Life sciences and biomedical research increasingly depends on data. Open biodata resources across the globe, collect, organise, and deliver public knowledge, and are growing exponentially. The sustainability of these resources – which collectively make up a key global data infrastructure – is therefore of critical importance to researchers everywhere, reflected in their millions of users that work in every country in the world. However, to date, these resources have been supported by a relatively small number of funding organisations and are vulnerable to policy changes and funding fluctuations.  

The Global Biodata Coalition (GBC), founded in 2020, is an international organisation with the mission of facilitating a sustainable global ecosystem of life sciences data resources. Consisting of a group of international research funders, the GBC is beginning a new phase of development and operations in January 2026 and are seeking an exceptional individual to fulfil a new executive leadership role. 

GBC founding members wish to develop a new global community of funder and biodata resource leaders that collaboratively work to implement a shared vision of maintaining a sustainable open biodata infrastructure that drives life sciences research, equitably and globally. The primary responsibility of this new leader will therefore be to develop and deliver strategies to engage current and new life sciences research funders in the mission of the GBC. Developing relationships with funders in multiple global settings will need both context sensitivity and excellent networking skills. We expect the realisation of this vision will require activities that will be diverse, highly distributed, self-propagating and collaborative, within the framework and governance structures of the GBC – which will be developed as a priority. Experience in leadership roles in life sciences funding organisations, international organisations, and/or science policy would be highly beneficial. This is not as much a scientific role but rather a diplomatic one in which relationship development and management, and community building in the life sciences and funding context will be key for success.  

The position reports to the Interim Director of the EMBL-EBI and will be based on the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton (near Cambridge, UK). There will be a small team of core office staff, also based at the EMBL-EBI, and the incumbent will work closely with GBC’s Scientific Head. Some of the GBC core programme may be distributed across different organisations globally, so a willingness to work across different time zones and in a matrix-management style is required. 

We encourage you to arrange a discussion with our search partner, Perrett Laver, to find out more about the opportunity.

How to Apply

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Tadhg Waddington at: tadhg.waddington@perrettlaver.com or +44 (0)20 7340 7369.

Application is by submission of a curriculum vitae and a covering letter of application, addressing the job description and person specification. Completed applications should be uploaded by the deadline of 09.00 BST on Monday 14th April 2025. ​

For a conversation in confidence, please contact Tadhg Waddington at: tadhg.waddington@perrettlaver.com.

Should you require access to these documents in alternative formats, please contact Esther Elbro on esther.elbro@perrettlaver.com.

If you have comments that would support us to improve access to documentation, or our application processes more generally, please do not hesitate to contact us via accessibility@perrettlaver.com.

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