Some opportunities happen only once in a lifetime – like a job where you have the chance to change lives. At Alexion, people living with rare and devastating diseases are our Guiding Star. We are driven to continuously innovate and create meaningful value in all we do to help patients and families fully live their best lives. We value the uniqueness and diversity of our employees and recognize that nurturing the diverse perspectives and strengths of our people translates into innovative breakthroughs for patients.
Position Summary
Reporting to Head of International Patient Advocacy, this position is part of Alexion’s Global Patient Experience (PEX) team, part of Alexion Global Medical Affairs (GMA) as well as our German affiliate.
The Director, Patient Advocacy Germany will be responsible for leading the patient advocacy function in this key market, driving, building and enhancing strategic alliances with both disease-specific patient organizations and their umbrella groups, as well as other rare/ultra-rare disease-oriented organizations in response to patient needs and in support of both PEX and our German affiliate’s objectives and related strategic goals.
The Director, Patient Advocacy Germany will line manage our Associate Director Patient Advocacy ensuring optimal utilization of our patient advocacy capabilities in this country and maximizing opportunities to drive rare disease advocacy engagement in this market.
The Director, Patient Advocacy Germany will actively contribute to advancing Alexion’s corporate goals with our current and future assets driving strategic advocacy engagement from a portfolio perspective seeking meaningful and systematic partnership with patient groups and communities all along the therapy life-cycle.
The Director, Patient Advocacy Germany will support the patient journey including accelerating the time to diagnosis, disease education and resources, treatment advances, and providing caregiver support to improve health outcomes.
Through deep understanding of the patient community’s needs, this individual will bring the patient perspective into Alexion Germany’s decision making.
Job Duties & Responsibilities
- Shape and executing the patient advocacy strategy and plans in Germany aligning the global/international advocacy strategy with local priorities and goals working closely with the GM and the other functions’ heads representing medical affairs, market access, commercial, government affairs, corporate communications, R&D, as well as Regulatory, Legal, and Compliance
- Actively contribute to the mission of Alexion Global and intenational patient advocacy team, help advance on our colleactive goals and ambition promoting cross-country sharing of good practices and effective cross-fertilisation of ideas and opportunities
- Line manage the Associate Director Patient Advocacy Germany and our working student establishing clear roles, responsibilities and synergies for optimal utilization of our local advocacy capabilities maximizing value and impact
- Drive, build and enhance strategic long-term alliances and partnerships with relevant patient advocacy organisations both disease-specific and relevant umbrella groups (e.g. ACHSE) as well as other rare/ultra-rare disease-oriented organizations
- Represent Patient Advocacy as a member of the extended Leadership Team, the German Middle Management Team and the German Compliance Committee being a champion for patient centricity while contributing as an enterprise leader helping achieve our affiliate’s goals and objectives, championing Alexion’s values and contributing to shaping and advancing our organizational culture
- Drive and execute patient and family insight generation activities (ad Boards, focus groups, etc.) to address identified knowledge gaps along the patient journey and proactively and routinely share insights from patient advocacy groups and communities to drive and shape programs, research and activities and Alexion decision making
- Partner with the therapeutic area leads, medical directors, and brand teams to ensure patient advocacy strategies and actions are seamlessly integrated in disease plans and launch plans from early planning through to execution making sure patients’ insights effectively inform strategies and plans
- Link appropriate patient groups with the information and resources needed to support patients and caregivers to advocate for appropriate care. Establish meaningful, long term relatons and build a sense of community and collaboration among these groups and with Alexion
- Champion and drive early and meaningful engagement of patients and patient groups in all Alexion’s key research and development programs working closely with the clinical operations and medical team to ensure programs and clinical trials are systematically informed by patient input and insights while supporting clinical trials awareness and recruitment
- Partner closely with colleagues in medical affairs to shape and deliver innovative initiatives to bridge knowledge gaps between patients and HCPs through co-creation and knowledge sharing, elevate patients’ and caregivers’ unique experience living with rare diseases and foster better understanding of the full disease burden by HCPs
- In collaboration with Government Affairs and Market Access support the advancement of policy positions that embrace open access to medicine, appreciation of innovation and the importance of optimal treatment, while promoting the recognition of patients and patient groups as equal stakeholders in the local healthcare ecosystem, including in the HTA process and access discussions.
- Serve as a liaison to the rare disease community by working appropriately with global and international colleagues on cross-disease initiatives, including around Rare Disease Day while prioritizing engagement on disease-specific work and ensuring coordinated outreach
- Provide impactful points of connection for patient advocacy groups with Alexion employees including Medical Affairs, Market Access, Corporate Affairs & Policy, R&D, Clinical Operations, and other functions to partner on key initiatives
- Foster strong partnership with Legal, Regulatory, Compliance and other functions on all engagement activities
- Stay current of new developments and ideas in the field of patient advocacy and incorporate such into the development and execution of programs
- Represent Patient Advocacy in critical International projects and initiatives
- Manage respective budget and coordinate related tasks
- Ensure compliance with internal & external industry standards of working with PAGs, including transparency requirements
Essential Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree with 10+years of progressive industry/relevant professional experience or 7+ years of patient advocacy experience, especially in Germany
- Robust experience in building and managing mutually beneficial relationships with external stakeholders, in particular patient advocacy groups and advocacy-driven organisations
- Solid knowledge of the patient advocacy ecosystem in Germany
- Broad knowledge of the biopharma industry; working knowledge of drug development, HEOR, access and reimbursement, and commercialization
- Superb communication skills, tact, composure, and confidentiality in order to coordinate complex patient issues, manage sensitive information, and participate in key inter-departmental interactions
- Native level of German and fluent in English
- Robust knowledge of current compliance, legal, regulatory and other issues that impact the biopharmaceutical industry and its protocol for patient engagement
- 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
- Entrepreneurial driven and highly collaborative across matrixed enterprise
- Impeccable personal character and high integrity
- Ability to work well under pressure and enjoys a fast-paced, often unpredictable environment
Preferred Qualifications
- Existing relationships with relevant advocacy groups thought leaders in Germany, especially in rare diseases and/or in the therapeutic areas interest to Alexion, especially neurology
- People management experience
- Expertise in orphan drugs
- Experience in early engagement of patients and PAGs in clinical trials (input into study design, protocol, patient material and clinical trial awareness)
- Experience with broader healthcare public relations and communications
- Experiece working in therapeutic areas of focus to Alexion, i.e. neurology, nephrology, hematology, metabolic diseases
Alexion is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases and devastating conditions through the discovery, development and commercialization of life-changing medicines. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Alexion has offices around the globe and serves patients in more than 50 countries. Further information about Alexion can be found at: www.alexion.com.
Alexion is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging where every single person can belong because of their uniqueness. The Company will not make decisions about employment, training, compensation, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment based on race, color, religion, creed or lack thereof, sex, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), parental status (including adoption or surrogacy), military status, protected veteran status, disability, medical condition, gender identity or expression, genetic information, mental illness or other characteristics protected by law. Alexion provides reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of candidates and employees. To begin an interactive dialogue with Alexion regarding an accommodation, please contact accommodations@Alexion.com. Alexion participates in E-Verify.
AstraZeneca completed its acquisition of Alexion, marking the creation of Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease. If you’re interested in career opportunities with AstraZeneca, click here.
