Director, Global Patient Advocacy Lead

Reporting to VP Global Head Patient Experience, this position is part of Alexion AstraZeneca Rare Disease Patient Experience team and is responsible for leading the Global patient advocacy strategy and patient engagement within the Alexion Rare Disease Business unit and may span multiple disease within the current portfolio and pipeline.  

This role will drive the global strategy to find opportunities to understand and support the patient journey including accelerating the time to diagnosis, disease awareness and resources, treatment advances, and providing caregiver support to improve health outcomes.  

The Director, Patient Advocacy will be responsible for driving, building and enhancing strategic alliances with both disease-specific advocacy organizations and those that span across disease area umbrella groups, as well as other rare/ultra-rare disease-oriented organizations in response to patient needs to drive Alexion AstraZeneca Rare Disease global patient advocacy strategic goals.   

In this role you will enhance Alexion’s commitment and demonstration of patient centricity. Through understanding of the patient community, this individual will bring the patient perspective into Alexion Astra Zeneca Rare Disease decision making. 

You will be responsible for: 

• Establish Alexion as a strong partner to the global relevant patient communities promoting strategic, long-term partnerships with this community by strengthening existing collaborations and identifying new groups for partnerships and engagement 

• Shape and coordinate execution of global patient advocacy strategy and plans disease areas in scope through effective cross-functional partnerships with Therapeutic Area leaders of Alexion’s Medical and Commercial organizations and coordinate with critical internal partners.

• Advance patient-focused drug development, ensuring strategic partnership with rare disease communities in support of R&D programs and clinical trials, working closely with Global Patient Insights and Solutions (GPIS) towards facilitating and implementing early patient engagement and insights activities and supporting clinical trial awareness and recruitment   

• Leading patient identification, engagement and relationship development to support PEX organized frameworks (STAR workshops, Patient Frictions Coefficients, Patient Insights Forum, etc.) to ensure effective cross-sectional representation of patient and caregivers within those platforms 

• Promote patient-partnered alliances and initiatives with PAGs to advance access and equity by shaping policies and guidelines that are informed by the lived experience of patients and caregivers. Partner closely with Corporate Affairs teams towards actions that support system changes supporting the advancement of policy positions that embrace appreciation of innovation and the importance of optimal treatment as it applies to the disease areas in scope for this role. 

• Link appropriate patient groups with the information and resources needed to support patients and caregivers to advocate for appropriate care. Build a sense of community and collaboration among these groups and with Alexion  

• Efficiently and effectively serve as a liaison to the rare disease community by working appropriately with global colleagues on cross-disease initiatives while prioritizing engagement on disease-specific work and ensuring coordinated outreach and further establishing our external rare disease leadership 

• Support collection of patient’ and caregiver’s insights and proactively and routinely sharing and integrating insights from patient advocacy groups to shape programs, research and activities related to Alexion programs.  

• Lead internal thought leaders patient centricity sessions and represent Alexion externally in patient focused congresses and patient meetings to enhance our corporate reputation and connections with patient communities  

• Align closely with other AZ business unites towards optimal alignments and coordinated approach to partnering with patient groups and communities that are shared across the different AZ areas of work 

• Partnering closely with all in-country patient advocacy team (US, EUCAN & International, China, Japan) providing strategic guidance and actional frameworks and resources. Ensure alignment and synergies between global and local patient advocacy strategies and plans in this TA supporting local teams deliver key projects and initiatives and the effective participation of local PAG leaders in global PEX initiatives 

• Represent Patient Advocacy in the relevant TA cross-functional leadership teams ensuring the patient advocacy perspective is adequat