Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Health Policy - Burson

Burson•New York, NY

1d•$125,000 - $295,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Burson is seeking a senior leader to serve as strategic counselor for one of its most important global healthcare accounts. The role leads multidisciplinary teams and integrated public affairs, corporate reputation, patient advocacy, access and reimbursement policy, stakeholder engagement, executive visibility, and issues management programs across marketed and pipeline therapies in neurology and rare disease. The leader will work at the intersection of science, policy, patient needs, access, and reputation. They will advise client executives on evolving healthcare, political, regulatory, reimbursement, and market access environments; build relationships with patient organizations, policymakers, healthcare professionals, caregivers, and advocacy stakeholders; and develop engagement and communications strategies that support corporate reputation and product priorities across geographies. The position also provides counsel throughout the therapy development lifecycle, including clinical development, regulatory milestones, approvals, launch readiness, market access preparation, and lifecycle management. It includes leading multi-market teams, supporting account growth and new business, mentoring senior talent, and strengthening Burson's healthcare public affairs expertise. The role is hybrid and 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 healthcare policy, pricing, reimbursement, and access environments in the United States and internationally.
Experience developing and executing stakeholder engagement strategies with 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 within key international markets.
Familiarity with health technology assessment (HTA), reimbursement decision-making, and payer environments.
Experience engaging with 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 based on evolving healthcare, political, reimbursement, and regulatory environments.
Act as the primary escalation point for complex business, reputation, and policy challenges.
Lead policy and advocacy strategies related to 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 thought leadership, scientific milestones, disease awareness, and healthcare trends.
Support launch readiness and lifecycle communications for pipeline and marketed assets.
Lead proactive reputation management, risk assessments, scenario planning, issues preparedness, and stakeholder response frameworks.
Counsel executives during heightened scrutiny involving pricing, access, clinical development, regulatory matters, or public policy debates.
Maintain consistency of corporate and product narratives across stakeholder groups and geographies and protect organizational reputation.
Advise clients throughout clinical development, 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.
Mentor and develop senior talent, foster a collaborative and inclusive culture, and strengthen Burson's intellectual capital in healthcare public affairs, patient advocacy, and reputation management.