Director Medical Strategy

Abbott • Lake Forest, IL

1d • Onsite

About The Position

This Medical Affairs leader is responsible for developing and executing medical strategies that support the scientific, clinical, and educational value of the company’s diagnostic portfolio. The role has primary accountability for strategic design and execution in the United States and Canada, and global execution support across other regions in close collaboration with regional medical teams. This individual will supervise Medical Education and Medical Information teams to ensure consistent, compliant, and high impact scientific engagement with healthcare professionals, laboratory leaders, and key opinion leaders (KOLs). The role serves as a critical scientific bridge between R&D, Commercial, Market Access, and Regional Medical Affairs, ensuring that medical strategy is aligned with patient care, clinical practice, and business objectives.

Requirements

• MD, DO, PhD, PharmD, or equivalent advanced scientific/clinical degree required.
• 5+ years of experience in Medical Affairs, Clinical Affairs, or related roles within diagnostics, life sciences, or healthcare.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing medical strategies in a U.S. and/or global setting.
• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to translate science into practical medical value.
• Deep understanding of medical affairs governance, compliance, and regulated environments.
• Excellent communication and scientific storytelling skills for internal and external audiences.
• Proven ability to work effectively in a matrixed, cross‑functional, and global organization.
• High credibility with internal stakeholders and external clinical experts.
• Scientific integrity and patient‑centric mindset.
• Collaborative and influence‑based leadership style.
• Comfort operating between strategy and execution.
• Global perspective with sensitivity to regional needs.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with medical education and medical information functions strongly preferred.
• Prior leadership in diagnostic, laboratory medicine, molecular diagnostics, or precision medicine environments preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of integrated medical strategies for the U.S. and Canada, aligned with product lifecycle stages (pre‑launch, launch, post‑launch).
• Define medical priorities, core scientific narratives, and evidence strategies across the diagnostic portfolio.
• Translate clinical evidence, guidelines, and unmet needs into actionable medical plans that support appropriate test utilization and patient impact.
• Serve as a senior medical voice for strategic initiatives and internal decision‑making.
• Support execution of global medical strategies across international regions in partnership with regional medical affairs leaders.
• Ensure consistency of scientific messaging while allowing for regional customization based on local clinical practice and regulatory environments.
• Contribute to global medical planning, advisory boards, and internal forums as a subject matter expert.
• Provide strategic oversight for HCP, laboratory, and stakeholder education programs, including live programs, congress symposia, digital initiatives, and enduring materials.
• Partner with the Medical Education team to design compliant, needs‑based educational initiatives that close knowledge and practice gaps.
• Ensure all educational content is scientifically accurate, balanced, and aligned with current evidence and guidelines.
• Supervise Medical Information team to ensure high‑quality, consistent scientific responses across regions.
• Review and guide the development of scientific content, FAQs, and standard response documents.
• Support advanced scientific exchange with key external experts and institutions.
• Identify evidence gaps and contribute to real‑world evidence, clinical research, and publication strategies in partnership with marketing and R&D teams.
• Gather and synthesize medical insights from the field to inform strategy, pipeline development, and lifecycle planning.
• Participate in advisory boards and external expert engagements.
• Act as a key medical partner to Commercial, Market Access, Regulatory, Quality, and R&D teams.
• Provide medical review and input for promotional and non‑promotional materials according to company and regulatory standards.
• Support congress planning, competitive intelligence, and internal medical training.
• Ensure all medical activities are conducted in compliance with applicable regulations, industry standards, and internal SOPs.
• Uphold the highest scientific and ethical standards in all external and internal engagements.

Benefits

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan.
• An excellent retirement savings plan with high employer contribution.
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as a best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.
• Health and wellness benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees