KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:The
Director, Medical Advocacy & Medical Education is a strategic leadership role within SMPA Medical Affairs, reporting to the Senior Director, Head of Medical Strategy. The position provides leadership across patient advocacy, external stakeholder engagement, and medical education, translating patient and stakeholder perspectives into meaningful Medical Affairs strategies and initiatives while partnering closely with Medical Strategy and cross-functional colleagues across the organization.
Advocacy Strategy and External Engagement• Develop and execute integrated patient advocacy strategies aligned with therapeutic area priorities and evolving patient community needs.
• Build and maintain trusted, long-term relationships with patient advocacy organizations, professional societies, and other partners at national, regional, and local levels.
• Identify opportunities for strategic collaboration that advance shared goals in disease awareness, patient education, clinical trial awareness, access, and patient support.
• Represent the organization at advocacy meetings, scientific conferences, professional societies, and stakeholder forums.
• Monitor external trends, healthcare policy developments, and emerging patient needs to inform strategic planning and organizational priorities.
• Continuously evaluate and refine advocacy strategies and operating plans to maximize impact and stakeholder value.
Patient Voice and Strategic Insights• Lead initiatives that elevate the patient's voice through advisory boards, insight-generation activities, and other programs.
• Collect, synthesize, and communicate patient, caregiver, and advocacy organization insights to inform Medical Affairs strategy, Clinical Development activities, evidence generation priorities, and disease education initiatives.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to Medical Affairs colleagues by translating patient perspectives and external stakeholder insights into actionable recommendations.
• Ensure patient-centered perspectives are incorporated into therapeutic area planning and decision-making.
• Champion a culture that recognizes the value of patient experience and stakeholder engagement across the product lifecycle.
Medical Education Strategy• Collaborate with Medical Affairs colleagues to develop educational areas of interest that support areas such as disease awareness, informed healthcare decision-making, and improved patient outcomes.
- Identify educational gaps and opportunities across patient, caregiver, and healthcare professional audiences.
- Partner with Medical Strategy Leads to identify, review, and prioritize Medical Education grants across the portfolio
• Evaluate educational program effectiveness and incorporate learnings into future planning.
• Ensure educational initiatives are evidence-based, compliant, and aligned with Medical Affairs objectives.
Executive Engagement and Organizational Influence• Serve as a trusted advisor to Medical Affairs senior leadership on advocacy strategy, patient perspectives, stakeholder engagement, and emerging healthcare trends.
• Develop executive-level communications and presentations that articulate patient impact, strategic opportunities, emerging risks, and recommended actions.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration across Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Market Access, Legal, Compliance, Commercial, and other business partners.
• Foster alignment where applicable across internal stakeholders to support patient-centered initiatives and organizational objectives.
• Contribute to annual strategic planning, operating plans, budget development, and long-term organizational priorities.
Impact Measurement, Innovation and Operational Excellence• Establish and monitor key performance indicators assessing advocacy engagement effectiveness, educational impact, stakeholder satisfaction, and patient insight generation.
• Measure and communicate the impact of advocacy and medical education initiatives to leadership and key internal stakeholders.
• Apply data, technology, and emerging solutions to continuously improve stakeholder engagement and operational effectiveness.
• Demonstrate comfort with artificial intelligence and the potential to responsibly leverage AI-enabled tools to enhance insight generation, stakeholder engagement, operational efficiency, and decision-making, consistent with applicable compliance standards.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS:• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred (e.g., MPH, MS, PharmD, MD, PhD, Public Health, Health Policy, Communications, or related discipline).
• 10+ years of experience in patient advocacy, Medical Affairs, medical education, healthcare policy, stakeholder engagement, or related biopharmaceutical functions.
• Demonstrated success developing advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and medical education strategies within the healthcare or biopharmaceutical industry.
• Proven ability to build trusted external partnerships and translate stakeholder insights into strategic recommendations.
• Experience leading patient advisory boards, educational initiatives, grants programs, and insight-generation activities within a compliant environment.
• Strong understanding of Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, patient-focused drug development, healthcare policy, and access environments.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and collaborate effectively across highly matrixed organizations.
• Strong business acumen, financial stewardship, project management, communication, and executive presentation skills.
• Commitment to patient-centered innovation, continuous improvement, and organizational excellence.
• Ability to travel as required.
Travel Requirements:Primarily remote role with periodic on-site meetings in office. Must be able to travel domestically and internationally as needed.
Mental/Physical Requirements:Fast-paced environment handling multiple demands is involved. Must be able to exercise appropriate judgment as necessary. Requires a high level of initiative and independence. Excellent written and oral communication skills required. Requires ability to use a personal computer for extended periods of time.
The base salary range for this role is
$203,000.00 - $253,800.00
Base salary is part of our total rewards package which also includes the opportunity for merit-based salary increases, short incentive plan participation, eligibility for our 401(k) plan, medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurances and leaves provided in line with your work state. Our robust time-off policy includes flexible paid time off, 11 paid holidays plus additional time off for a shut-down period during the last week of December, 80 hours of paid sick time upon hire and each year thereafter. Total compensation, including base salary to be offered, will depend on elements unique to each candidate, including candidate experience, skills, education and other factors permitted by law.
Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.
Confidential Data: All information (written, verbal, electronic, etc.) that an employee encounters is considered confidential, in accordance with applicable law.
Compliance: Achieve and maintain Compliance with all applicable regulatory, legal and operational rules and procedures, by ensuring that all plans and activities for and on behalf of Sumitomo Pharma America (SMPA) and affiliates are carried out with the "best" industry practices and the highest ethical standards.
