The Once Upon a Time Foundation ("OUAT") is a private foundation based in Fort Worth, Texas. OUAT currently has about $275 million in assets and has made contributions and commitments exceeding $100 million since 1998 in support of numerous entities and projects. To learn more about the Foundation and its programs, please see the attached pages.

Be part of a dynamic foundation team that forms lasting partnerships with leading organizations locally and nationwide, supports transformational research in multiple medical fields, and instills the value of giving back in the next generation of leaders.

BACKGROUND ON THE RAYNOR CEREBELLUM PROJECT

The goal of the Raynor Cerebellum Project is to empower novel, interdisciplinary research aimed at impacting the lives of people with cerebellar disorder in the next seven to ten years. Specifically,

1. We fund truly new research initiatives - not simply a continuation or extension of labs' current research programs. Investigators must be able to explicitly "connect the dots" from what they propose to RCP's strategic goal.

2. We fund well-reasoned endeavors that are too risky for traditional funding agencies because they may lack preliminary data, contradict dogma, or propose unprecedented technical ideas. These are the ideas you are actually nervous about sharing because they are so outrageously ambitious.

3. We aim to create a new research culture with collaborations between labs at multiple institutions and across multiple disciplines…"collaboration" instead of "competition."

4. We plan to implement entirely new mechanisms for acquiring funding, accountability and reporting. Needless paperwork will be discarded. To paraphrase the late Ross Perot, "When you see a snake - just kill it, don't form a committee on snakes."

5. The RCP governing board will work alongside researchers and clinicians at all steps of every project, sharing expertise and skill sets in person to cross-fertilize existing ideas and improve and troubleshoot to generate unexpected new directions.

6. This is an experiment in "goal-oriented science." Success is defined by whether we improve patients' lives, without necessarily knowing why therapies are working in the time frame we have set. The "why" can (and should) come later.

7. Teams must be selfless in a singular pursuit of the common goal.

We liken our goal to putting a man on the moon - improving the lives of cerebellar patients within seven to ten years. Our success will require the collaboration across multiple specialties, across departments, across institutions, across oceans which will include cerebellar experts, neurosurgeons, clinicians, basic scientists, imaging experts, data scientists, technologists, and a host of other specialties using artificial intelligence, gene therapy, imaging, neurophysiology, invasive and non-invasive neuromodulation, and hopefully a host of as yet unimagined techniques.

Transformations happen at the cross-section where two or more fields meet. We are seeking those who collaborate, who are willing to present their ideas in the service of our end goal, and then adapt and pivot as what is needed in service of the primary goal becomes clearer over time. We are not afraid to take risks and fail. We did not put a man on the moon without making mistakes along the way.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The RCP Associate Program Director will work alongside the program's current Senior Program Director and Governing Board to help manage current grantees and the future expansion of the project. The role entails a wide range of responsibilities, is dynamic and evolving, and involves coordination across a broad group of stakeholders including the Foundation's funder, community leaders and educators, medical researchers, and partner universities.

The Associate Program Director will be joining a team of 6-7 people who are ultimately responsible for driving vision of the Governing Board and supporting the project's Funder. Standard office hours are Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm. This is an in-office, full-time position for an average of 50 hours a week.

This role will, on occasion, include travel or events in the evenings and/or on weekends. Flexibility in schedule is important.

Specific responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

1. Managing the implementation and administration of all the RCP's current programs and initiatives with a focus on maximum impact, continuous improvement, and timely synthetization of comprehensive and detailed scientific updates to stakeholders.

2. Building relationships with non-profit leaders, research partners, and university administrators, and assisting in the vetting process for developing new partnerships and possible grant recipients.

3. Coordinating and facilitating collaboration amongst research partners at different sites in our multi-site research studies.

4. Overseeing the organization of multiple conferences and events hosted in conjunction with our major initiatives.

5. Variety of communication and outreach initiatives to our interested parties.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. PhD in neuroscience, or any field related to the mission of the RCP, or MD with research experience.

2. Willingness and ability to travel up to 15% of the time.

3. Willingness to make a minimum two/three-year commitment to the position.

4. Candidate with ties to Texas is preferred.

COMPENSATION

Compensation could reach as high as 120k total over a several year commitment (base and bonus combined equaling that amount). Compensation will be based on work experience and knowledge in the field.

Benefits include the opportunity to personally direct each year $2,500 grants per year of service to any 501(c)3 of your choice, up to a maximum of $25,000/year after 10 years of service. For example, a Foundation employee with three years of service gets to award $7,500 in grants to one or more non-profits of his/her choice (the award amount can be directed to a single non-profit or split between up to four non-profits). This is a personal benefit to direct grant funding to organizations the employee personally cares about, separate and apart from grants managed on behalf of the Foundation's activities.

TO APPLY

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send a cover letter and resume to careers@onceuponatime.org