Director, Issue Advocacy & Portfolio Strategy - Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association

Job Description Summary

The Director, Issue Advocacy & Portfolio Strategy will execute and contribute to comprehensive public affairs issue advocacy campaigns that advance the goals of the US business. In partnership with Executive Director, Issue Advocacy, this person will serve as US Patient Advocacy liaison to the US business and lead on priority in-line therapies and product launches by identifying opportunities to advance NVS portfolio objectives through public affairs strategies and collaborating with key US Patient Advocacy (PA) partners to implement tactical plans. Finally, this person will ensure US PA colleagues are aware of key business drivers and provide ongoing, relevant public affairs updates and insights to the US business.

Novartis will not sponsor visas for this position. This role is required to be in our Washington D.C. office 3x/week. Novartis is unable to offer relocation support for this role: please only apply if this location is accessible for you.

Key Responsibilities:

• In alignment with Executive Director, Issue Advocacy, contribute to the development and execution of US Public Affairs campaigns that advance the goals of the US business and product portfolio.
• Serve as US PA’s designated partner to therapeutic area leadership and product general managers.
• Responsible for proactively anticipating potential policy/political issues that relate to near-launch and in-market products and translating US PA issues for portfolio teams.
• Support and align with product teams for product planning, strategy development and capacity building across a product’s life cycle.
• Responsible for driving product-specific initiatives to completion, including ownership of budget submissions and collaboration between internal partners and external vendors to establish operating frameworks and metrics.
• Responsible for mobilization of appropriate US Government Affairs, Issue Advocacy, and Public Policy resources to ensure implementation of comprehensive public affairs strategies.
• Drive the execution of US PA strategies aligned with specific product and cross-portfolio business objectives that shape a favorable operating environment and advance patient access.
• Utilization of data, research, and other real-time insights to create strategies that shape the long-term healthcare policy environment to drive future focused efforts related to launch readiness and priority US product launches.
• Educate the US PA organization about primary business drivers and challenges, provide strategic insights on business developments to inform US PA priorities, and collaborate with key teams within Global Public Affairs to share US approach and best practices and inform global strategy development, as appropriate.

Key performance indicators:

• Operate as a trusted advisor to key Novartis leaders while becoming fully integrated into the US business.
• Identify, inform, and contribute to predictive Public Affairs strategies with long-term objectives in mind for key US therapeutic areas and brands that drive business objectives with demonstrated results.
• Cultivate a well-developed network that provides access to key stakeholders, critical intelligence, and ability to anticipate the future policy landscape.
• Effective communications that provide colleagues with pertinent information on how the US political and policy environment impacts the US commercial function and efforts related to Public Affairs’ capabilities, priorities, and proactive approach to shape the environment.
• Ability to navigate high-impact, high-risk and complex situations.

Minimum Requirements:

• Undergraduate degree required. A masters level degree or equivalent in law, public policy or health administration is preferred.

Essential Requirements:

• 8+ years of professional experience preferably in pharmaceutical or health care industry, including with product and/or brand teams; experience in Public Affairs, specifically working with elected officials, executive level management, patient groups, advocacy community, and industry associations; and successfully working within a corporate structure.
• Deep knowledge of US political and policy landscape; key government health programs (e.g. Medicare, Medicaid); patient advocacy community; and the interplay of the above.
• Strong understanding of pharmaceutical industry business model, the intersection of business and public policy and macro healthcare trends.
• Experience working in and across communications, advocacy, and policy functions and developing strategies that bring all functions together for a successful result.
• Experience developing and executing issue campaigns around health policy topics.
• Proven ability to communicate business critical information at senior levels and to reconcile multiple stakeholder perspectives. Experience working with senior level and/or c-suite executives.
• Excellent project management capabilities.

Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together?

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams’ representative of the patients and communities we serve.

EEO Statement: The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers who are focused on building and advancing a culture of inclusion that values and celebrates individual differences, uniqueness, backgrounds and perspectives.

Accessibility and reasonable accommodations: The Novartis Group of Companies are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities.