Associate Director - R&D Communications - Eli Lilly and Company

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

The Associate Director, Research and Development Communications (R&D), is a critical member of Lilly’s Reputation Management team. This position is responsible for developing and implementing external communications plans to support Lilly Research Laboratories (LRL) and its Business Development (BD) organization, as we work to bring our medicines to millions of patients around the world.

This role will work closely with cross-functional colleagues in Global Communications, BD, LRL, Brand, Lilly affiliates around the world, and other relevant functions across the company. The Associate Director will be responsible for driving strategic and tactical communication strategies to improve the visibility, positioning and awareness of Lilly’s LRL, Corporate Business Development and Catalyze360 organizations.

As a skilled communicator with a strong understanding of external scientific communications and the external innovation/BD ecosystem, while also being able to successfully navigate a sophisticated, highly matrixed organization, the Associate Director will also be responsible for providing strategic counsel to Lilly’s LRL and BD business partners.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate across the enterprise to develop and implement comprehensive 360 communications plans to successfully position and communicate Lilly’s leadership in early external innovation and BD
• Build a strategic executive visibility plan for key LRL and BD leaders at critical industry conferences, meetings, events, etc. where there is influential media or stakeholder presence
• Develop and implement an impactful media relations strategy to tell Lilly’s differentiated innovation story, aligned to BD’s brand objectives and positioning
• Develop content to support Lilly’s LRL and BD activities externally and internally, including narratives, proactive and reactive media message documents, press releases, presentations and talking points, videos, social and digital media content, internal news stories, etc.
• Drive external and internal communications support for Lilly Gateway Labs and Catalyze360 organizations
• Serve as communications lead for new site and facility openings, providing both strategic oversight and tactical implementation of communications activities
• Build the process for and drive Lilly reviews of third-party partner press releases and other relevant communication tactics
• Lead acquisition and integration communications efforts for deals, partnerships and collaborations when impacting the LRL organization
• Use metrics to measure results, understand return on investment of external engagement strategy and communication efforts and impact on BD, and find opportunities for continual improvement
• Partner with and provide direction to external agencies and vendors, as needed

Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Relations or related field
• 5+ years of external communications experience, within corporate or public relations agency environments
• Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to be employed in the United States. Lilly does not anticipate providing sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B or TN status) for this employment position

Additional Preferences:

• Pharmaceutical, BD and/or healthcare experience and expertise is preferred
• Demonstrated strength in scientific and/or BD communications with shown success in translating sophisticated information to make it more understandable
• Proficiency in both external and internal communications skills and channels
• Experience working closely with senior executives
• Strong understanding of traditional media landscape and its intersection with social and owned
• Ability to work quickly and with urgency under deadline
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams across a matrixed organization, establishing strong working relationships
• Superb verbal and written communication skills
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Highly organized, entrepreneurial thinker with the ability to manage multiple tasks
• Ability to be a flexible teammate, act quickly and meet deadlines with the highest ethical and business standards
• Shown ability to be innovative and creative
• Consistent track record in providing strategic, persuasive and appropriate communications counsel
• Professional presence with ability to handle ad-hoc issues, performing with a sense of urgency
• Meticulous attention to detail, with ability to grasp and focus on the big picture
• Project management capabilities that include process development and improvement, communications of best practices, and measurement
• This is not a remote role. The position is based in Indianapolis, IN and currently has a hybrid work schedule.

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and help our company develop talented individuals for future leadership roles. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, African American Network, Chinese Culture Network, Early Career Professionals, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinos at Lilly, PRIDE (LGBTQ + Allies), Veterans Leadership Network, Women’s Network, Working and Living with Disabilities. Learn more about all of our groups.

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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