CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations)
Senior AI/Biosecurity Governance Lead
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About CEPI
CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic and civil organisations. Its mission is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can be accessible to all people in need. Central to CEPI’s pandemic-beating plan is the ‘100 Days Mission’ – its goal to develop safe, effective and accessible vaccines against new threats in just 100 days.
CEPI’s work has delivered world firsts for vaccines against many of its priority pathogens including the first licensed Chikungunya vaccine, the first ever Lassa fever, Nipah and MERS vaccines to reach Phase II trials and the first Rift Valley fever vaccine candidate to be studied in Phase II in an endemic region. CEPI has also supported programmes to generate much-needed data to expand access to Ebola and Mpox vaccines. CEPI was among the first funders of COVID-19 vaccines, ultimately building one of the world’s largest portfolios, seven of which were licensed. The Coalition also conceptualised and co-founded COVAX, which delivered nearly two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 146 countries, saving an estimated 2.7 million lives in lower-income regions.
Earlier this year, CEPI launched its CEPI 3.0 Strategy (covering 2027-2031) which will systematically reduce the likelihood and impact of epidemics and pandemics by driving the 100 Days Mission towards an operational reality.
CEPI is a not-for-profit association under Norwegian Law and has offices in Oslo (HQ), London, and Washington DC.
In CEPI we strive for diverse thinking, and we want a diverse pool of candidates for all our vacancies. We work for an inclusive working environment where each employee can contribute and grow. Learn more at www.cepi.net.
About the role
CEPI's mission to compress vaccine development to 100 days depends increasingly on AI-enabled tools, rapid data sharing, and advancing biotechnology platforms. These capabilities present new biosecurity challenges that must be managed without slowing innovation. This role provides dedicated senior expertise at the intersection of AI, biotechnology, and governance, translating CEPI's Biosecurity Policy commitments into sustained institutional practice. The postholder will operationalize CEPI's approach to biosecurity-sensitive data, build CEPI's oversight of AI-enabled biological design investments, and serve as CEPI's principal expert liaison to defense and security stakeholders on AI-enabled biological risks.
Working across CEPI’s award lifecycle, technical programmes, review processes, and partner relationships, the role will embed proportionate governance into decision-making and adapt CEPI’s approach as technologies, risks, and policy expectations evolve.
This is a three-year fixed-term, full-time position funded through a philanthropic grant.
Responsibilities
Biosecurity-sensitive data governance
- Lead the development, piloting, and rollout of CEPI's framework for identifying, protecting, and responsibly enabling access to biosecurity-sensitive data across vaccine R&D, AI-enabled biological design, and pathogen information.
- Convene and chair an international expert group of virologists, AI developers, data scientists, and biosecurity specialists to define practical identification criteria for biosecurity-sensitive data and to map the uncertainties that impede consensus.
- Build on CEPI's PPX approach to develop a tiered data governance framework covering open publication, managed access, restricted sharing, partner vetting, and conditional access controls for CEPI staff and awardees.
- Pilot the framework with two to three active CEPI programs before organization-wide rollout, capturing awardee burden and refining accordingly.
- Define a cyberbiosecurity posture tiering framework linked to sensitive-data tiers, specifying which capabilities and data classes may be created or held at each security level, and embed it in award conditions.
- Develop and deliver training modules for CEPI staff and awardees on biosecurity-sensitive data and AI/biosecurity risk identification and mitigation.
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AI/biosecurity implementation and ecosystem integration
- Design and operationalize CEPI's internal governance of AI-enabled biological investments under Biosecurity Policy provision 9.
- Adapt best practice in AI/biosecurity risk identification, assessment, and mitigation into practical pre-award screening criteria and milestone review triggers, calibrated to avoid slowing legitimate countermeasure development.
- Map CEPI's portfolio exposure to AI-enabled biological design tools and associated data flows.
- Scope and launch a credentialing pilot for CEPI awardees who require access to bio-capable AI models, giving CEPI a managed-access instrument.
- Support CEPI's engagement with the Frontier Model Forum for Bio and comparable technical fora.
- Promulgate CEPI-tested approaches to peer funders, including through GloPID-R, and publish an AI funders biosecurity toolkit.
Health-defense collaboration on AI/biosecurity
- Serve as CEPI's principal expert liaison to defense and security stakeholders on AI-enabled biological risks, converting rising defense concern into practical collaboration that strengthens the 100 Days Mission.
- Design and deliver health-defense tabletop exercises that surface operational gaps in AI/biosecurity and sensitive-data handling, each with a mandatory findings-to-action plan.
- Embed AI/biosecurity as a focal point in new and existing CEPI defense partnerships, including NATO and non-NATO partners, in coordination with the Senior Manager for Defense Partnerships.
- Publish accessible analysis (blogs, short papers, briefings) and use communications platforms to raise the visibility of CEPI's AI/biosecurity work and shape emerging norms among peer funders and across the global R&D ecosystem.
Cross-cutting
- Work closely with the Senior Lead for Biosecurity and Biosafety Oversight and the Senior Manager for Defense Partnerships to ensure emerging AI and biotechnology risks are integrated across internal oversight, technical programs, and external partnerships.
- Collaborate with Portfolio, Compliance and Risk Assurance, Digital, and Public Partnerships teams, and with external health, research, technology, and defense stakeholders.
- Ensure each workstream reaches a defined end state with a handoff plan into standing CEPI processes.
Education, Experience and Competence
- Advanced degree (PhD, MD, or master's) in the life sciences, computational sciences, AI, security studies, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Substantial senior-level experience leading AI/biosecurity risk, governance, or biosecurity initiatives.
- Demonstrated experience developing practical risk assessment frameworks for AI-enabled biological tools.
- Deep functional expertise in AI/biosecurity risk, governance, and biosecurity policy, with the judgement to distinguish material risk from theoretical risk.
- Strong technical grounding in the life sciences and/or AI, sufficient to engage credibly with virologists, model developers, and data scientists.
- Demonstrated ability to translate emerging technology risk analysis into actionable governance and operational controls that work inside an institution's real processes.
- Skill in designing proportionate oversight: building review steps that manage risk without unduly slowing research funding decisions or vaccine R&D and manufacturing.
- Proven convening ability across communities that do not naturally talk to one another, including frontier AI developers, biosecurity experts, global health funders, and defense officials.
- Experience convening frontier AI developers and biosecurity experts, and designing and delivering exercises for senior policymakers.
- Established relationships across national security, defense, public health, multilateral, and biological weapons policy communities.
- Track record of published or otherwise externally recognized work on emerging technology and biological risk.
- Experience working within or alongside research funders, international organizations, or government, with an understanding of award lifecycles and grant conditions, is an advantage.
- Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to write for policy audiences, brief senior leaders, and represent CEPI publicly.
- Comfort operating with autonomy as a single dedicated expert, setting priorities, sequencing delivery, and building buy-in without formal authority.
- Diplomacy and cultural sensitivity in working across regions, sectors, and security classifications, with sound discretion in handling sensitive information.
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Travel and Location Requirements
- The role will be based in London (UK), Oslo (Norway) or Washington DC (USA).
- It will require working across the regions and will require travel to other countries as projects progress, estimated at four to six trips per year.
- Applicant needs to possess a valid work permit for the duration of this role.
- CEPI would not be able to support relocation for this fixed term position.
What we can offer you
- The opportunity to work together with leading experts on solutions for global challenges
- Experience from the international effort on developing vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and accelerating vaccine development response to outbreaks
- A diverse and inclusive working environment
How to apply
For more information on how to apply, please visit: https://cepisites.secure.force.com/careers Should you have any issues submitting your application or have questions please contact jobs@cepi.net Background verification will be conducted to verify information provided in the CV and available documentation. Deadline for receiving applications is 18th October 2026 at 23:59 CET
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