Senior Director, State Policy

Working with Us
Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us .

Position Summary

The Senior Director, State Policy, is a critical leadership role within the U.S. Policy & Research team and is responsible for shaping and executing BMS’s state policy strategy across Medicaid, drug pricing, coverage and reimbursement, affordability initiatives, CMMI demonstrations, and 340B related state activity. This leader will drive an enterprise wide, proactive approach to state policy development, ensure strong alignment across internal teams both within USPGA and cross-functionally, and represent BMS with key external stakeholders to advance policies that support patient access, affordability, and innovation.

The Senior Director will report to the Vice President, U.S. Policy & Research. The role requires clear, concise, and proactive communication with senior executives and strong coordination with Market Access, Legal, Communications, and therapeutic area teams. The Senior Director will also work closely with the heads of State and Local Government Affairs and Alliance Development to align on priorities and shape advocacy campaigns on prioritized state topics. Further, this leader will help ensure BMS’s state policy priorities are reflected across major trade associations and state level partners.

Key Responsibilities

State Policy Leadership

• Lead development and execution of BMS’s state policy agenda, including Medicaid reimbursement, state affordability proposals, state price setting proposals, and 340B related state legislative and regulatory activity.

• Anticipate state policy risks and opportunities and translate them into strategic, actionable recommendations for the enterprise.

• Oversee monitoring and analysis of state legislative sessions, Medicaid waiver activity, regulatory actions, and state implementation of federal reforms.

Cross Functional Partnership

• Ensure coordinated internal alignment across policy, legal, MaX, business leads, and communications.

• Provide state policy insights that inform brand planning, access strategy, contracting, and broader enterprise risk mitigation.

• Lead development of clear and concise internal briefing materials, impact analyses, and executive summaries for senior leadership.

• Create innovative state policy ideas for State and Local Government Affairs and Alliance teams to utilize for coalition building and advocacy campaigns.

External Engagement

• Represent BMS before state Medicaid agencies, governors’ offices, state legislators, and key regulatory bodies in partnership with State and Local Government Affairs and State Alliance Development.

• Strengthen BMS’s presence and credibility with national organizations (e.g., NAMD, NCSL, NGA, state trade associations).

• Shape state focused policy positions within trade associations such as PhRMA and BIO to ensure BMS priorities are reflected and advanced.

Enterprise Communication & Strategy Development

• Develop and oversee creation of policy briefs, messaging documents, and external facing materials for use with state officials and partner organizations.

• Provide timely updates to BMS executives on emerging state policy developments, anticipated impacts, and recommended actions.

• Drive strategic planning for the State Policy function, ensuring alignment with BMS enterprise goals and multi‑year policy priorities.

• Articulate company’s state public policy positions in a clear, straightforward and comprehensible way for use with bipartisan mix of policymakers and other KOLs.

Team Leadership

• Lead and mentor a team of state policy professionals across multiple regions.

• Build a high performing team culture focused on analytical rigor, enterprise thinking, and strong collaboration.

• Partner with USPGA leadership on staffing, role definition, and State Policy team development.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in public policy, public health, law, economics, political science, or related discipline.

• Minimum 12–15 years of experience in state healthcare policy, government affairs, Medicaid policy, reimbursement, or related fields.

• Deep understanding of state Medicaid programs, drug pricing legislation, reimbursement mechanisms, and emerging affordability initiatives.

• Proven ability to lead complex policy development with cross functional teams.

• Demonstrated experience engaging with state officials and leading policy advocacy.

• Strong written and oral communication skills, with experience preparing materials for senior executives.

• Lead team with a patient first mentality and strict adherence to the BMS corporate values

Preferred

• Advanced degree (MPH, JD, MPP, MBA, or related).

• Biopharmaceutical industry or trade association experience.

• Prior leadership of policy teams or state government engagement functions.

#LI-Hybrid

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Compensation Overview:

Washington DC - US: $245,650 - $297,670

The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience. 

Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans in effect at the time and may require enrollment. Our benefits include:

• Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.

• Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well-Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).

• Financial Well-being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.

​Work-life benefits include:

Paid Time Off

• US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees)

• Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays

Based on eligibility*, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day.

All global employees full and part-time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.

_ *Eligibility Disclosure: The summer hours program is for United States (U.S.) office-based employees due to the unique nature of their work. Summer hours are generally not available for field sales and manufacturing operations and may also be limited for the capability centers. Employees in remote-by-design or lab-based roles may be eligible for summer hours, depending on the nature of their work, and should discuss eligibility with their manager. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should consult that document to determine if they are eligible. Contractors, leased workers and other service providers are not eligible to participate in the program._

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers
With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to View email address on swooped.co . Visit careers.bms.com/ eeo -accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: 

Data Protection

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Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at View email address on swooped.co . Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response. Inquiries related to the status of your application should be directed to Chat with Ripley.

R1599560 : Senior Director, State Policy