AstraZeneca

Global Medical Affairs Leader

AstraZeneca$193K — $289K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Advanced degree required (MD, PhD, PharmD, or equivalent scientific degree).
  • Significant experience in Medical Affairs (~ 10 yrs) within the pharmaceutical or biotech industry, ideally at the country, region, and global level.
  • Demonstrated success in leading evidence generation strategies, Medical Plans, publications, or scientific communication programs.
  • Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders across Commercial, R&D, and Medical Affairs.
  • Experience engaging external experts and scientific communities.

Responsibilities

  • Own and deliver the Global Medical Plan for assigned indications/assets, setting priorities and adapting to dynamics.
  • Define, track, and analyze KPIs to inform strategy and decision-making during the launch.
  • Represent Global Medical on Integrated Business Teams and advise on development plans.
  • Lead global Medical Integrated Teams to align execution behind launch strategies.
  • Drive medical considerations in trial designs and commercialization strategies during reviews.
  • Build team capabilities through mentoring and clarity of roles.
  • Conduct gap analyses to identify critical evidence needs and coordinate evidence generation.

Benefits

  • Hybrid work model with a minimum of three office days per week, allowing flexibility.
  • Opportunities for career development through mentorship and team collaboration.
  • Access to cutting-edge medical science and innovative research environments.
Full Job Description
Are you ready to shape global medical strategy for oncology launches and turn powerful evidence into clinical practice worldwide?

In this role, you will lead the strategy that brings transformative science to patients faster, directly influencing how physicians understand and adopt new standards of care. With a rich and advancing pipeline and an enterprise-wide focus on 61 new indication launches, your leadership will drive clarity, confidence and momentum where it matters most.

As the accountable strategic medical leader for complex indications or assets, you will own the end-to-end Global Medical Strategy-bridging research and commercialization, guiding evidence generation, and orchestrating launch readiness at a global scale. You will translate insights into action, close care gaps, and help advance health equity by ensuring the right evidence and education reach the right audiences at the right time. How will you build confidence in transformative oncology science across markets and accelerate its impact on patient outcomes?

Accountabilities:
  • Strategic Direction and Planning: Own and deliver the Global Medical Plan for your assigned indication(s)/asset(s); set clear priorities, make evidence-based trade-offs, and adapt rapidly to external dynamics and performance against launch KPIs.
  • Performance and Analytics: Define, track and interpret KPIs to diagnose progress and barriers; use data to refine strategy and sharpen decision-making throughout launch.
  • Cross-Functional Leadership: Represent Global Medical on Integrated Business Teams to shape commercial strategy and on Global Product Teams to inform development plans, evidence requirements and lifecycle management.
  • Medical Integrated Team Leadership: Lead global Medical Integrated Teams to align global, regional and country execution behind the launch strategy; resolve misalignment and reinforce global priorities during market engagements.
  • Launch Governance and Development Influence: Drive Medical input into Launch Readiness Reviews and Strategic Brand Reviews; ensure medical needs shape trial design, evidence plans, target product profiles and commercialization strategies.
  • Team Capability and Leadership: Build capability through delegation, coaching and mentorship; create clarity of roles and empower medical teams to execute with excellence.
  • Evidence Strategy and Gap Assessment: Lead global and regional gap analyses to pinpoint critical clinical, real-world and mechanistic evidence needs; integrate diagnostic, digital and RWE sources into a coherent plan.
  • Study Design and Oversight: Shape the scientific and strategic design of AZ-sponsored interventional Medical Affairs studies and own key protocol elements; conceptualize RWE studies with observational research partners; govern milestones, resources and compliance.
  • Publications and Scientific Communication: Own the Global Publications Plan from late-stage development onward with publications partners; ensure timely, credible and compliant scientific communications.
  • Innovation and Future-Ready Approaches: Embed modern analytics, networked evidence generation and innovative study designs to increase insight quality and speed without adding complexity.
  • Scientific Narrative and Confidence Strategy: Lead the global scientific narrative beginning ahead of Phase 3 ID; build accountability for an integrated confidence plan and ensure consistent scientific messaging across evidence, publications, congresses and education.
  • Medical Education and Knowledge Transfer: Set educational priorities, define audiences and learning objectives, and guide formats across digital, hybrid and in-person channels; ensure scientific rigor in programs delivered by internal and external partners.
  • External Engagement Strategy: Shape and execute an engagement plan with external experts, societies, health systems and global organizations; gather insights that inform strategy and influence practice and guidelines.
  • Congress Strategy: Lead congress strategy end-to-end-direct abstracts, presentations and preparation pre-congress; orchestrate post-congress insight synthesis, dissemination and follow-up to sustain momentum.


Essential Skills/Experience:
  • Advanced degree required (MD, PhD, PharmD, or equivalent scientific degree).
  • Significant experience in Medical Affairs (~ 10 yrs) within the pharmaceutical or biotech industry, ideally at the country, Region and global level.
  • Demonstrated success in leading evidence generation strategies, Medical Plans, publications, or scientific communication programs.
  • Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders across Commercial, R&D, and Medical Affairs.
  • Experience engaging external experts and scientific communities.


Desirable Skills/Experience:
  • Previous global Medical Affairs leadership experience in oncology.
  • Experience leading cross-functional teams in highly complex, multi-indication environments.
  • Experience navigating launch environments, new MoAs, new CDx, complex biomarker landscapes, or challenging safety profiles (aligning to GMAL complexity criteria).


When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

Date Posted
28-Jul-2026

Closing Date
10-Aug-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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