Product Development Partner, Infectious Disease

Salary: £103,700

Closing date:
Monday, 26 January 2026

Contract type:
Permanent

Interview dates: w/c 16 and 23 of February

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation. We improve health for everyone by funding science, leading policy and advocacy campaigns, and building partnerships.

We plan to spend £16bn over the next ten years, funding new discoveries in life, health, and wellbeing, and taking on three global health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.

These challenges need the bold science we support, but they won't be solved by science alone.

We are looking for an Infectious Disease Product Development Portfolio Partner to join our team.

Wellcome's Infectious Disease Strategic Programme (IDSP) focuses on delivering solutions to prevent and cure infectious diseases through innovative vaccines, treatments and control strategies. Sitting downstream of Discovery, the programme aims to translate research into impact for global health. A significant proportion of the IDSP portfolio is dedicated to product development, working through Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) and targeted funding initiatives such as CEPI, CARB-X, GHIT and Hilleman.

Alongside these, we collaborate on bilateral projects with leading organisations including IVI, IAVI, DNDi, Dundee Drug Discovery Unit and others.

You will join the Product Development Partnerships team within the Infectious Disease Programme, reporting to the Head of Product Development Partnerships. Together, these initiatives advance over 160 treatments, vaccines and innovative products, in close collaboration with the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Private sector engagement is essential to accelerate progress, and this role will help shape proactive, coordinated approaches that deliver meaningful impact for global health.

As an Infectious Disease Product Development Portfolio Partner, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping the future of health innovation 'll bring your scientific and technical expertise to drive product development across our Infectious Disease and Science Programmes, ensuring that our partnerships deliver impactful, accessible, and affordable health products. Working at the interface between science, strategy, and industry, you will collaborate closely with colleagues across the Innovation & Access (I&A) team, helping to translate cutting‑edge research into real‑world solutions for global public health.

You'll contribute to Wellcome's mission by supporting projects at every stage of their lifecycle, ensuring our portfolio is strategically aligned, evidence‑based, and positioned for maximum public benefit. With a focus on scientific excellence and equitable access, your work will help strengthen our ability to partner effectively with the private sector and other key stakeholders.

As an Infectious Disease Product Development Portfolio Partner, you will:

• Lead scientific and technical delivery on selected product development initiatives with private sector partners, ensuring alignment with Wellcome's impact and access standards.
• Act as a key interface between the Infectious Disease Strategic Programme (IDSP) and Innovation & Access (I&A) teams, embedding commercial and equitable access expertise into portfolio delivery.
• Support strategic decisions by contributing to scientific due diligence for new opportunities, renewals, and portfolio analyses.
• Monitor and analyse portfolio progress, tracking milestones and ensuring data is captured and accessible for reporting and oversight.
• Champion equity and access, helping shape strategies that use Wellcome's influence to improve availability and affordability of supported health products.
• Foster collaboration and inclusion, contributing to team learning and Wellcome-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.

Are you passionate about advancing science and global health through innovative research and product development? If you have significant experience in pharmaceutical R&D, biotech or venture, and can lead complex initiatives with multi‑disciplinary teams, this role offers the…