POSITION TITLE:                 Senior Advisor, Healthcare
DEPARTMENT:                     Life Sciences           
REPORTS TO:                       Vice President, Prize Development
DURATION:                          Contract
LOCATION:                          Playa Vista, CA (at least 50% at XPFHQ)

X PRIZE FOUNDATION

X PRIZE Foundation recognizes entrepreneurial individuals and businesses as they reach seemingly impossible goals in competition with others.  Through the medium of prize competition the X PRIZE Foundation encourages focused work and groundbreaking innovation in fields such as energy, environment, life sciences, genomics, healthcare, global development, education & space.  The X PRIZE rewards those efforts and helps us all to push beyond the frontiers of human achievement into new and expanding human experiences for the benefit of all mankind.
The X PRIZE Foundation’s strategy for fostering innovation is ambitious.  Rather than rewarding past achievements (the Nobel Prize is a well known example), the X PRIZE uses the prize competition model to create a sense of urgency and incite new thinking and invention. X PRIZE structures and publicizes competitions and the efforts of innovators, excites the imagination of investors and drives funding support toward competitors. The Foundation conceives, manages, promotes, judges and financially supports all X PRIZE’s and represents X PRIZE competitions to governments, businesses, competitors, entrepreneurs, inventors, media and the public.

Healthcare X PRIZE Development Project

The X PRIZE Foundation is developing a Healthcare X PRIZE that – as with the Ansari X PRIZE for suborbital space flight –  transform how people think about the issue and solutions. In this case, the X PRIZE will cause teams to compete and ignite innovations that will dramatically improve the quality and delivery of health care and offer a viable, implementable systemic “fix.”   The Foundation is developing a Healthcare X PRIZE  that addresses market failures pertaining to employers, providers, consumers, health plans, payers and brokers/consultants.
As a member of the Prize Development Department, the Senior Advisor - Healthcare  will select and design an X PRIZE(s) in collaboration with a panel of scientific and entrepreneurial advisors, by performing research, convening meetings of experts and submitting reports to internal senior managers and other partners.  A key component of our approach to prize development involves hosting meetings of Advisors and tracking/publishing the results of these informative sessions. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Advisor will provide the thought leadership needed to select and design an X PRIZE(s) to induce innovative Healthcare breakthroughs.  While the Senior Advisor is a consulting role, should the Senior Advisor prove successful in bringing the prize to a state approved by the Board as a fully developed X Prize ready for launch, they may be given the opportunity (should they desire) to be a full-time Senior Advisor to the competition, which is a full-time employee position based at the X PRIZE HQ in Playa Vista, California.

Leading candidates will offer a strong network of subject matter experts in Healthcare-related fields and will exhibit the ability to convene and collaborate with them.  A strong ability to think creatively and to work with highly innovative partners is required.  The goal is the design of a competition(s) to induce innovative breakthroughs that may extend beyond currently available technologies.

Key responsibilities include the following:

• Creation of a prize development advisory board.
• Setting up appropriate brainstorm sessions and thought leader summits with leading experts.
• Generation of multiple Healthcare X PRIZE concepts addressing root causes of market failures
• Down selection to the top Healthcare X PRIZE concept
• Creation of materials explaining current state of targeted failures in health and impact of proposed ideas/ prize design
• Prize design
• Participation in the creation of a fully developed Prize “Book” including detailed “Grand Challenge” statement, impact analysis, top prize ideas coverage, design of the selected prize and related education plan, marketing plan, budgets, launch plans, etc.
• Support creation of fundraising/marketing materials.
• Support identifying potential purse and operation benefactors.

Work assignments will be a combination of self-generated projects reflecting the individual’s strategic choices that are aligned with their primary accountabilities and the teams overall objectives, as well as assignments provided by Prize Development management.  

KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES

• Develop a Healthcare Advisory Board
• Hold two Advisory Summits at TBD Locations
• Generate 4 to 6 prize concepts
• Focus on one prize that could be funded and launched in 2009.
• Cultivate strategic alliances
• Public speaking in support of Healthcare & the X PRIZE Foundation

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Knowledge of Healthcare across multiple stakeholders, with at least 8 years experience;
• Wide network of contacts within the Healthcare domain.
• Insight into trends and forecasts within innovation related to Healthcare.
• Minimum 10 years of industry experiencewith experience in innovation and product development, preferably in strategic consulting, internal consulting, or product development roles;
• Minimum 5 years of operational and business development experience;
• Ability to create compelling strategic plans, work plans and design documents.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Outlook, MS Office Suite, especially MS Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint;
• Clear, precise and concise written and verbal communication skills (writing samples will be requested);
• Flexibility to grow with the organization and to assume new and expanded responsibilities;
• BS or BA in a related business or scientific field, Master's degree preferred (preference provided to PhDs);
• Ability to quickly learn about and use new software, technology and processes.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Knowledge of and experience in corporate and private philanthropy and/or non-profit foundations;
• Interest in breakthrough innovation in general with a specific interest in Healthcare.

PERSONAL ABILITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• Self-starter who takes the initiative to develop projects, completes tasks on time, solves roadblocks and address issues before they become problems;
• Collaborative approach and appreciation/enjoyment working as part of a team;
• Exceptional organizational abilities and aggressive attention to detail;
• Rigorous time management;
• Ability to thrive and think creatively and calmly in highly fluid situations and under intense schedules, pressure & deadlines;
• Prioritization skills and ability to multi-task;
• Personable, professional and calm demeanor;
• Patience and flexibility;
• Incredible interpersonal skills and can-do attitude;
• Sense of humor and work-life balance;
• Belief that a small group of motivated individuals can truly change the world for the better;
• Willingness to think and act creatively.

X PRIZE and YOU

We offer a full range of employment benefits including medical, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability, LIFE, and an employee assistant program all paid in full by the organization for our regular full-time employees.

The X PRIZE Foundation was established in 1995, attracting leaders in the fields of Life Sciences (Genomics, Medicine, etc), Space, Energy, Environment, Social Welfare, Automotive Technology and more. This position is for someone who will be dedicated to making an impact here at the X PRIZE Foundation and ultimately in the world at large.  We are a small and rapidly growing organization, who will value your ideas and advice and are looking for people who will thrive in our fast paced, small group environment.

X PRIZE CULTURE

Our goals are as lofty as they come; where only through entrepreneurial persistence and visionary thinking are solutions to seemingly insurmountable social, technological and environmental issues made possible. 

While we externally strive to create a better world, we are internally working to build a culture that supports the kind of passionate, forward thinking people we need to help deliver radical breakthrough solutions to today's most critical and meaningful challenges. 

To this end, we are working together to create an environment that fosters learning and growth and encourages creativity, transparency, and diversity.

The X PRIZE FOUNDATION offers a comprehensive compensation package to our employee’s which includes the following benefits (not available as a contractor):

- Medical Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Short Term Disability
- Long Term Disability
- LIFE & AD&D
- Domestic Partner Benefit Coverage
- Year End Discretionary Bonus Program
- Paid Vacation
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Holidays

The X PRIZE FOUNDATION is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate in employment. Equal access to employment, services, and programs is available to all persons.  Those applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application and/or interview process should notify a representative of the organization.

Please note: Though submitting a resume to the X PRIZE FOUNDATION implies that you are interested in a position(s), it does not imply that you are an applicant. You are not considered an applicant until you have been contacted directly by a Human Resources representative requesting that you begin the designated application process, which may involve phone and/or in-person interview(s), job-related testing, and background checking.