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Living Lab NetworkExpression of interestHIF-BLD-LLN

Living Lab Network Director

Build HIF’s open network for universities, clinicians, students, communities and companies to test responsible health solutions in real-world settings.

Location
Global
Arrangement
Remote
Commitment
5–7 hours per week
Duration
12-month founding term
Level
Senior innovation leadership
Contribution track
Build HIF
01

Role mandate

Build HIF’s open network for universities, clinicians, students, communities and companies to test responsible health solutions in real-world settings.

Why this role exists now

Promising ideas often fail between research and implementation. HIF needs a disciplined network that connects problems, test sites, expertise and continuous feedback without treating communities as laboratories.

02

Outcomes you would own

  • 01

    An approved Living Lab operating model and partner agreement framework.

  • 02

    A searchable first cohort of problems, experts, sites and solution teams.

  • 03

    One bounded pilot moving through research, co-design, delivery and learning.

  • 04

    A transparent decision record showing what should scale, change or stop.

Core responsibilities

  • Define the Living Lab charter, participation standards and governance model.
  • Recruit an initial network of problem owners, test sites and technical partners.
  • Create stage gates from problem validation through testing, learning and scale.
  • Ensure consent, safety, data, intellectual-property and benefit-sharing questions are resolved early.
  • Lead the first cross-country demonstration challenge and publish its learning.
03

Your first 90 days

Days 1–30

Listen, learn and locate the work

  • Complete HIF induction, role boundaries and required checks.
  • Review the Living Lab Network brief, evidence, partners and unresolved decisions.
  • Agree a 90-day workplan, communication rhythm and escalation map.
Days 31–60

Build the first useful thing

  • Prototype the priority system, policy or operating rhythm.
  • Invite review early from the people who will use or be affected by the work.
  • Record changes, risks and decisions instead of hiding uncertainty.
Days 61–90

Deliver, learn and hand over

  • Complete the agreed first milestone or document why it should change.
  • Review progress against success measures with your supervisor.
  • Publish a next-quarter plan and keep files ready for another volunteer.
04

What you need

Essential criteria

  • Senior experience in health innovation, implementation, research translation or ecosystem building.
  • Ability to align universities, companies, clinicians and communities around shared rules.
  • Strong ethics, governance and portfolio judgement.

Desirable, not required

  • Living-lab, accelerator or clinical-innovation experience.
  • Cross-country partnership or responsible innovation expertise.
05

How good work will be judged

Success measures

  • Partners contribute decisions and resources rather than names alone.
  • Test activity answers a real implementation question with appropriate governance.
  • Communities share authority and benefit in the resulting work.

Decision rights & escalation

  • Set day-to-day priorities within the approved role brief and agreed hours.
  • Recommend changes to scope, timing or method and document the rationale.
  • Pause your own activity and escalate when safety, consent, quality or capacity is unclear.
  • Escalate budget commitments, external promises, partner agreements and material changes to Chief Executive Officer / Director of Programs & Impact.
  • Clinical, safeguarding, privacy and public-claim decisions remain with the named qualified approver.
Role boundaries
  • This is an unpaid volunteer role. It does not create an employment relationship or expectation of future paid work.
  • Do not represent HIF publicly, sign agreements or commit money unless authority is explicitly documented.
  • Use only approved systems for personal, partner or program information.
  • The agreed weekly commitment is a ceiling to manage, not a minimum to exceed silently.
  • This role does not provide clinical advice, diagnosis, treatment or unsupervised patient contact.
  • No travel is assumed. Any future travel would require a separate brief, risk review and written approval.
06

Support, learning and wellbeing

  • Executive sponsorship and cross-functional program support.
  • Research, legal, clinical, data and community review.
  • A bounded launch cohort rather than an expectation to build the full network alone.
Scope and safety

Volunteers must not work outside their competence. Clinical, safeguarding and community-facing work requires role-specific supervision and escalation pathways.

Checks before you begin

  • Identity and right-to-volunteer confirmation.
  • One or two role-relevant references for leadership or higher-trust appointments.
  • Confidentiality, conflict-of-interest, privacy and code-of-conduct declarations.
07

How selection works

Evidence to include

  • A short statement explaining why this role and HIF’s health-equity mission fit your experience.
  • One specific example showing how you handled work relevant to innovation.
  • Your realistic availability against the published commitment of 5–7 hours per week.
  • Any required qualifications, registrations, portfolio links or work samples.
  • Conflicts, access needs or support adjustments you want the selection panel to consider.

Selection stages

  1. Eligibility and completeness review
  2. Assessment against the published essential criteria
  3. Structured interview or practical conversation, if required
  4. Relevant reference, credential and safeguarding checks
  5. Outcome, induction and role-specific onboarding

Final selection decisions are made by people. AI is not used to automatically reject applicants.

Ready to contribute?

Review the commitment before you begin.

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