Associate Director, Thought Leader Liaison (Nephrology)

Ardelyx is a publicly traded commercial biopharmaceutical company founded with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize innovative first-in-class medicines that meet significant unmet medical needs. Ardelyx has two commercial products approved in the United States, IBSRELA® (tenapanor) and XPHOZAH® (tenapanor). Ardelyx has agreements for the development and commercialization of tenapanor outside of the U.S. Kyowa Kirin commercializes PHOZEVEL® (tenapanor) for hyperphosphatemia in Japan. A New Drug Application for tenapanor for hyperphosphatemia has been submitted in China with Fosun Pharma. Knight Therapeutics commercializes IBSRELA in Canada. 

The Associate Director, Thought Leader Liaison role is a field-based position on the marketing team that will focus on thought leader identification, development, and engagement. The position will report to the Senior Director, Professional Strategy & Engagement. Key Responsibilities: 

• Develop and execute KOL engagement strategy by identifying, profiling, cultivating and maintaining long-term relationships with KOLs in the field and at key congresses
• Manage speaker’s bureau, congresses, and recommend faculty and advisors for advisory boards  
• Assist with thought leader development, including training and coaching of promotional speakers with approved slide decks and materials
• Attend live and virtual HCP programming to observe, coach, and help the speaker where necessary to ensure compliant execution of content
• Conduct business discussions with thought leaders relating to on-label product information, disease state, and general corporate overviews
• Plan and execute strategic key thought leader engagements at local, regional, and national conferences
• Gain and record insights from thought leaders and provide feedback – to enhance and optimize marketing strategies/tactics
• Work with the Marketing team on new content creation and existing content updates, as well as new programing ideas
• Collaborate with Commercial team on large group practice engagement
• Work collaboratively with marketing, sales, medical affairs, and market access on strategic thought leader initiatives

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years’ work experience in healthcare/pharma/biotech
• Experience working in nephrology required
• Experience in a combination of one or more of the following areas: product marketing, field sales, sales leadership and/or thought leader engagement
• Working knowledge of thought leader engagement practices and strong relationship management skills
• Effective verbal and written communication skills
• Self-driven and highly motivated with strong organization and planning skills
• Collaborative with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
• Proven track record for consistently meeting or exceeding goals and objectives
• Ability to work well in fast-paced entrepreneurial environment with significant autonomy

 Work Environment:

• Remote-based position with regular travel to engage with thought leaders and with marketing team.
• Ability to travel as required to meet business needs (>50%) including overnight and weekend travel

As a member of the Ardelyx team, you will play a key role in representing market first-in-class medicines to better the lives of underserved patients.  It’s the patients in need that motivate and inspire us to be relentless and work hard every day. They push us to maintain a clear focus on scientific and clinical integrity with a commitment to medical innovation so that we can deliver exceptional medicines.  We are different for good. The anticipated annualized base pay range for this full-time position is $185,103- $226,237. Ardelyx utilizes industry data to ensure that our compensation is competitive and aligned with our industry peers.  Actual base pay will be determined based on a variety of factors, including years of relevant experience, training, qualifications, and internal equity.  The compensation package may also includean annual bonus target and equity awards, subject to eligibility and other requirements.       Ardelyx also offers a robust benefits package to employees, including a 401(k) plan with generous employer match, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, up to 12 weeks living organ and bone marrow leave, equity incentive plans, health plans (medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision), life insurance and disability, flexible time off, annual Winter Holiday shut down, and at least 11 paid holidays.   Ardelyx is a