage.
▸ Experience of working with pharmaceutical or healthcare companies, distributors, procurement agencies or other organisations involved in the supply and delivery of health products.
▸ Knowledge of global health financing institutions and development partners, including the Global Fund, Gavi, the World Bank, bilateral donors and philanthropic foundations.
▸ Proven track record of market or product analysis.
▸ Demonstrated experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams, managing performance and allocating resources across competing priorities.
▸ University degree(s) or equivalent qualification, preferably in finance, business, public health or economics.

Alignment with MedAccess Values and Behaviours

▸ We are mission-driven: Makes decisions based on the impact MedAccess can achieve; Goes further than expected; Keeps abreast of global health issues and social finance trends.
▸ We are humble: Acknowledges lack of knowledge and welcomes input; Sees feedback as a gift and actively seeks it; Seeks opportunities to champion the work of others; Adapts to work with the priorities and preferences of others.
▸ We are relentless about rigour: Uses high-quality evidence and data; Asks questions and challenges assumptions; Systematically reviews and refines work; Embraces scrutiny and transparency.
▸ We build trust: Participates openly and is honest about vulnerabilities; Keeps their word and is accountable for actions; Acts to reduce bias and discrimination; Promotes respectful and inclusive environments.
▸ We invest in people: Supports others in their quest for growth; Invests in the emotional wellbeing of others; Seeks out diverse views and voices; Builds and nurtures positive relationships.

Competencies

▸ Articulate: Excellent written and verbal communication.
▸ Collaborative: High emotional intelligence; ability to collaborate with the team and partners, including giving and receiving honest feedback.
▸ Impact-driven: Drive to achieve objectives, and ultimately, impact.
▸ Creative: Ability to adopt innovative approaches to problem solving.
▸ Intellectually curious: Personal desire to learn new things and explore new challenges including an interest in innovative finance for development.
▸ Persuasive: Ability to influence, negotiate and obtain agreement and cooperation through consensus.
▸ Self-starter: Independently motivated and comfortable with ambiguity.

Technical skills

▸ Extensive knowledge of global health products, partners and market dynamics.
▸ Excellent market analysis skills.
▸ Demonstrated skills in negotiating partnerships with manufacturers, procurement organisations or public health entities in low- and middle-income countries.
▸ Ability to analyse financial statements, forecasts and cash flows; assess counterparty financial strength and financing requirements; and understand the financial risks of proposed transactions and how these can be managed through transaction structure and contractual terms.
▸ Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills with experience of operating at senior executive level.
▸ A track record of complex stakeholder management and partner engagement.
▸ Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
▸ Thorough product knowledge and understanding of market practice.
▸ Experience operating in fast-paced and changing environments.
▸ Strong commercial judgement to understand counterparties’ positions, assess incentives, risks and opportunities, and inform negotiations and deal structuring.

MedAccess is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or educational background.

To apply for this role, please click on the Apply button to submit a CV and covering letter.