Job Summary
The Director, Patient and Professional Advocacy will build and lead patient advocacy and professional society engagements and collaborations, with a focus on ulcerative colitis. This leader will cultivate positive relationships with patient communities, advocacy groups, professional medical associations and individual patients to better understand their needs, experiences, and challenges. This role will be the bridge between patients, patient organizations, and Cristcot, ensuring their perspectives influence decisions, data generation strategies, and patient support initiatives. The Director will lead engagements with professional medical associations by setting the strategy and leading execution to evolve disease understanding and education.
Primary Relationships
- Within Cristcot, the Director, Patient and Professional Advocacy will collaborate closely with Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, HEOR and Marketing.
- Outside Cristcot, the Director, Patient and Professional Advocacy will build relationships with patient advocacy organizations, professional societies, Health Care Providers, and patients as appropriate.
Primary Job Responsibilities
The Director, Patient and Professional Advocacy will lead development and execution of an External Partner engagement plan with strategic alignment to company goals and brand strategies.
The activities of the Director, Patient and Professional Advocacy:
- Patient and Professional Advocacy:
- Develop and implement an External Partner engagement strategy aligned to internal business needs and external community needs.
- Partner with Patient Organizations to identify and implement innovative initiatives to empower patient communities to seek optimal and informed care.
- Participate in and support Patient Organization events, workshops, and conferences to elevate awareness and champion patient community engagement.
- Collaborate and co-create with Professional Medical Associations to identify and implement innovative initiatives and partnerships intended to address evolving medical science.
- Provide insight into Health Policy and Access & Reimbursement trends to ensure Patient Organizations have a thorough understanding of the access and reimbursement landscape.
- Patient Engagement:
- Implement a detailed framework to ensure patient experience is incorporated into all critical business decisions across asset lifecycle.
- Engage with patient advocacy groups, foundations, and individual patients to see their point of view and needs as it related to data generation.
- Establish and maintain strong relationships with key collaborators in the patient community.
- Patient-Centric Approach:
- Represent the company in external forums and conferences related to patient advocacy.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure patient perspective is internally understood and incorporated into company culture.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure patient needs are considered at all stages of product lifecycle.
- Collaborate with Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Corporate Communications, Human Resources, Legal, and Compliance to ensure that Cristcot’s core values and corporate brand are represented in internal and external initiatives.
- Cultivate a collaborative and supportive team culture to achieve patient-centric goals.
Skills and Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in life sciences, healthcare, public health, or related fields (advanced degree preferred).
- Minimum of 7 years’ experience in patient advocacy/engagement or closely related roles within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical healthcare industries.
- The ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to diverse audiences.
- Excellent communication and social skills to engage with patients, advocacy groups, and internal collaborators effectively.
- Demonstrated peer leadership experience and ability to inspire and motivate a matrixed team.
- Deep appreciation for patients and their families, with a passion for advocating on their behalf.
- Knowledge of regulatory and ethical considerations related to patient advocacy and engagement.
- Preference for candidates who have worked both within small and medium/large biotech or pharma companies.
- Familiarity/experience with regulatory and pharmaceutical legal promotional review processes
- Ability to travel up to 30%.