Careers

At the Foundation Fighting Blindness, our employees are true beacons of hope as they are committed to our urgent mission to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness is the largest nongovernmental foundation supporting retinal disease research in the world. Over the past four decades, FFB expanded its influence by raising more than $750 million to fund thousands of research studies at prominent institutions worldwide, attracting and investing in the first generation of clinicians and scientists focused on retinal disease research. We have regional offices in New York NY, Columbia MD, Chicago IL, Raleigh NC and Santa Monica CA.

We are looking for talented and passionate individuals to join us in the search to find preventions, treatments, and cures for inherited retinal degenerative diseases. Learn more about the job opportunities that are currently available at the Foundation.

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

We are seeking a dynamic, experienced and organized MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR to be part of our team, based in Columbia MD.

Responsibilities include:

  • Coordinate and monitor project schedules and monitor timelines, including grant calendars, while effectively communicating project needs to ensure deadlines are met
  • Communicate with internal and external stakeholders to organize and manage assigned projects/events
  • Fully utilize the database and portal that contain donor records, including basic reporting
  • Assist with maintaining donor records in the donor database to reflect communication updates, ongoing research, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities
  • Coordinate donation acknowledgement process, including pulling reports, personalizing thank you outreach for gifts, preparing and sending personalized letters, and working with external partners to produce bulk acknowledgements
  • Support grant/partnership reporting by drafting basic communication and working with the finance team to create financial statements. Work with multiple departments to gather information necessary to report to corporate/foundation funders on Foundation programs
  • Maintain financial/data reports that provide information on the performance of the marketing programs including measures of progress
  • Respond to social media and email inquiries on behalf of the Foundation in a timely and accurate manner, including the monitoring of the Membership e-inbox
  • Update various marketing materials such as fact sheets, research advances, education materials as new information as provided by managers
  • Monitor organization and industry-related news to develop media reports for internal staff and constituents

The successful candidate will possess:

  • Bachelor’s degree required
  • Minimum of three (3) years of relevant work experience
  • Requires project management skills and attention to detail
  • Ability to communicate in a consistent, proactive and inclusive manner and work in a dynamic, fast-paced organization
  • Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills, and strong verbal and written communication skills required
  • A team player with an ability to work independently
  • Demonstrated working knowledge of relational databases
  • Fully proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook)
  • Knowledge of multiple social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and social media best practices
  • Ability to work occasional overtime for completion of projects
  • Occasional travel and overtime required

Please send resume with salary requirements to HR@fightblindness.org. RESUMES WITHOUT SALARY REQUIREMENT STATED MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED. We offer a competitive salary and benefits, as well as a terrific team to work with! FFB is an equal opportunity employer.

SENIOR SCIENTIST, PRECLINICAL TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM

Company Summary: The Foundation Fighting Blindness has one clear objective: accelerating therapeutic advances for the treatments and cures of rare genetic diseases of the retina, including retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, Stargardt disease and related conditions. These diseases, which affect more than 10 million Americans and millions more throughout the world, often lead to severe vision loss or complete blindness.

Working with preeminent scientists, the Foundation has funded breakthroughs in gene therapy, stem cells and bionic retinas, providing a historic opportunity for a promising new era in human clinical trials. We are the largest non-governmental source of research funds for inherited retinal degenerative diseases. Over the past four decades, the Foundation has raised more than $750 million to fund research studies in both academic and industry labs worldwide.

The Translational Research Acceleration Program (TRAP) provides financial awards and guidance from experienced industry consultants to accelerate promising projects toward IND submission for clinical trials. The grants support a wide range of technologies including small molecules, biologics, genetic and cell therapies.

Position Summary: We are currently seeking a Senior Scientist, Preclinical Translational Research to provide management for TRAP under the guidance of the Sr. Director, Grants & Awards Program. This position is based in Columbia, MD

Primary Responsibilities:

  1. Responsible for maintaining awareness of the of the current state of the art and advances in preclinical and clinical research in the disease areas of interest to the Foundation, monitoring technologies that may be relevant to our interests and assisting in scientific reviews of information that may be presented by researches and industry
  2. Provide comprehensive oversight, management and guidance for the TRAP, including issuing of requests for proposals (through scientific reviews of applications guided by the Scientific Advisory Board) to their award, and the establishment and management of a team of industry consultants to support each award
  3. Build rapport and work with the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board for the scientific review of proposals and their progress
  4. Build relationships with key opinion leaders in the field
  5. Provide scientific support to the venture philanthropy RD Fund
  6. Work directly under the guidance of the Senior Director, Grants and Awards Programs and closely with the My Retina Tracker registry staff, Executive Vice President Research, and Chief Scientific Officer to provide scientific support as necessary

Requirements - The ideal candidate will offer:

  1. Ph.D. in a field of science, preferably with expertise in biochemistry and genetics and or neurobiology
  2. 5+ years post-doctoral or equivalent work experience, in research and/or research management with a minimum 4 years relevant experience in industry; ophthalmology preferred
  3. Experience in the philanthropic or nonprofit sector preferred
  4. Awareness of the FDA regulatory guidance documents, and able to provide general guidance to academic investigators, knowing when it is appropriate to seek expert input to guide strategies for future regulatory submissions
  5. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; and past experience of providing concise and accurate writing of scientific reports
  6. Experience in providing concise verbal presentations at all scientific levels, including patient groups, scientific investigator meetings, and to a Board of Directors
  7. Project management experience, preferably in a biotech/pharma industry setting
  8. High level of proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Power Point, Project Management tools
  9. Passion for Foundation mission and values
  10. Must have ability to travel to conferences and trainings as needed, including overnight and weekend travel required on occasion

Please send resume with salary requirements to HR@fightblindness.organd include your personal email address. We offer a competitive salary and benefits, as well as a terrific team to work with! The Foundation Fighting Blindness is an equal opportunity employer.