Associate Director, Medical Affairs

Xenon Pharmaceuticals•Needham, MA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Xenon Pharmaceuticals is seeking an Associate Director, Medical Affairs, to lead medical and scientific training across its neuroscience portfolio, including epilepsy, major depressive disorder, bipolar depression, and pain. The role focuses on translating complex clinical and mechanistic concepts into clear, practical learning experiences and developing and maintaining key insight questions, talking points, objection-handling resources, and other enablement tools. The position leads onboarding and continuing medical training for new hires and existing teams, and helps turn scientific literature and field insights into training priorities and medical initiatives. The role also supports congress execution, training, insights-to-action, HCP tiering, literature alerts, and assigned components of integrated medical planning. It partners with Medical Directors and teams across Field Medical, Clinical Development, Scientific Communications, Commercial, Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance to ensure scientific accuracy, alignment, and compliant execution. The position reports to the Executive Director, Medical Affairs. The position is based at Xenon's Needham, Massachusetts office. Remote locations may be considered for exceptional candidates; employees in the Boston area are required to work in the office at least two days per week. Travel may be required up to 10% as needed.

Requirements

Advanced degree in a scientific or clinical discipline, such as PharmD, PhD, MD, MSc, or equivalent.
At least 5 years of relevant experience in biopharmaceutical or agency settings in Medical Affairs, Medical Education, Scientific Communications, or related functions.
Experience developing and delivering training for multiple audiences, such as field medical, congress teams, and cross-functional stakeholders.
Ability to translate complex data into clear, practical learning.
Strong instructional design and facilitation skills for live and virtual settings, including curriculum building, module development, and use of feedback and metrics to improve training effectiveness.
Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build credibility and partner effectively with Medical Directors, Scientific Communications, Commercial Training, and Compliance.
Demonstrated project management skills, including prioritizing work, delivering to timelines, and managing training programs alongside broader Medical Affairs initiatives in a fast-paced environment.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, attention to scientific accuracy, and a compliance-first approach to content development and delivery.
Ability to travel up to 10% as needed.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting medical congress planning, field insights synthesis, advisory boards, or related medical strategy initiatives.
Ability to translate scientific literature and insights into strategic recommendations and educational priorities.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end development and delivery of medical and scientific training across disease states and the neuroscience portfolio, aligning curricula with program milestones, evidence generation, scientific communications, and identified learning needs.
Design engaging training modules for field medical, congress teams, and cross-functional partners, using adult learning principles, knowledge checks, and practical application exercises.
Facilitate live and virtual training, manage training calendars, evaluate effectiveness, and continuously improve content and delivery based on feedback and knowledge checks.
Lead development of certification module tests and partner with Field Medical on full certification of Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs).
Lead medical and scientific onboarding for new hires who require medical training; create role-based learning paths and ensure readiness for compliant external engagement.
Work with Medical Directors and Scientific Communications to develop, review, and maintain compliant FAQs, talking points, and objection-handling resources aligned with the medical communications platform and publication plan.
Support the medical congress lead in developing and executing congress plans, including scientific coverage, team preparation, post-congress synthesis, and follow-up.
Train field and congress teams on new medical communications materials and publications, including congress data disclosures, manuscripts, and slide libraries.
Support the insights lead and Field Medical in developing and refining key insight questions, synthesizing field and congress insights, identifying implications for medical strategy and training, and tracking agreed follow-up activities.
Lead HCP tiering in partnership with Medical Strategy and Field Medical to inform scientific engagement planning.
Develop and execute assigned components of integrated medical plans, aligning objectives, deliverables, and timelines with Medical Director of Operations (MDO) priorities.
Lead literature alerts and coordinate timely synthesis and dissemination of relevant scientific developments with Medical Directors and Scientific Communications.
Translate new evidence into updates to training and scientific readiness resources.
Collaborate with Medical Affairs, Scientific Communications, Clinical Development, Regulatory, Legal, Compliance, and Commercial partners to ensure training content is accurate, aligned, and delivered on time.
Ensure training materials and delivery comply with regulatory requirements and corporate standards; follow required review and approval processes and maintain version control.
Act in accordance with company policies, including the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and ensure policies are understood and followed by any direct reports.