Job Details
***The Company***
The world is facing a medical crisis, bacteria are increasingly evolving resistance to even our strongest antibiotics. The problem is already very real and immediate; for example, bloodstream infection leading to sepsis is now responsible for more than half of all deaths in hospitals and is the most expensive condition treated in hospitals. Sepsis mortality rate increases >6% every hour without effective antibiotic treatment. Yet, despite the life and death urgency, and healthcare cost impacts, current methodologies require 3 days to determine the correct antibiotic.
Specific Diagnostics has developed a breakthrough solution to rapidly determine the effective antibiotic treatment for bloodstream and other acute infections. Used for bloodstream infection Specifics solution provides results 2 days sooner than existing methods, saving patients suffering from drug-resistant infection.
We have been funded by nearly $30 M in non-dilutive government sponsored research support and recently $17.5 M in venture capital. This is an opportunity to join us at an inflection point in our commercial growth as we bring our first key product to market and with recognition from major customers fueling an expansion of our staff.
***The Job***
This is the job for you if want to be where your ideas will be central to world-changing and lifesaving products. This is a critical job for our growing company and one that works in close partnership with our senior staff, manufacturing leaders, engineering and financial team. The key role is working with minimal direction, the buyer purchases raw materials, sub-assemblies, products and services in conformance with approved purchase orders at the lowest cost consistent with considerations for quality, reliability of source and urgency of need. The role provides support for all basic aspects of purchasing including but not limited to vendor negotiations, vendor analysis, cost reductions, utilization of the purchasing system, expedition of orders and vendor relations.
**KEY RESPONSIBILITIES**
* Identify, evaluate, select, and integrate new suppliers and technologies.
* Perform analysis as required to improve operational efficiency in the supply chain processes.
* Manage supplier relationships and be the point of contact for escalation for supplier issues.
* Investigate and determine root cause for inventory and invoicing discrepancies.
* Interface with Engineers, Quality Assurance, Production, Warehouse personnel and other Buyers to ensure Production material is stocked as required.
* Ensure the continuous improvement of quality, service, and total cost in support of business needs.
* Negotiate pricing, Supplier agreements and other legal documents.
* Develops and maintains good ethical supplier relationships.
* Supports engineering with sample request, pricing or lead time on prototypes or new product development.
* Plans purchases and buys electromechanical and make to print commodities from MRP suggestions.
* Purchases MRO commodities off purchase requisitions.
* Maintains the integrity of MRP accuracy as it pertains to the commodity assigned.
* Flexible with the ability to work under and meet deadlines while handling a heavy workload.
* Demonstrate excellent written/oral communication, negotiation, and administrative skills.
* Work with limited supervision to effectively utilize time and project management skills.
**Knowledge and Skills:**
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills
* Organized and self-motivated
* Microsoft Excel Skills
* Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
* Extensive ERP and MRP knowledge (Netsuite preferred)
**Robin Patel, MD, D(ABMM)?**
Robin Patel, is chair, Mayo Clinic Division of Clinical Microbiology, Professor of Microbiology and Medicine, and the Elizabeth P. and Robert E. Allen Professor of Individualized Medicine. Dr. Patel, a widely recognized practice leader across microbiology diagnostics, was recently elected president of the American Society for Microbiology. Dr. Patel also serves as Director of the Infectious Disease Research Laboratory and Director of the Bacteriology Laboratory. She has also served for several years on numerous medical school committees, including the Curriculum Advisory Committee, Education Committee, Scientific Foundation of Medical Practice Curriculum Committee, and the Student Promotion Committee.
**Susan Sharp, PhD D(ABMM)?**
Susan Sharp is the immediate past Regional Director for Microbiology and Molecular Infectious Disease Laboratories, Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Sharp is also the immediate Past President of the American Society for Microbiology. Among many other current engagements in support of the field, Dr. Sharp recently served as an Advisor to the CLSI Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Sub-Committee, is a member of the College of American Pathologists Microbiology Resource Committee and is a member of the Board of Scientific Councilors for the Office of Infectious Diseases of the CDC. She brings Specific deep practical experience in running a major multi-hospital clinical microbiology organization as well as her continuing involvement as an advocate for the field.
**Kenneth Suslick, PhD?**
Professor Suslick received his B.S. from the California Institute of Technology in 1974, his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1978, and came to the University of Illinois immediately thereafter. He has published more than 350 papers, edited four books, and holds 26 patents.
In addition to his academic research, Professor Suslick has had significant entrepreneurial experience. He was the lead consultant for Molecular Biosystems Inc. and part of the team that commercialized the first echo contrast agent for medical sonography, Albunex, which became Optison by GE Healthcare. In addition, he was the founding consultant for VivoRx Pharmaceuticals and helped invent and commercialize Abraxane, albumin microspheres with a paclitaxel core, which is the predominant current delivery system for taxol chemotherapy for breast cancer; VivoRx became Abraxis Bioscience, which was acquired by Celgene for $2.9 billion. He then co-founded ChemSensing, which began the commercialization of the Suslick groups optoelectronic nose technology and its successor, iSense Systems LLC in Mountain View, for the biomedical applications of this unique sensor technology.
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**Sharon Peacock, MD**
Dr. Sharon Peacock is an academic clinical microbiologist at the University of Cambridge and the Sanger Institute. She is among the world's leaders in the application of WGS to clinical microbiology and epidemiology, and was named Director of the National Infection Service within Public Health England. In this role, Dr. Peacock will overseas all the microbiology laboratories of PHE across England.
She was previously Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2016-2019,) University of Cambridge (2009-2015), and head of bacterial diseases research at the Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme in Bangkok (2003-2009). Following medical training in Southampton, she undertook postgraduate training in general medicine in London, Brighton and Oxford (MRCP), followed by specialist training in clinical microbiology (MSc, FRCPath) and tropical diseases (DTM&H). Her PhD (Oxford and Trinity College, Dublin) was supported by a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship in Clinical Microbiology, which was followed by a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award in Clinical Tropical Medicine. Her research group focus on pathogen sequencing in relation to diagnostic and public health microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, and pathogen biology. Sharon is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the American Academy of Microbiology, an elected Member of EMBO, and was awarded a CBE for services to medical microbiology in 2015.