Director, US Oncology Advocacy & Alliance (Lung and GI Cancers)

AstraZeneca • Gaithersburg, MD

20d • Hybrid

About The Position

As the Director, US Oncology Advocacy & Alliance, you will lead AstraZeneca’s strategic engagement and partnership efforts within the lung and gastrointestinal cancer therapeutic areas. This role is responsible for building and sustaining long-term collaborations with patient organizations, professional associations, and independent advocates to advance shared clinical and patient-centric goals. Acting as a critical link between the advocacy community and internal stakeholders across R&D, Medical Affairs, and Commercial, you will ensure the patient perspective is integrated into our national strategy while overseeing program execution, budget management, and compliant external relations.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in business, communications, public health, or related field
• At least 7-10 years’ experience working experience in a corporate affairs role
• Effective communicator and storyteller
• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills
• Strong presentation and facilitation skills
• Ability to navigate complex and matrixed organizations and contribute as both a strategic counsellor and strong individual contributor
• Proven ability to align advocacy strategies with state and federal policy priorities to advance patient access and care.

Nice To Haves

• Experience at a non-profit organization
• Preference for a candidate who has experience with patients, and/or patient advocacy and professional associations
• Project management capability, with knowledge of and direct experience working with patient advocacy groups and/or professional associations to develop and deliver programs and projects
• Experience reviewing or applying for grants or corporate funding
• Oncology experience
• Ability to anticipate and adapt to change, with strong problem-solving skills
• Ability to travel as required by the business

Responsibilities

• Strategic Ownership: Lead the development, execution, and delivery of a comprehensive US patient advocacy strategy for Lung and GI cancers, ensuring full alignment with AstraZeneca’s overarching business objectives.
• Two-Way Advocacy Dialogue: Serve as the primary liaison between AstraZeneca and Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGs) to identify unmet patient needs and integrate those insights into the discovery and delivery of therapeutic products.
• Stakeholder Mapping & Growth: Utilize rigorous stakeholder mapping to identify, cultivate, and manage new strategic relationships with patient and caregiver organizations within the therapeutic area.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Represent PAG interests across the internal matrix—including Commercial, Medical, R&D, and Market Access—to ensure the patient voice informs project outputs, such as white papers and strategic exchanges.
• Policy & Communications Partnership: Collaborate with Federal and State Government Affairs & Policy teams to advance state and policy priorities and partner with Brand Communications to highlight key partnership milestones.
• Executive & Congress Leadership: Lead high-level patient organization engagements at major medical congresses and facilitate quarterly meetings between AstraZeneca leadership and PAG partners to build long-term trust.
• Operational & Financial Oversight: Direct agency partners and vendors while managing budgets, reconciliation reports, and impact metrics for all planned and ad-hoc partner funding.
• Compliance & Governance: Ensure all team interactions and programs strictly adhere to national guidelines, internal policies, and ethical engagement standards.

Benefits

• You will have access to a flexible employee benefits fund, including holiday purchase and flexible time off, pension contributions, Share Save Plans, A performance recognition scheme and a competitive, generous remuneration package.

What This Job Offers

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