National Director, Rare Disease

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

10d•$205,368 - $307,050

About The Position

The National Director, Rare Disease is a senior leadership position accountable for setting the US strategy, operational oversight, and performance management of the Rare Disease Field Medical Affairs (FMA) team. This role manages the unique challenge of strategically deploying a small MSL team across a disparate rare disease presence (including PKU and ALS), ensuring effective scientific exchange, supporting identification for evidence generation needs, and collaboration with patient advocacy and policy teams to ensure strategy reflects patient perspectives. The Director is responsible for medical customer engagement, including the hiring, development, coaching, and strategic deployment of the Rare Disease MSLs (including the PKU and ALS MSLs). This position reports directly to the Rare Disease Medical Business Unit Lead.

Requirements

Advanced scientific or clinical degree is required (PharmD, MD, PhD, or equivalent)
Minimum of 10 years of field experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry
Minimum of 3-5 years of direct people management experience leading a field-based MSL team (Regional or National responsibility required)
Extensive experience in Rare Disease or a highly specialized therapeutic area with complex patient journeys and limited physician specialists
Proven success in developing and executing national medical strategies, budget management, and clinical trial support
Exceptional ability to lead, motivate, and manage a remote, high-performing scientific team
Strong ability to lead, influence, and collaborate in a matrixed environment regardless of reporting structure and operating under ambiguity without a set playbook.
Superior strategic planning and organizational management skills, capable of translating broad strategy into tactical execution plans under constraints of a small team size
Deep understanding of the Rare Disease patient and provider ecosystem, including multidisciplinary care models, patient advocacy, and diagnostic pathways
Excellent communication, presentation, and cross-functional leadership skills, with proven ability to influence
Ability to travel at least 60% - attend regional and international conferences / workshops to obtain new competitive information, keep abreast of clinical trends and support, and maintain relationships with key investigators and scientific research
Accountability for Results - Stay focused on key strategic objectives, be accountable for high standards of performance, and take an active role in leading change.
Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving - Make decisions considering the long-term impact to customers, patients, employees, and the business.
Patient & Customer Centricity - Maintain an ongoing focus on the needs of our customers and/or key stakeholders.
Impactful Communication - Communicate with logic, clarity, and respect. Influence at all levels to achieve the best results for Otsuka.
Respectful Collaboration - Seek and value others’ perspectives and strive for diverse partnerships to enhance work toward common goals.
Empowered Development - Play an active role in professional development as a business imperative.

Responsibilities

Oversee the recruitment, on-boarding, training, and performance management processes, including development of performance metrics, for the Rare Disease FMA team, ensuring all personnel meet high professional and scientific standards
Lead, mentor, coach, and support performance management of the national team of Rare Disease MSLs, fostering a culture of scientific excellence, accountability, and patient focus
Manage the US FMA budget, resource allocation, and key operational metrics to optimize field effectiveness and efficiency
Represent stakeholder needs, insights, and knowledge to other parts of Otsuka including senior leadership and other internal partners
Develop and implement the overarching US FMA strategy and annual operating plan, focusing on strategically deploying MSLs to cover a disparate rare disease presence and small patient populations
Direct the team's efforts to identify centers and/or patients suitable for evidence generation (e.g., registries), recognizing the significant recruitment challenges inherent in rare diseases
Ensure MSLs effectively interact with multidisciplinary care teams of specialists (e.g., metabolic specialists for PKU, neuromuscular specialists for ALS) to foster comprehensive scientific exchange
Lead the strategy for connecting with key external stakeholders, including patient advocacy groups at national and international congresses, ensuring coordinated scientific coverage and efficient resource use
Maintain relationships with key opinion leaders, healthcare professionals, and key accounts to facilitate scientific exchange, and will act as the primary point of contact for these external stakeholders.
Maintain accountability for ensuring all field activities, scientific exchanges, and documentation adhere to relevant company SOPs, regulatory requirements, and industry guidelines
Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational metrics for the national team, using data to drive continuous improvement in scientific and medical customer engagement, efficiency, and insight collection
Oversee the consistent capture, aggregation, and synthesis of high-quality medical insights from the field to inform internal strategic decision-making within Medical Affairs and across the broader R&D organization
Consider technology and AI to support workflow improvement
Serve as the primary field medical affairs representative to the Rare Disease Medical Business Unit Lead and core cross-functional leadership team (e.g., Commercial, Market Access, etc.)
Coordinate with the Clinical Development team to support site identification, feasibility assessments, and operational excellence for clinical trials within the Rare Disease space
Ensure all activities adhere to applicable regulations, compliance, guidelines, and industry standards.
Stay abreast of relevant regulatory and legal developments, providing guidance and training to the team as needed.
Able to fulfill required internal company training requirements in a timely manner

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, company provided basic life, accidental death & dismemberment, short-term and long-term disability insurance, tuition reimbursement, student loan assistance, a generous 401(k) match, flexible time off, paid holidays, and paid leave programs as well as other company provided benefits.

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