Director, Patient Engagement & Advocacy (State & Grassroots)

Neurocrine Biosciences • US CA Home Office, CA

2d • $190,900 - $260,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Neurocrine Biosciences is a leading biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing, and commercializing life-changing treatments for patients with under-addressed neurological, psychiatric, endocrine, and immunological disorders. The Director, State & Grassroots Patient Engagement & Advocacy (PEA) provides strategic leadership for field-based patient engagement & advocacy across assigned Endocrinology therapeutic programs and brands. This role translates national patient engagement & advocacy strategy into coordinated state, regional, and local engagement plans that strengthen relationships with patient advocacy organizations and community stakeholders while ensuring patient and caregiver perspectives inform business decisions. The Director serves as Neurocrine's strategic lead to the patient community at the state and local level for assigned therapeutic programs, developing long-term partnerships with state and grassroots patient advocacy organizations, providing strategic leadership for field-based patient engagement across internal functions, strengthening and protecting Neurocrine's reputation within local patient communities, generating actionable community insights, and ensuring local perspectives meaningfully inform enterprise strategy and decision making.

Requirements

• High school diploma with 16+ years of combined relevant education and experience; OR BS/BA degree in Business, Economics, Communications, Public Health, Healthcare Administration, or a related discipline with 12+ years of relevant experience; OR Master’s degree with 10+ years of relevant experience
• Experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, a patient advocacy organization, or a healthcare consulting, communications, or patient engagement agency is strongly preferred
• Experience developing partnerships with state, regional, or grassroots patient advocacy organizations and community stakeholders
• Experience working closely with field-based commercial, medical, market access, or government affairs organizations
• Experience supporting patient access, state policy, or community engagement initiatives preferred
• Experience working in rare disease or specialty pharmaceutical environments preferred
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategic patient engagement initiatives across diverse state, regional, and local environments
• Exceptional relationship-building, influencing, stakeholder management, and diplomacy skills
• Strong understanding of field-based commercial, medical, market access, and government affairs organizations and their interactions with patient communities
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence without formal authority
• Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation, negotiation, and executive presence
• Strong judgment and ability to balance competing stakeholder priorities while maintaining trusted external relationships
• Knowledge of the U.S. healthcare, biopharmaceutical, patient advocacy, and state policy landscape
• Commitment to compliant, ethical, and patient-centered engagement

Nice To Haves

• Experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, a patient advocacy organization, or a healthcare consulting, communications, or patient engagement agency
• Experience supporting patient access, state policy, or community engagement initiatives
• Experience working in rare disease or specialty pharmaceutical environments

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of state and grassroots patient engagement strategies for assigned Endocrinology therapeutic programs and brands, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities while addressing regional and local community needs.
• Translate national patient engagement strategy into coordinated field engagement plans that support business objectives while meeting the unique needs of local patient communities.
• Identify emerging community needs, trends, and opportunities, translating local insights into actionable recommendations that inform enterprise strategy and business decisions.
• Develop and steward long-term strategic relationships with state, regional, and grassroots patient advocacy organizations and other community stakeholders, serving as a trusted partner while advancing shared objectives.
• Strengthen and protect Neurocrine's reputation and credibility within local patient communities by fostering transparent, collaborative, and mutually beneficial partnerships that reflect the company's values and long-term commitment to patients.
• Identify, develop, and lead strategic collaborations with community organizations while monitoring the external landscape for emerging trends, unmet needs, partnership opportunities, and potential risks.
• Serve as the primary Patient Engagement & Advocacy partner for field-based functions, including Sales, Field Medical, Field Medical Marketing, Regional Patient Access Managers, State Government Affairs, Market Access, and other field teams supporting assigned therapeutic programs.
• Partner with field leadership to coordinate patient engagement activities, support patient access and policy initiatives, and ensure consistent execution of national patient engagement strategy across local markets.
• Provide strategic guidance to field-based colleagues on appropriate engagement with patient advocacy organizations, proactively aligning cross-functional priorities while strengthening and protecting Neurocrine's long-term reputation and trusted relationships within local patient communities.
• Lead strategies to generate meaningful community, patient, and caregiver insights through local engagement activities, advisory boards, conferences, and ongoing relationships, translating findings into actionable recommendations for internal stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary conduit for bringing community intelligence, emerging issues, and local patient perspectives back to headquarters to inform enterprise strategy, evidence generation, commercialization, patient access, and future engagement planning.
• Partner with the PEA Operations Manager to plan and execute field-based patient engagement activities while ensuring strategic objectives are achieved.
• Develop annual state and grassroots patient engagement strategies, engagement plans, and proposed budgets for assigned therapeutic programs and brands, aligning investments with business priorities, community needs, and long-term strategic objectives.
• Manage approved budgets and resources responsibly while ensuring all activities comply with company policies, applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards.
• Partner closely with the Director, National PEA to ensure enterprise strategies are effectively translated into coordinated field engagement activities and that community insights continuously inform national strategy and enterprise decision making.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performing culture by mentoring colleagues, sharing best practices, and contributing to the continued development of Patient Engagement & Advocacy capabilities across the organization.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Retirement savings plan (with company match)
• Paid vacation, holiday and personal days
• Paid caregiver/parental and medical leave
• Health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage

What This Job Offers

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