Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Health Policy - Burson

Burson•Columbia, WA

12h•Hybrid

About The Position

Burson is seeking a senior leader to serve as strategic counselor on a major global healthcare account covering marketed and pipeline therapies in neurology and rare disease. The role leads multidisciplinary teams and programs spanning patient advocacy, access and reimbursement policy, stakeholder mobilization, executive visibility, corporate reputation and issues management. The position operates at the intersection of science, policy, patient needs and reputation, developing strategies that support corporate reputation and product priorities and engage patient organizations, professional societies, policymakers, healthcare providers, caregivers and advocacy stakeholders. The Senior Vice President advises global and regional client leaders on healthcare policy, political, reimbursement and regulatory developments. The role leads integrated public affairs and stakeholder engagement, helps clients navigate pricing, affordability and market access issues, and connects scientific innovation with patient and stakeholder priorities throughout the therapy lifecycle. It also oversees reputation and issues preparedness, supports regulatory and commercialization communications, and leads account teams, growth opportunities, new business efforts and senior talent development. This is a hybrid role, ideally based in New York or Washington, DC.

Requirements

15+ years of experience in healthcare public affairs, policy, corporate communications, government affairs, market access, advocacy or related disciplines.
Significant experience counseling pharmaceutical, biotechnology or healthcare clients on complex public affairs and reputation issues.
Demonstrated expertise in neurology, neuroscience, rare disease, specialty pharmaceuticals or adjacent therapeutic areas.
Deep understanding of U.S. and international healthcare policy, pricing, reimbursement and access environments.
Experience developing and executing stakeholder engagement strategies involving patient advocacy organizations, healthcare professional associations, policymakers and caregiver communities.
Strong familiarity with FDA approval pathways, clinical trial communications and pharmaceutical commercialization strategies.
Proven experience supporting marketed products and clinical-stage pipeline assets.
Knowledge of European and/or global healthcare policy environments and stakeholder ecosystems.
Exceptional executive presence and ability to counsel C-suite and senior healthcare leaders.
Experience leading large, multi-market client engagements and cross-functional teams.
Demonstrated success managing complex reputation and issues management situations.

Nice To Haves

Experience working within global pharmaceutical companies, healthcare trade associations, public affairs consultancies or communications agencies.
Understanding of rare disease and neurological policy frameworks in key international markets.
Familiarity with health technology assessment, reimbursement decision-making and payer environments.
Experience engaging patient advocacy coalitions, specialty medical societies, health policy organizations and caregiver networks.
Exposure to global market access, international pricing policy and cross-border regulatory considerations.

Responsibilities

Serve as senior strategic counselor to global and regional client leadership teams.
Lead integrated public affairs, corporate reputation and stakeholder engagement programs across neurology and rare disease portfolios.
Shape communications approaches that connect policy, patient advocacy, access and reputation objectives.
Develop executive-level recommendations informed by healthcare, political, reimbursement and regulatory environments.
Act as the primary escalation point for complex business, reputation and policy challenges.
Lead policy and advocacy strategies addressing market access, affordability, reimbursement and healthcare system priorities.
Counsel clients on emerging U.S., European and global policy developments affecting innovative medicines, including pricing and cost-containment initiatives.
Translate complex policy developments into engagement and communications strategies, partnering with policy experts, economists and scientific leaders on evidence-based advocacy.
Build relationships with patient organizations, advocacy coalitions, caregivers, healthcare professional associations and disease community leaders.
Design patient engagement strategies, identify trusted partnership opportunities, guide stakeholder mapping and influence strategies, and integrate patient-centered approaches across programs.
Provide strategic counsel across brain health, neuroscience and rare disease, including reputation and thought leadership platforms, disease awareness, scientific milestones and therapy innovation.
Support launch readiness and lifecycle communications for pipeline and marketed assets.
Lead proactive reputation management, risk assessments, scenario planning and stakeholder response frameworks.
Counsel executives during scrutiny involving pricing, access, clinical development, regulatory matters or public policy, and maintain consistent narratives across stakeholders and geographies.
Advise throughout therapy development, clinical trial communications, regulatory milestones and approvals, launch readiness, market access preparation and lifecycle management.
Partner with scientific, medical and market access teams to connect innovation stories with stakeholder priorities and policy realities.
Lead and inspire cross-functional account teams across multiple markets.
Drive account growth through expansion opportunities and strategic advisory services, and contribute to new business efforts in health and public affairs.
Mentor and develop senior talent, foster a collaborative and inclusive culture, and strengthen Burson’s healthcare public affairs, patient advocacy and reputation management expertise.