Senior Director, State Government Affairs & Patient Advocacy (EAST)

Job Description

General/Position Summary

The Senior Director, State Government Affairs & Patient Advocacy reports to the Head of State Government Affairs & Patient Advocacy, and leads an integrated, multi-regional field organization of state government affairs and patient advocacy regional directors across East territory, serving as the East leader accountable for aligned state government affairs and grassroots patient advocacy strategy, execution, and performance. This role represents Vertex externally with policymakers, regulators, patient advocacy organizations, community leaders, provider organizations, professional societies, and other key stakeholders, and serves as a leader in US Public Affairs to integrate those engagements with internal teams to advance business objectives, protect patient access, and support disease education, screening, and reimbursement priorities.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

In order of importance, core duties and responsibilities include:

Lead and manage East operations for an integrated state government affairs and patient advocacy organization, including multiple Regional Directors (RD) as direct reports, budget oversight, strategic planning, and performance management

Serve as the primary East manager, point of contact and subject matter expert for external stakeholder engagement, ensuring coordinated outreach and consistent messaging across policymakers, advocates, community leaders, providers, and professional societies including excelling at external speaking engagements representing Vertex.

Drive cross-functional development and regional execution of enterprise-wide policy and advocacy strategies related to marketed and pipeline therapies, R&D priorities, disease education, screening initiatives, reimbursement models, and patient access challenges.

Lead the execution of plans and strategies in the East to build and sustain relationships with state executive and legislative stakeholders, relevant agencies, and influential regional partners to advance Vertex priorities and anticipate policy and political risks and opportunities.

Partner closely with internal functions (e.g., Federal Government Affairs, Policy & Alliance Development, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Legal/Compliance, Regulatory, and Communications) to integrate regional intelligence and coordinate action plans.

Identify, map, and assess regional trends, stakeholders, and emerging issues; translate insights into actionable recommendations and proactive strategies for disease-area and above-brand priorities.

Design and execute multi-faceted campaign style initiatives and action plans to educate policymakers, senior staff, and stakeholder communities; Plans must integrate patient and community perspectives and aligning with enterprise priorities

Improve efficiency by strengthening systems and processes for stakeholder mapping, budgeting, issue tracking, reporting, and coordinated execution across state and advocacy activities.

Oversight of the team’s regional management of consultants and vendors, ensuring clear deliverables, value, and alignment with strategic priorities.

Ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and Vertex policies governing state lobbying, political activity, and patient advocacy engagement.

Required Education Level

Bachelor’s degree required

Required Experience

Typically requires 12 years of work experience and 5 years of supervisory/management experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

Demonstrated experience in public affairs, state government affairs, patient advocacy/grassroots engagement, public policy, and/or external relations, preferably in healthcare or public health.

Required Knowledge/Skills

Strong knowledge and experience working with diverse stakeholders, including state executive and legislative branches, patient advocacy organizations, community groups, provider organizations, and professional societies.

Ability to recommend and execute integrated strategies to accomplish state policy and advocacy objectives aligned to enterprise priorities.

Excellent verbal and written communications skills, including the ability to brief and influence senior internal stakeholders and present complex issues clearly.

Demonstrated analytical, research, and stakeholder-mapping capabilities; able to identify emerging issues and translate them into action.

Detail-oriented, self-initiating, well-organized, and capable of managing multiple priorities simultaneously across a distributed team.

Demonstrated ability to manage and develop leaders and teams with diverse objectives, and to build new networks and partnerships that enhance Vertex engagement and outcomes.

Strong cross-functional collaboration skills; able to integr