Associate Director, Public Affairs, Specialty

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Purpose

The Associate Director, Public Affairs, Specialty is an opportunity to apply communications and engagement strategy skills for the benefit of patients across the world. This unique role serves as the Public Affairs lead for our U.S. Specialty organization, while also driving communications and advocacy engagement strategies for AbbVie’s anti-infectives and eye care brands internationally and creating market-shaping programming for emerging areas of focus including obesity. Within the U.S., this role will provide issues-based counsel for our entire Specialty brand portfolio, as well as proactive efforts for select brands. Internationally, the Associate Director will collaborate with and lead AbbVie’s in-country communicators in applying an understanding of the company’s brand and enterprise strategies to generate communication platforms that are carried out around the world to drive patient engagement, enhance visibility for AbbVie’s therapeutic area leadership, and protect AbbVie’s reputation. Reporting to the Senior Director, Commercial Communications & Public Affairs (CCPA) with a dotted line to the Head of International Public Affairs, this dynamic contributor will also support strategic and executive communications as part of the broader CCPA team.

The successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to build relationships, engage with geographically diverse teams, think globally and set priorities among competing objectives, while working in a fast-paced, but highly rewarding patient-centered environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and apply strong understanding of enterprise businesses and therapeutic area, industry, and external landscape to provide communications strategic counsel to headquarters-based and in-country communicators as well as functional and franchise management teams.
• Foster strong relationships with and provide strategic communications counsel to senior leaders of AbbVie’s Specialty business.
• Collaborate with U.S. and global brand teams and cross functional partners to set and achieve brand goals, and communicate progress, changes, and milestones.
• Deliver a cohesive public affairs and advocacy engagement plan to support AbbVie’s global Specialty brand objectives and uphold AbbVie’s reputation by engaging with multiple cross-functional partners to understand diverse functional perspectives, mitigate issues and elevate reputation.
• Obtain internal stakeholder alignment, management approval, and secure resources to execute future plans. Oversee public relations and creative agency teams in the execution of 2024 tactical program elements and ensure deliverables are on time/on budget.
• Partner with R&D Communications on scientific data disclosures for on-market brands and shape the environment for AbbVie’s emerging pipeline in Obesity among external public stakeholders.
• Lead issues management communications for AbbVie’s U.S. Specialty business and international brands and serve as a strategic advisor for in-country communications teams managing local issues.
• Serve as spokesperson for designated brands and the public affairs lead in related international brand teams. Oversee the identification, development, and skill maintenance of internal and third-party spokespeople. Engage and interact with media, thought leaders and key opinion leaders, and advise in-country communications teams as needed on local media engagements.
• Hybrid work model - 3 days in office (Mettawa)/2 days remotely

Education and Experience

• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree is required (emphasis in communications, marketing, business, public relations, or journalism preferred).
• A minimum of 8+ years of experience in communications and or marketing, preferred public relations agency or pharmaceutical in-house communications positions with increasing responsibility, or similar roles in regulated industries.
• 2 years of experience developing and leading multi-year strategic communications plans that are aligned with business objectives.
• Strong critical thinking skills, and a proactive self-starter who can work independently and in teams within a matrix environment.
• Excellent networking and relationship building skills.
• Demonstrated experience planning and executing holistic, integrated marketing communications platforms for international audiences.
• Experience leading geographically diverse teams in executing against common strategies in pursuit of defined goals.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in a matrix environment and serve as the functional representative on multiple teams.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally.

Preferred:

• Master’s Degree or other postgraduate work.
• Extensive experience working with Senior Management and Customers.
• Experience managing healthcare advocacy group relationships to collaborate toward shared objectives.
• Experience leading data/science communications for established and emerging scientific areas.
• Demonstrated understanding of the global access and reimbursement environment and experience. driving strategies to expand patient access to medicines globally.
• Strong experience applying digital/rich media strategy as a component of broader stakeholder activation campaigns.
• Experience generating insights in social and patient stakeholder research, and applying those insights to drive public affairs strategies on a global scale.

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​

• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​

• This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs. ​

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law. 

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. 

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

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