Consultant Associate Director in the External Affairs team with a focus on Policy and Patient Advocacy in rare diseases. (Mat leave cover)

The role requires policy, stakeholder engagement expertise, with communications experience.
The successful candidate will develop and implement strategies leveraging Government and system policy, the clinical and patient advocacy community as well as the media where appropriate. They will help shape government and health service policies that support the development and appropriate use of medicines, and their uptake in the health systems of the UK and Ireland.
The majority of the focus of the role will be in support of our work in rare diseases.

The role will operate within the External Affairs team, whose objective is to enable medicines in the UK and Ireland to be catalysts for change, shaping our environment and transforming more lives.

The role will be particularly responsible for external affairs work in rare diseases, across rare disease, in efforts to advocate for reform in the way that the UK assesses and approves medicines for use. The role will monitor the policy and political environment for salient and emerging issues and – through close collaboration with the business leadership in the UK and Ireland and other internal stakeholders – determines those of greatest impact to the business; ensures that business areas are informed of government initiatives and/or policies that may present a threat or opportunity and/or the company’s short and long-term planning objectives; solicits internal stakeholder input and feedback on key concerns and issues; with stakeholder input, crafts the company advocacy position; advocates on behalf of the company with policy makers and politicians, trade associations, patient advocacy groups and other interested bodies and individuals; provides strategic input and guidance to the organization on the implementation of government policies.
The successful candidate will be responsible for building and maintaining external relationships with policy makers, policy influencers, patient associations, trade associations, and the media. The activity the role is accountable for will be split between projects supporting the disease area work and the above-brand efforts to shape the environment within rare diseases. The role will therefore work closely with the commercial Rare Disease team, as well as affiliate leadership closely involved in our efforts to improve the access environment, including the Managing Director, Head of Value and Access, Head of Medical.

Total

100 %

3.

You will be a policy expert with strong experience working with senior political and policy audiences, develop and maintaining relationships with key elected political leaders and their staffs, relevant ministry and other government agency officials, be able to represent Biogen with high level officials.be comfortable working with the media and wider external audiences, such as clinical leaders and patient associations. Be adept at managing complex, challenging and high-profile issues, that spread across the external affairs stakeholder mix (policy/media/patient groups), and beyond. Have represented companies at trade associations to shape the industry view and the external agenda, show a clear track record managing agencies to deliver value and impact. Be adept at internal comms to ensure alignment and understanding across the organisation of the objectives of the work and the plans to deliver them. Effective at working with commercial teams and alongside other cross-functional teams, in support of the business objective.

The exact areas of focus will be subject to discussion with the successful candidate and the broader team.

4

At least 10 years of policy, government and public affairs experience in progressively senior roles in terms of responsibility, working with senior executives and managing and leading teams. Demonstrable understanding of the integrated nature of the function, bringing together communications, government and policy, social media, and all elements of the function for maximum impact, efficiency and effectiveness. Experience working in matrix organizations and with global functions. Demonstrated creativity and innovation in strategy and execution. Ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders in the development of strategies and tactics while ensuring excellence in implementation Excellent follow-through, attention to detail and high sense of urgency Strong executive presence; proven ability to effectively and appropriately work with and influence senior management Outstanding interpersonal skills, ability to successfully influence without authority, and effectively work across functions and personalities. Demonstrated good judgment and ability to effectively prioritize workload.Creative, innovative, agile and flexible. Ability to work well under pressure and enjoy a fast-paced, often unpredictable environment. Strong business acumen, preferably related to the pharma/biotech industry