Blackbird - Associate Director, Patient Engagement & Insights

Raven (RA Ventures)•Boston, MA

2d•$150,000 - $210,000

About The Position

As the Associate Director of Patient Engagement & Insights, you will act as a high-level consultant and architect. You will navigate the intersection of health policy, clinical R&D, and management consulting to build relationships, programs, and tools that competitively advantage our portfolio. You will be charged with mapping advocacy landscapes both in the US and abroad, maintaining relationships with both blue-chip and grassroots patient advocacy organizations and making sure our portfolio companies are able to have mutually beneficial interactions with the patient communities they aim to serve. It is expected that you will know how to leverage patient insights, have demonstrated proficiency in best practices for interacting with patients, caregivers and advocacy leaders, and are willing to test novel tactics to ensure patients are top of mind for drug developers. This is an opportunity to join a larger team that is innovating new patient advocacy and engagement tactics with the goal of leveraging patient insights to make sure new medicines are developed with the communities who need them.

Requirements

7+ years of progressive experience in patient advocacy, clinical operations, or health policy within a biotech, top-tier CRO, or major advocacy organization.
Proven Track Record: Experience designing and executing patient advisory boards, focus groups, and surveys that resulted in tangible protocol changes.
Regulatory Fluency: Deep knowledge of Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) frameworks.
Metric-Driven Mindset: Ability to move beyond qualitative anecdotes to present quantitative "Patient ROI" investment teams and CEOs.
Communication: Ability to pitch advocacy and engagement strategies to internal teams, senior management at portfolio companies, and vendor partners justifying spend with clear ROI on time-to-enrollment savings.
Internal Technology: Proficiency with Microsoft office suite of tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), generative AI tools, and productivity tools like Notion and SmartSheet.

Nice To Haves

Advanced Degree: MPH, MBA, or MHA is not required, but preferred .
Therapeutic Depth: Expertise in Rare Disease, Oncology, or Neurology/CNS is preferred by not required.
Digital Savvy: Experience with AI-driven patient recruitment platforms or digital sentiment analysis tools.
Venture/Startup Exposure: Experience working in high-growth, fast-paced environments where agility is a core requirement.
Global Perspective: Experience managing advocacy relationships in both US and ex-US markets (Europe, APAC, LATAM) to support global filings.