Director, Corporate & State Government Affairs (NY, NJ, PA)

AstraZeneca Leadership Opportunity

At AstraZeneca, we pride ourselves on crafting a collaborative culture that champions knowledge-sharing, ambitious thinking and innovation – ultimately providing employees with the opportunity to work across teams, functions and even the globe.

Recognizing the importance of individualized flexibility, our ways of working allow employees to balance personal and work commitments while ensuring we continue to create a strong culture of collaboration and teamwork by engaging face-to-face in our offices three days a week. Our head office and BlueSky Hub in downtown Toronto are purposely designed with collaboration in mind, providing space where teams can come together to strategize, brainstorm and connect on key projects.

Our dedication to sustainability is also central to our culture and part of what makes AstraZeneca a great place to work. We know the health of people, the planet and our business are interconnected which is why we're taking ambitious action to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time, from climate change to access to healthcare and disease prevention.

Introduction To Role

Are you ready to shape state policy and community impact so more patients gain timely access to breakthrough medicines? In this regional leadership role covering the greater New York area, you will set the agenda for corporate reputation and state government affairs, translating strategy into visible outcomes across communities, payers, and policymakers.

You will partner across commercial, market access, medical, legal, and corporate affairs teams to power enterprise priorities—enhancing visibility of our R&D footprint, accelerating early diagnosis initiatives, and ensuring our brands are accessible for all patients. Do you thrive at the intersection of policy, advocacy, and business execution, and enjoy adapting quickly in a complex environment?

This is a field-based leadership position with significant external engagement and cross-functional influence. You will have the platform, network, and autonomy to run with bold ideas, bring unexpected teams together, and build policy and programming that unlocks value at pace while staying true to our purpose.

Accountabilities

• Regional Reputation Strategy: Develop and implement a regional plan to enhance corporate reputation, increase community presence, and showcase innovative R&D sites; track outcomes through stakeholder engagement and visibility measures.

• Therapeutic Flagship Programs: Lead and deliver therapeutic flagship programs with multiple stakeholders, ensuring strong pull-through with commercial teams.

• Community Engagement Leadership: Build and implement a regional community engagement strategy that strengthens partnerships and supports local health priorities.

• State Policy Leadership: Serve as the registered lobbyist for the region; design and run state-based lobbying campaigns aligned to company priorities.

• Payer Policy Integration: Strategically integrate state policy within public and private payers to ensure AstraZeneca brands are accessible for all patients.

• Early Diagnosis Advancement: Identify and lead opportunities to expand early diagnosis, working with public health officials, patient groups, and subject matter experts.

• Influencer and Alliance Development: Develop and maintain strong relationships with elected officials, governors, executive agencies, trade associations, think tanks, and third-party allies; act as an external leader with vision.

• National Political Organizations: Demonstrate leadership with national political organizations and committees to implement policy programming.

• Sustainability and Health Equity Advocacy: Connect with experts, develop plans, and implement initiatives that advance sustainability and health equity interests.

• PAC Engagement: Participate in Political Action Committee grassroots solicitations and organize and attend fundraisers.

• Community Ecosystem Building: Lead internal workstreams to assess corporate priorities and build positive community ecosystems.

• Reputation and Expansion Support: Collaborate to enhance corporate reputation through direct community engagement that supports US expansion initiatives.

• Internal Policy Leadership: Provide leadership on local state-related public policy issues; serve as the resident expert on legislative matters and strategy.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensure integration of state-related business objectives across commercial, market access, legal, sales, and marketing teams.

• Legislative and Regulatory Analysis: Identify, analyze, and act on legislative and regulatory initiatives and emerging issues that impact the company.

• Brand Support via Policy Strategy: Develop and implement legislative and regulatory strategies that assist and achieve brand objectives.

• Resource and Budget Management: Allocate resources strategically; perform budget allocation and consultant evaluations; manage contract lobbyists and strategic alliance managers.

• PAC Education: Assist the Director of Political Programs with PAC education and recruitment, including internal speaking engagements.

• Corporate Brand Linkage: Liaison with Corporate Affairs partners to ensure strong links to corporate brand initiatives.

• Federal Coordination: Liaison with federal government affairs lobbyists on region-specific issues; employ state strategies to mitigate impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and other federal mandates.

• Business Goals Integration: Understand AstraZeneca's business goals and priorities; build strategies to support them and act on emerging political issues.

Essential Skills/Experience

• Bachelor's degree.

• Field-based.

• 6-8 years of experience in pharmaceutical or related industry.

• Strong public speaking skills.

• Strong desire to be part of a close-knit, highly focused team committed to unparalleled stakeholder satisfaction and helping make AstraZeneca a great place to work and grow.

• Strong negotiation and advocacy skills.

• Knowledge of legislative, regulatory, and political processes.

• Requires strong internal stakeholder and alliance building capabilities.

• Amenable to lobbyists' travel/schedule; including late night, off-hour and weekend responsibilities — up to 40% travel is required.

• Travel to the company locations in Wilmington DE, Gaithersburg MD, and Washington DC.

Desirable Skills/Experience

• 8-10 years of experience in government, politics, or government affairs with a minimum of 6 years in the bio-pharmaceutical or related space.

• Experienced interpersonal communications; public speaking and writing skills.

• Demonstrated ability to work on large public affairs projects aimed at enhancing corporate visibility with our growth and expansion.

• Deep knowledge of the healthcare industry especially with public and private payers, supply chains, and state/federal political influence on the pharmaceutical business.

• Demonstrated experience of working collaboratively across sales, market access, medical affairs and various corporate affairs functions; comfortable in a highly matrixed organization.

• Highly proficient in standard business software applications.

• Demonstrated experience with ally development, public relations, and health care policy.

Why AstraZeneca:At AstraZeneca, your policy leadership powers a global enterprise focused on delivering faster, smarter impact for patients. You will join a relationship-driven, globally connected community where unexpected teams get in the same room to unleash bold thinking, use data to make better decisions in real time, and take smart risks to reimagine how we work. We invest in innovation and talent, value kindness alongside ambition, and align our efforts to meaningful outcomes—from accelerating access to medicines to advancing sustainability and health equity—so your contribution resonates across society and the planet.

Call to Action:Bring your voice to this pivotal regional role and shape policy, reputation, and access that matter—step forward and lead the agenda for patients and the enterprise.

Great People want to Work with us! Find out why:

• GTAA Top Employer Award for 12 years

• Top 100 Employers Award

• Canada's Most Admired Corporate Culture

• Learn more about working with us in Canada

• View our YouTube channel

Are you interested in working at AZ, apply today!

AstraZeneca is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion and providing a workplace that is free from discrimination. AstraZeneca is committed to accommodating persons with disabilities. Such accommodation is available on request in respect of all aspects of the recruitment, assessment and selection process and may be requested by emailing View email address on click.appcast.io.