Director, Patient Advocacy – Oncology & Autoimmune (Cell Therapy)

Bristol Myers Squibb • Malibu, SC

5d

About The Position

The Director, Patient Advocacy – Oncology & Autoimmune (Cell Therapy) will serve as a strategic and operational leader within the Global Patient Advocacy organization, with cross-therapeutic area accountability spanning cancer and autoimmune diseases. This role sits within the Oncology team, reporting to the “Sr. Director, Patient Advocacy Oncology”, with a dotted line reporting relationship to the “Sr. Director, Immunology, Cardiovascular and Autoimmune Cell Therapy”, reflecting this role's responsibility to lead select autoimmune advocacy initiatives. This role will play a pivotal part in embedding the patient voice throughout the full cell therapy lifecycle — from drug development through commercialization — ensuring that patient community insights meaningfully shape BMS strategy, clinical programs, and product launches. The Director will lead the design and execution of portfolio-level patient advocacy strategies across disease areas to advance priorities of the cell therapy organization, owning both the operational infrastructure and the strategic relationships that make those programs successful. Additionally, the individual will lead launch readiness efforts for cell therapy products in oncology, partnering deeply with commercial, medical, policy, market access, and communications functions to position BMS as the trusted and preferred partner to the patient advocacy community. The ideal candidate is a seasoned advocacy professional who thinks strategically, executes tactically, builds trusted relationships at all levels, and thrives in a complex, fast-paced, matrixed environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree (BA/BS) required; advanced degree (e.g., Master's, MBA, or scientific graduate degree) strongly preferred.
• 10–12 years of experience in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry, with a focus on patient advocacy and commercial/launch strategy.
• Demonstrated success leading patient advocacy strategies in oncology and/or autoimmune diseases; cell therapy experience strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of leading patient advocacy responsibilities related to product launches and driving cross-functional alignment in a complex, matrixed organization.
• Strong record of superior decision-making and performance in developing and executing strategic projects, including budget management.
• Extensive experience engaging with patient advocacy groups and translating patient insights into actionable strategies within drug development and/or commercialization.
• Demonstrated ability to foster collaboration, build strong internal and external partnerships, and influence stakeholders at all levels including senior and executive leadership.
• Skilled communicator with strong facilitation, synthesis, and presentation abilities; capable of transforming complex input into clear, impactful deliverables.
• Experience developing and tracking KPIs to measure advocacy program impact and drive continuous improvement.
• Outstanding organizational skills; ability to manage concurrent projects within tight deadlines while maintaining excellent service to internal and external customers.
• Strong acumen with digital engagement tools and platforms.
• High ethical standards; exhibits self-awareness, adaptability, empathy, active listening, and cultural sensitivity, particularly in working with patient and caregiver communities.
• Passion for patients with a demonstrated ability to build collaborative relationships and a strong track record of thinking creatively and strategically while executing tactically.
• Experience working in a global matrixed environment required.
• Domestic and international travel up to 40%, including regular visits to BMS headquarters in Princeton, NJ.

Responsibilities

• Lead patient advocacy strategy, execution and launch readiness for cell therapy products, ensuring the patient voice is integrated from pre-launch through post-launch phases.
• Define and execute advocacy strategies in collaboration with therapeutic area leads, commercial teams, and cross-functional partners to support successful product launches.
• Drive the development of high-impact, insight-driven advocacy plans that reflect deep knowledge of the patient community landscapes and that shape the environment to enable greater patient access.
• Champion the integration of patient and caregiver perspectives into BMS cell therapy programs, from late clinical development through commercialization, ensuring strategies are patient-centered and commercially aligned.
• Generate innovative business concepts and continuously search for novel applications of advocacy strategies to support evolving pipeline and launch priorities.
• Serve as the operational backbone of the Patient Advocacy Cell Therapy organization, leading and standardizing advocacy processes, project management frameworks, and cross-functional workflows across multiple therapeutic areas.
• Lead workstreams across cancer and autoimmune cell therapy programs to collect and synthesize patient insights and translate them into actionable, portfolio-level strategic plans. In this capacity, lead the development of portfolio-level strategies and innovative ideas designed to drive meaningful impact across the cell therapy franchise.
• Develop, implement, and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of patient advocacy engagements on business priorities and continuously optimize execution.
• Provide project management leadership across advocacy engagements at key external congresses, disease community events, medical conferences, and educational symposia spanning multiple areas of the portfolio.
• Ensure project deliverables are managed in alignment with BMS Project Management best practices; encourage innovation and organize forums for cross-sharing of ideas and best practices.
• Cultivate and manage high-priority relationships with patient advocacy organizations and patient communities within oncology, with a focus on issues related to patient access to care and cell therapy adoption.
• Represent BMS externally at advocacy events, medical conferences, and global forums; serve as a credible and trusted voice for the company with advocacy stakeholders.
• Interact with and advise senior BMS leadership, representing the patient voice and providing strategic counsel on the advocacy landscape, community needs, and emerging issues.
• Champion the patient voice with internal stakeholders, including BMS leadership, clinical development teams, and commercial organizations.
• Develop strong cross-functional relationships in multiple therapeutic areas as well as other functions within the Global Purpose and Patient Experience team.
• Apply strong business acumen and subject matter expertise to drive project execution, fostering effective cross-functional collaboration to deliver impactful outcomes.
• Partner with cross-functional teams (e.g., Medical, Marketing, Communications, Strategy & Operations, etc.) to ensure the timely and effective integration of advocacy insights into strategies and deliverables.

Benefits

• Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.
• Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well-Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).
• Financial Well-being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.
• Work-life benefits include: Paid Time Off US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees) Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays Based on eligibility, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day. All global employees full and part-time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees