Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Health Policy - Burson

Burson•Washington, DC

1d•$125,000 - $295,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Burson is seeking a Senior Vice President, Health Policy and Public Affairs, to lead one of the agency’s most strategically important global healthcare accounts. The role serves as senior strategic counselor to client leadership across marketed and pipeline therapies in neurology and rare disease. It leads multidisciplinary teams working across patient advocacy, access and reimbursement policy, stakeholder mobilization, executive visibility, corporate reputation and issues management. The position calls for deep healthcare public affairs expertise, exceptional stakeholder engagement experience, and a strong understanding of the policy, regulatory, reimbursement and market access environment affecting innovative medicines globally. The leader works at the intersection of science, policy, patient need and reputation, shaping engagement among patient organizations, professional societies, policymakers, healthcare providers, caregivers and advocacy stakeholders. 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 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 connecting 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 U.S., European and global policy developments affecting innovative medicines, including pricing, reimbursement and trade-related developments.
Translate complex policy developments into engagement and communications strategies, and partner with policy experts, economists and scientific leaders on evidence-based advocacy initiatives.
Build relationships with patient organizations, advocacy coalitions, caregivers, healthcare professional associations and disease community leaders.
Design patient-centered engagement strategies that elevate patient perspectives throughout the disease lifecycle and advance awareness, access, education and health outcomes.
Guide stakeholder mapping and influence strategies across advocacy, policy and medical communities.
Provide strategic counsel across brain health, neuroscience and rare disease areas.
Develop reputation and thought leadership platforms; counsel on scientific milestones, breakthrough therapies, disease awareness and healthcare trends; and support launch readiness and lifecycle communications.
Lead proactive reputation management, issues preparedness, risk assessments, scenario planning 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-related narratives across stakeholder groups and geographies.
Advise clients throughout the therapy development lifecycle, including clinical development and 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, contribute to new business efforts, mentor senior talent, foster an inclusive culture and strengthen Burson’s healthcare public affairs, patient advocacy and reputation management expertise.