Director, Corporate & State Government Affairs

AstraZeneca

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

In this regional leadership role covering the greater New York area, you will set the agenda for corporate reputation and state government affairs, translating strategy into visible outcomes across communities, payers, and policymakers. You will partner across commercial, market access, medical, legal, and corporate affairs teams to power enterprise priorities—enhancing visibility of our R&D footprint, accelerating early diagnosis initiatives, and ensuring our brands are accessible for all patients. This is a field-based leadership position with significant external engagement and cross-functional influence. You will have the platform, network, and autonomy to run with bold ideas, bring unexpected teams together, and build policy and programming that unlocks value at pace while staying true to our purpose.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree.
• Field-based.
• 6-8 years of experience in pharmaceutical or related industry.
• Strong public speaking skills.
• Strong desire to be part of a close-knit, highly focused team committed to unparalleled stakeholder satisfaction and helping make AstraZeneca a great place to work and grow.
• Strong negotiation and advocacy skills.
• Knowledge of legislative, regulatory, and political processes.
• Requires strong internal stakeholder and alliance building capabilities.
• Amenable to lobbyists' travel/schedule; including late night, off-hour and weekend responsibilities — up to 40% travel is required.
• Travel to the company locations in Wilmington DE, Gaithersburg MD, and Washington DC.

Nice To Haves

• 8-10 years of experience in government, politics, or government affairs with a minimum of 6 years in the bio-pharmaceutical or related space.
• Experienced interpersonal communications; public speaking and writing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work on large public affairs projects aimed at enhancing corporate visibility with our growth and expansion.
• Deep knowledge of the healthcare industry especially with public and private payers, supply chains, and state/federal political influence on the pharmaceutical business.
• Demonstrated experience of working collaboratively across sales, market access, medical affairs and various corporate affairs functions; comfortable in a highly matrixed organization.
• Highly proficient in standard business software applications.
• Demonstrated experience with ally development, public relations, and health care policy.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a regional plan to enhance corporate reputation, increase community presence, and showcase innovative R&D sites; track outcomes through stakeholder engagement and visibility measures.
• Lead and deliver therapeutic flagship programs with multiple stakeholders, ensuring strong pull-through with commercial teams.
• Build and implement a regional community engagement strategy that strengthens partnerships and supports local health priorities.
• Serve as the registered lobbyist for the region; design and run state-based lobbying campaigns aligned to company priorities.
• Strategically integrate state policy within public and private payers to ensure AstraZeneca brands are accessible for all patients.
• Identify and lead opportunities to expand early diagnosis, working with public health officials, patient groups, and subject matter experts.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with elected officials, governors, executive agencies, trade associations, think tanks, and third-party allies; act as an external leader with vision.
• Demonstrate leadership with national political organizations and committees to implement policy programming.
• Connect with experts, develop plans, and implement initiatives that advance sustainability and health equity interests.
• Participate in Political Action Committee grassroots solicitations and organize and attend fundraisers.
• Lead internal workstreams to assess corporate priorities and build positive community ecosystems.
• Collaborate to enhance corporate reputation through direct community engagement that supports US expansion initiatives.
• Provide leadership on local state-related public policy issues; serve as the resident expert on legislative matters and strategy.
• Ensure integration of state-related business objectives across commercial, market access, legal, sales, and marketing teams.
• Identify, analyze, and act on legislative and regulatory initiatives and emerging issues that impact the company.
• Develop and implement legislative and regulatory strategies that assist and achieve brand objectives.
• Allocate resources strategically; perform budget allocation and consultant evaluations; manage contract lobbyists and strategic alliance managers.
• Assist the Director of Political Programs with PAC education and recruitment, including internal speaking engagements.
• Liaison with Corporate Affairs partners to ensure strong links to corporate brand initiatives.
• Liaison with federal government affairs lobbyists on region-specific issues; employ state strategies to mitigate impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and other federal mandates.
• Understand AstraZeneca’s business goals and priorities; build strategies to support them and act on emerging political issues.

Benefits

• Individualized flexibility
• Opportunity to work across teams, functions and even the globe
• Balancing personal and work commitments
• Strong culture of collaboration and teamwork
• Engaging face-to-face in our offices 3 days a week
• Collaboration spaces
• Dedication to sustainability

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director