US Executive Director, Early Assets

AstraZeneca • Wilmington, DE

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

This role is crucial in leveraging AstraZeneca's scientific capabilities to positively impact patients' lives by turning ideas into life-changing medicines. The position offers an opportunity to seize, design, and influence across a complex matrix system to ensure US needs are integrated into global development plans. The Executive Director, Early Assets is accountable for the overall success of each Early Asset at the US level. This includes integrating clinical, access, and analytics strategies, owning the US position in MC3 and other tollgates, ensuring market readiness, optimizing the enrollment of US patients in clinical trials, and driving coherent decisions and deliverables that maximize the value and patient access of the Early Assets portfolio.

Requirements

• Sophisticated Scientific Degree (MBBS, PharmD, PhD, or MD) or international equivalent
• A minimum of 10 years in pharmaceutical, healthcare or biotech industries
• A minimum of 3 years in early commercial, new product planning, or pipeline marketing; US market experience required.
• Strong scientific and business acumen
• Demonstrated experience in the innovative pharmaceutical industry with a strong track record in Market Access
• Ability to understand, assimilate, and communicate scientific information and Health Economic Outcomes data
• Demonstrated success shaping early-stage assets (Phase 1–2) and influencing clinical design and evidence strategy to meet future US access and adoption needs.
• Proven ability to lead without authority across Clinical, Medical, HEOR, Market Access, and Finance.
• Clear, compelling communicator able to craft narratives for governance, KOLs, and internal stakeholders.
• Comfortable engaging with clinical data, endpoints, and mechanisms of action.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust and alignment across global and US stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• Therapeutic area expertise in respiratory/immunology and CVRM strongly preferred (obesity/weight management experience highly preferred)
• Proficiency with market research design, forecasting, epidemiology inputs, and competitive intelligence frameworks.
• Ability to identify innovative strategies with the greatest business impact and empower their teams to implement the plan.
• Strong curiosity, growth mindset and high learning agility
• Comfort with NPV, risk-adjusted forecasting, scenarios, and sensitivity testing for investment cases.

Responsibilities

• Define and pressure-test US-relevant target product profiles, patient segments, positioning hypotheses, and differentiation strategies; ensure US needs are reflected in global asset plans and decision gates.
• Lead integrated US insight generation (secondary research, qualitative/quantitative market research, advisory boards, rapid experiments) to inform clinical endpoints, device/format choices, and patient/physician usability needs.
• Shape early US payer value propositions, evidence requirements, and economic models; co-develop the early access and pricing roadmap with Market Access and HEOR to derisk future reimbursement.
• Drive aligned recommendations into governance (e.g., TPP approvals, go/no-go, indication prioritization, lifecycle planning).
• Establish and maintain a dynamic competitive landscape assessment; identify opportunities for acceleration, differentiation, indication sequencing, and combination strategies.
• Build and refine early forecasts and scenarios (epidemiology, market adoption curves, competitive events, policy shifts); guide sensitivity analyses for stage-gate decision making.
• Define early brand identity and messaging hypotheses, core claims framework, and scientific narrative; prepare foundational resources to enable rapid and flawless transition to late-stage/launch teams, input into initial field sizing assessment.
• Provide commercial diligence and market models for in-licensing, partnerships, and acquisitions; support alliance governance and joint working teams for partnered assets.
• Ensure all activities align with US regulations and company policies, including pre-approval communication standards and interactions with external stakeholders.
• Assess policy landscape and implications for design and launch.

Benefits

• short-term incentive bonus opportunity
• equity-based long-term incentive program
• retirement contribution
• commission payment eligibility
• qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]
• paid vacation and holidays
• paid leaves
• health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree