***Must be located/based in Cook County, IL*****

Mission of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation:

The Global Alzheimer’s Platform (GAP) Foundation is a patient-centric, non-profit organization dedicated to speeding the delivery of innovative therapies to those in need by reducing the time and cost of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders clinical trials.

Job Purpose/Summary:

The Manager, Diversity & COmmunity Outreach (Community Connector) will be responsible for working directly with clinical trial sites that are conducting Alzheimer’s disease (AD) trials in geographic locations with significant African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino populations. They will be responsible for developing and implementing unique tactics to build awareness, deliver education, and provide access for these Underrepresented Populations (URPs) to participate in AD clinical trials.

About the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation:

In 2017, the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP) established GAP-Net, a growing network of >90 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research centers committed to disrupting recruitment and study conduct processes to increase the speed and lower the cost of completing AD clinical trials. GAP-Net is unique in that GAP invited both academic and private sites deemed high-performing AD sites with requisites that included data and best practices sharing, use of a central Institutional Review Board and common clinical trial contracts, and a commitment to the GAP mission. GAP supports GAP-Net research centers by assisting with study start-up and recruitment activities, promoting diversity in research studies, and offering national programs that champion brain health and the citizen scientists who make research possible.

One of GAP’s strategic priorities is to substantially increase enrollment of diverse populations to levels of 10-25% in Alzheimer’s trials. The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease is twice as high in the African American/Black population and 1.5 times higher in the Hispanic/Latino population when compared to the white/Caucasian community. Awareness, knowledge, and access to appropriate trials are essential, intersecting factors influencing participation and successful representation of a diverse candidate pool in a clinical trial. The number of underrepresented participants in AD studies must increase to ensure future treatments benefit patients of all races and ethnicities and to meet the growing expectations of regulators and payors.

In 2021, GAP launched its Inclusive Research Initiative which includes a 3-pronged approach focused on increasing awareness, community integration, and clinical trial access for underrepresented populations. Community Connectors are instrumental in the execution of this initiative.

Responsibilities and Primary Objectives:

This position will be responsible for working directly with clinical trial sites that are conducting Alzheimer’s disease trials in geographic locations with significant African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino populations.

Essential functions as a part of the Diversity and Inclusion team include:

• Responsible for collaborating with assigned research sites in the GAP-Network geographic region(s) and GAP’s Mobile Unit Research Coordinators on creating and implementing recruitment strategies and tactics for underrepresented populations for specific Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials. Monthly, in-person, or virtual visits to each assigned trial site will be required to provide material and practical support.

• Accountable for conducting a community mapping project in each location to identify key influencers in the civil, religious, entertainment, communications, business, medical, and social service sectors.

• Ability to build relationships and create partnerships with trusted organizations and businesses that serve Black and Hispanic communities as a means to provide education and awareness about Alzheimer’s and clinical trials.

• Providing strategic input on effective recruitment, outreach, and optimization strategies specifically for underrepresented populations and assisting with the development of plans, tools, and resources to carry out the strategies.

• Experience with marketing, social media, event/program management, community outreach, and public speaking.

• Facilitating sharing across GAP-Network research sites about learnings and best practices by creating presentations or tools, speaking at conferences and/or webinars, and fielding requests for assistance and information on effective strategies for recruitment of underrepresented populations.

• Other duties as assigned.

***Must be located/based in Cook County, IL*****

Preferred Education and Experience

• A Bachelor’s degree or higher with a minimum of 2 years experience or a high school diploma with a minimum of 5 years experience in community work including outreach, engagement, strategic partnership building, and/or senior care
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Proficient in collaborating with professional colleagues inside and outside the organization to build mutually beneficial partnerships
• Proven record of successful problem-solving, management of multiple projects, and decision-making skills
• Ability to work independently and remotely
• Bilingual in Spanish is preferred, but not required
• Capacity to travel up to 50% of the time each month, sometimes on short notice

Technical Skills Required

•Microsoft Office including Microsoft Word and Excel

•Proficient PowerPoint skills

•Understanding of and use of social media

•Familiarity and comfort utilizing Sharepoint, Salesforce, Google Docs, Google Meet, Zoom, and other group-sharing and video conferencing sites