AstraZeneca

Director, Corporate & State Government Affairs (NY, NJ, PA)

AstraZeneca$130K — $180K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree required.
  • 6-8 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry or related field.
  • Strong public speaking and negotiation skills.
  • Knowledge of legislative and regulatory processes.
  • Capability to build internal stakeholder relationships effectively.
  • Willingness to travel up to 40%, including nights and weekends.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and implement regional reputation strategies to enhance corporate visibility.
  • Lead therapeutic flagship programs, ensuring strong alignment with commercial teams.
  • Build community engagement strategies to support local health initiatives.
  • Design and oversee state-level lobbying campaigns that align with corporate goals.
  • Integrate payer policies to ensure accessibility of AstraZeneca products.
  • Identify opportunities for advancing early diagnoses with public health experts.
  • Cultivate relationships with elected officials and partners to influence policy.

Benefits

  • Recognized as a GTAA Top Employer for 12 consecutive years.
  • Included in the Top 100 Employers list.
  • Awarded for Canada's Most Admired Corporate Culture.
  • Opportunities for professional growth and advancement.
  • Access to diverse learning resources and corporate initiatives.
Full Job Description
Introduction to role:

Are you ready to shape state policy and community impact so more patients gain timely access to breakthrough medicines? In this regional leadership role covering the greater New York area, you will set the agenda for corporate reputation and state government affairs, translating strategy into visible outcomes across communities, payers, and policymakers. This role's primary focus is within New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey - as such, we are seeking candidates that reside within that locality, with preference being New York state.

You will partner across commercial, market access, medical, legal, and corporate affairs teams to power enterprise priorities-enhancing visibility of our R&D footprint, accelerating early diagnosis initiatives, and ensuring our brands are accessible for all patients. Do you thrive at the intersection of policy, advocacy, and business execution, and enjoy adapting quickly in a complex environment?

This is a field-based leadership position with significant external engagement and cross-functional influence. You will have the platform, network, and autonomy to run with bold ideas, bring unexpected teams together, and build policy and programming that unlocks value at pace while staying true to our purpose.

Accountabilities:
  • Regional Reputation Strategy: Develop and implement a regional plan to enhance corporate reputation, increase community presence, and showcase innovative R&D sites; track outcomes through stakeholder engagement and visibility measures.
  • Therapeutic Flagship Programs: Lead and deliver therapeutic flagship programs with multiple stakeholders, ensuring strong pull-through with commercial teams.
  • Community Engagement Leadership: Build and implement a regional community engagement strategy that strengthens partnerships and supports local health priorities.
  • State Policy Leadership: Serve as the registered lobbyist for the region; design and run state-based lobbying campaigns aligned to company priorities.
  • Payer Policy Integration: Strategically integrate state policy within public and private payers to ensure AstraZeneca brands are accessible for all patients.
  • Early Diagnosis Advancement: Identify and lead opportunities to expand early diagnosis, working with public health officials, patient groups, and subject matter experts.
  • Influencer and Alliance Development: Develop and maintain strong relationships with elected officials, governors, executive agencies, trade associations, think tanks, and third-party allies; act as an external leader with vision.
  • National Political Organizations: Demonstrate leadership with national political organizations and committees to implement policy programming.
  • Sustainability and Health Equity Advocacy: Connect with experts, develop plans, and implement initiatives that advance sustainability and health equity interests.
  • PAC Engagement: Participate in Political Action Committee grassroots solicitations and organize and attend fundraisers.
  • Community Ecosystem Building: Lead internal workstreams to assess corporate priorities and build positive community ecosystems.
  • Reputation and Expansion Support: Collaborate to enhance corporate reputation through direct community engagement that supports US expansion initiatives.
  • Internal Policy Leadership: Provide leadership on local state-related public policy issues; serve as the resident expert on legislative matters and strategy.
  • Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensure integration of state-related business objectives across commercial, market access, legal, sales, and marketing teams.
  • Legislative and Regulatory Analysis: Identify, analyze, and act on legislative and regulatory initiatives and emerging issues that impact the company.
  • Brand Support via Policy Strategy: Develop and implement legislative and regulatory strategies that assist and achieve brand objectives.
  • Resource and Budget Management: Allocate resources strategically; perform budget allocation and consultant evaluations; manage contract lobbyists and strategic alliance managers.
  • PAC Education: Assist the Director of Political Programs with PAC education and recruitment, including internal speaking engagements.
  • Corporate Brand Linkage: Liaison with Corporate Affairs partners to ensure strong links to corporate brand initiatives.
  • Federal Coordination: Liaison with federal government affairs lobbyists on region-specific issues; employ state strategies to mitigate impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and other federal mandates.
  • Business Goals Integration: Understand AstraZeneca's business goals and priorities; build strategies to support them and act on emerging political issues.


Essential Skills/Experience:
  • Bachelor's degree.
  • Field-based.
  • 6-8 years of experience in pharmaceutical or related industry.
  • Strong public speaking skills.
  • Strong desire to be part of a close-knit, highly focused team committed to unparalleled stakeholder satisfaction and helping make AstraZeneca a great place to work and grow.
  • Strong negotiation and advocacy skills.
  • Knowledge of legislative, regulatory, and political processes.
  • Requires strong internal stakeholder and alliance building capabilities.
  • Amenable to lobbyists' travel/schedule; including late night, off-hour and weekend responsibilities - up to 40% travel is required.


Desirable Skills/Experience:
  • 8+ years of experience in government, politics, or government affairs with a minimum of 6 years in the bio-pharmaceutical or related space.
  • Experienced interpersonal communications; public speaking and writing skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to work on large public affairs projects aimed at enhancing corporate visibility with our growth and expansion.
  • Deep knowledge of the healthcare industry especially with public and private payers, supply chains, and state/federal political influence on the pharmaceutical business.
  • Demonstrated experience of working collaboratively across sales, market access, medical affairs and various corporate affairs functions; comfortable in a highly matrixed organization.
  • Highly proficient in standard business software applications.
  • Demonstrated experience with ally development, public relations, and health care policy.


Call to Action:
Bring your voice to this pivotal regional role and shape policy, reputation, and access that matter-step forward and lead the agenda for patients and the enterprise.

#LI-Hybrid

Date Posted
24-Jul-2026

Closing Date
31-Jul-2026

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development, and manufacturing of prescription drugs. The company was formed in 1999 through the merger of Astra AB and Zeneca Group plc. AstraZeneca's products are used to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes. The company has operations in over 100 countries and employs more than 76,000 people worldwide. AstraZeneca is committed to developing innovative medicines that improve the health and well-being of people around the world.
Learn more about AstraZeneca
Size
83,100 employees
Market Cap
$211.5 billion
Industry
Net Income
$3.1 billion
Founded
1999
5 Year Trend
+10.2%
Revenue
$26.6 billion
NASDAQ

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