Posted on March 19, 2025.

The International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS) is seeking a Program Manager who will reinforce a culture of accountability, prioritization, and program delivery within our growing organization. The Program Manager will interface with stakeholders and ensure our technical projects are successful from start to finish.

• Starting compensation: 90,000 – 110,000 CHF
• Work location: Remote or in person (Geneva office)
• Application link: submit an application here by April 13

Who are we?

IBBIS is an international organization with the mission of safeguarding modern bioscience and biotechnology so it can advance and flourish safely and responsibly. We work with global partners to strengthen biosecurity norms and develop innovative tools to uphold them.

The Common Mechanism, our first major project, is a tool for identifying potentially risky sequences within orders for synthetic DNA. This allows synthesis providers to ask additional follow-up questions if a customer orders sequences of concern (e.g. toxins, viral genomes, virulence factors) while preserving uninterrupted access for customers ordering most sequences.

In 2025, IBBIS’s second year, our focus is on expanding the share of nucleic acid synthesis orders for which sequences and customers are screened; supporting international, inclusive, and rigorous standards for managing access to biotechnology; and working with international, regional, and national partners to reduce the risk of catastrophic events that could result from deliberate abuse or accidental misuse of bioscience and biotechnology.

The role

The Program Manager will reinforce a culture of accountability, prioritization, and program delivery within our growing organization. The role requires direct interaction with stakeholders, providing excellent customer service while ensuring all projects are successful from start to finish. Example tasks include setting OKRs for all existing IBBIS projects, jumping in to help if a project is falling behind, and managing stakeholder relations across all program areas.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary Project Manager for IBBIS projects and activities
• Monitor the progress of projects, update technical leads and senior managers, if necessary, proactively highlighting any problem areas and proposing solutions.
• Coordinate communications to stakeholders and internal team members and ensure client deliverable is of high quality and accurate.
• Where necessary, initiate the escalation process for “at risk” projects.
• Ensure all systems are updated and that internal processes are adhered at all times.
• Ensure timely reconciliation of projects at all times.
• Train, assist and mentor other team members

Qualifications

• 3-5 years experience managing or running projects in a non-profit environment, ideally connected to biotechnology, science policy, or international peace and security.
• University degree desirable
• Strong IT skills and high standard of numeracy
• French and English Fluency
• Must be an organised, detail-oriented individual who can successfully manage multiple projects whilst keeping abreast of policy and technical developments
• Good communication skills – ability to select the appropriate communication channel and recipient (given the message) and manage all communications (including email and telephone) in a timely fashion

Details

• Reports to: Deputy Director (open position)
• Relocation support: may be possible to support candidates working from our Geneva, Switzerland office
• International collaborations: collaborate with global experts and contribute to international projects shaping the future of biotechnology and biosecurity
• Travel opportunities: Opportunity to support IBBIS events on-the-ground in many countries (roughly 10% of the time), team meetings in Geneva 1-2 times per year

Application Process

IBBIS is working with the Michael Page group to recruit candidates for this role. Candidates may submit an expression of interest through their job posting.

Referral Bonus