Specialist, US Medical Education

Astellas Pharma • Northbrook, IL

19d • Hybrid

About The Position

Do you want to be part of an inclusive team that works to develop innovative
therapies for patients? Every day, we are driven to develop and deliver
innovative and effective new medicines to patients and physicians.  If you want
to be part of this exciting work, you belong at Astellas!

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more
than 70 countries around the world. We are committed to turning innovative
science into medical solutions that bring value and hope to patients and their
families. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our
business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people
throughout the world. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website
at www.astellas.com [http://www.astellas.com].

Purpose:

The Specialist, US Medical Education focuses on medical education including
Independent Medical Education as well as External Education. The Specialist is
accountable for leading the end-to-end planning, execution, and continuous
improvement of the external medical education portfolio. This role ensures
education initiatives are strategically aligned, scientifically credible,
compliant, measurable, and future-ready, strengthening Astellas’ contribution to
patient care through the advancement of clinical knowledge and practice.

This role owns the external education operating model for MA-US and serves as a
primary education subject matter expert (SME) for governance, partner
engagement, and quality standards.

Requirements

• Critical Knowledge & Skills
• Deep understanding of external education best practices, standards, and independence expectations
• Strong compliance mindset with ability to translate guardrails into scalable workflows
• Strategic thinking and executive communication skills
• Cross-functional influence and stakeholder management
• Strong documentation discipline and operational rigor
• Ability to anticipate risk and proactively mitigate issues and challenge the status quo
• Qualifications Required:
• Advanced degree preferred (PharmD, PhD; bachelor's degree required with strong relevant experience
• Minimum 5-7 years of experience in Medical Affairs, Medical Education, or Strategy
• Demonstrated experience developing and leading enterprise-level education strategies
• Understanding of IME principles, external education standards, and industry regulations
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and lead through strategic thought partnership

Nice To Haves

• Preference with a degree in scientific area

Responsibilities

• External Education Strategy & Portfolio Leadership
• Lead the MA-US external medical education portfolio as a core channel to address unmet educational needs
• In collaboration with the MA-US Brand Heads, develop annual education priorities and execution plans aligned to MA-US objectives and scientific needs
• Maintain a portfolio view across brands/disease states to reduce duplication and improve impact
• Support future-forward education models (e.g., digitally enabled education, modular learning journeys, scalable content frameworks)
• External Education Program Design and Execution Oversight
• Lead end-to-end execution of external education initiatives including needs assessments and educational gap definition, engagement planning with external partners, content and learning design considerations, program cadence and milestone management, outcomes measurement planning and optimization
• Ensure appropriate scientific rigor and alignment to evidence generation and medical strategy
• Oversee agency/vendor operations supporting education execution and delivery
• Compliance, Governance, and Industry Standards (Core Requirement)
• Serve as the MA-US external education compliance SME, ensuring adherence to company policies and internal controls, industry expectations for independence and transparency, documentation and audit readiness requirements, applicable laws, regulations, and guidance related to external education
• Proactively identify risk areas and implement mitigation actions in partnership with Legal/Compliance and the Systems & Compliance Specialist
• Establish and maintain standard work, playbooks, templates, and training resources that strengthen consistent execution
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Stakeholder Partnership
• Partner closely with Medical Education & Communications team members on strategic alignment, prioritization, escalation, integration with communication strategy and broader medical channels, controls, documentation, audit readiness.
• Field Medical and internal medical teams (scientific priorities, stakeholder insights, education needs)
• Global stakeholders as needed for scientific alignment and consistency
• Represent MA-US external education in cross-functional forums and workstreams
• Measurement, Outcomes, and Continuous Improvement
• Define success metrics for education initiatives (quality, reach, learning impact, stakeholder value)
• Drive continuous improvement through structured retrospectives, measurement insights, and portfolio optimization
• Ensure outcomes measurement and documentation are consistent, credible, and usable in future planning
• Budget & Financial Accountability
• Support external education financial planning, forecasting, and budget stewardship
• Ensure appropriate resourcing and vendor spend governance in partnership with systems and finance support
• Support investment decisions with a value-based approach and clear rationale
• Ad-Hoc and Emerging Initiatives
• Provide rapid response and leadership for ad-hoc education initiatives, new opportunities, and organizational priorities
• Support enterprise or MA-US transformation initiatives impacting external education operations

Benefits

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off options, including Vacation and Sick time, plus national holidays including year-end shut down
• 401(k) match and annual company contribution
• Company paid life insurance
• Annual Corporate Bonus and Quarterly Sales Incentive for eligible positions
• Long Term Incentive Plan for eligible positions
• Company-paid fleet vehicle for eligible positions
• Referral bonus program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level