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Senior Director, Head of Strategic Initiatives, NA Medical Affairs

Princeton, New Jersey

Kyowa Kirin is a fast-growing global specialty pharmaceutical company that applies state-of-the-art biotechnologies to discover and deliver novel medicines in four disease areas: bone and mineral; intractable hematologic; hematology oncology; and rare disease.  A Japan-based company, our goal is to translate science into smiles by delivering therapies where no adequate treatments currently exist, working from drug discovery to product development and commercialization. In North America, we are headquartered in Princeton, NJ, with offices in California, North Carolina, and Mississauga, Ontario.

Summary of Job:

The Senior Director, Head of Strategic Initiatives, NA Medical Affairs, serves as a key partner to the Chief Medical Officer and Head of NA Medical Affairs, leading in- and cross-functional initiatives that drive strategic alignment and operational excellence across the organization. Responsibilities include workforce planning, capability development, and coordination of Medical Affairs input into business development and enterprise activities. The role also shapes and implements frameworks for launch readiness, insight generation, and impact reporting, while providing oversight for programs such as CRM strategy, sponsored testing, compassionate use, and expanded access. The incumbent works closely with the NA Medical Affairs Leadership Team and cross-functional partners, including Global Medical Affairs, Commercial, Patient Services, Legal, and Compliance.

Essential Functions:

  • Lead the design and execution of TA agnostic key medical affairs initiatives and programs that the achievement of medical objectives with strategic and executional excellence.
  • Partner with therapeutic area leads to develop and launch readiness framework and track execution. Facilitate launch readiness reviews with leadership, highlight areas of concern/opportunity, and ensure action plans pull through accordingly.
  • Shape and support executive-level communications by overseeing the development of MA presentations to the NAEC and the Board, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and organizational goals.
  • Continuously assess and align resource deployment across medical teams to evolving alliance frameworks and shifts in the NA healthcare landscape, ensuring responsiveness and agility.
  • Drive process innovation and operating models that promote regional success, operational excellence, and fiscal responsibility.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional partners (regulatory, legal, finance, compliance, and HR) to update policies governing KKNA alliance integration, as required, and oversee the implementation of updated processes or supporting documentation.
  • Foster enterprise-wide collaboration and role clarity by building strong partnerships across KKNA functions, ensuring streamlined communication, shared accountability, and strategic alignment.

Job Requirements:

Education

Advanced degree required (Master’s, PhD, PharmD, or equivalent) and prior Medical Affairs experience, preferably in hematology or rare disease area.

Experience

Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in the pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical industry with strong focus in Medical Affairs. Rare Disease and/or Hemato-Oncology experience strongly preferred. Strong knowledge of MA best practices, compliance framework, business operations and customer engagement systems required. Insightful understanding of regulatory, legal, and requirements for pharmaceutical marketing. Proven success in leading business process transformation, organizational development, and upskilling initiatives. Demonstrated ability to lead through influence in a complex matrix environment, fostering cross-functional collaboration and alignment to deliver innovative, enterprise-wide solutions. Experience in people management, including building and leading high-performing teams.

 Technical Skills

Solid Proficiency in MS Office Suite, and Veeva/Salesforce CRM Systems. Strong interpersonal and communication skills (both oral and written.

Non-Technical Skills

Demonstrated ability to organize, prioritize, meet deadlines, make decisions, and change course of action quickly. Strong work ethic is required. Detail oriented and excellent follow through. Has the ability to flex and deal with ambiguity in a dynamic, fast-paced, high growth environment. Has a passion for personal learning and development to be able to grow with the company. Cultural sensitivity and ability to develop consensus within a multinational organization.

Physical Demands: Normal office environment with prolonged sitting and extensive computer work

 

The anticipated salary for this position will be $250,200 to $326,800.  The actual salary offered for this role at commencement of employment may vary based on several factors including but not limited to relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, education (including applicable licenses and certifications, job-based knowledge, location, and other business and organizational needs.

The listed salary is just one component of the overall compensation package. At Kyowa Kirin North America we provide a comprehensive range of benefits including:

  • 401K with company matching
  • Discretionary Profit Sharing
  • Annual Bonus Program (Sales Bonus for Sales Jobs)
  • Generous PTO and Holiday Schedule which includes Summer and Winter Shut-Downs, Sick Days and, Volunteer Days
  • Healthcare Benefits (Medical, Dental, Prescription Drugs and Vision)
  • HSA & FSA Programs
  • Well-Being and Work/Life Programs
  • Life & Disability Insurance
  • Concierge Service
  • LTI
  • Pet Insurance
  • Tuition Assistance
  • Employee Referral Awards

The compensation and benefits information set forth in this posting applies to candidates hired in the United States. Candidates hired outside the United States will be eligible for compensation and benefits in accordance with their local market.

 

KKNA and all of its employees have an obligation to act in accordance with the law and with integrity in all our operations and interactions

It is the policy of Kyowa Kirin North America, Inc. to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, religion, creed, color, pregnancy, sex, age, national origin, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation or affection preference or citizenship status or any other category protected by law.

When you apply to a job on this site, the personal data contained in your application will be collected and stored by Kyowa Kirin, Inc. (“Controller”), which is located at 510 Carnegie Center Dr. Princeton, NJ 08540 USA and can be contacted by emailing kkus.talentacquisition.8h@kyowakirin.com. Controller’s data protection officer can be contacted at usprivacyoffice@kyowakirin.com. Your personal data will be processed for the purposes of managing Controller’s recruitment related activities, which include setting up and conducting interviews and tests for applicants, evaluating and assessing the results thereto, and as is otherwise needed in the recruitment and hiring processes. Such processing is legally permissible under Art. 6(1)(f) of General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) as necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Controller, which are the solicitation, evaluation, and selection of applicants for employment. 

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Your personal data will be retained by Controller as long as Controller determines it is necessary to evaluate your application for employment.  Under the GDPR, if you are located in the European Union, you have the right to request access to your personal data, to request that your personal data be rectified or erased, and to request that processing of your personal data be restricted. You also have the right to data portability, and to lodge a complaint with an EU supervisory authority. If you have any questions about our use of your data, you may contact us by email at usprivacyoffice@kyowakirin.com.

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Kyowa Kirin does not accept agency resumes unless contacted directly by internal Kyowa Kirin Talent Acquisition. Please do not forward resumes to Kyowa Kirin employees or any other company location; Kyowa Kirin is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

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