Senior Director, Patient Advocacy - 2397
Editas Medicine
What if you could repair broken genes? That is the question we ask ourselves at Editas Medicine. We’re focused on translating the power and potential of the CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cpf1 (also known as Cas12a) genome editing systems into a robust pipeline of medicines for people living with serious diseases around the world. Our goal is to discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialize transformative, durable, precision genomic medicines for many diseases.
We’re looking for talented, dedicated, passionate people to join our team and help us pioneer this field and do big, bold things that have never been achieved before.
Are you full of hope, possibilities, and a belief that, working together, we can truly revolutionize the development of medicines to help patients around the world? If the answer is yes, then Editas Medicine is the place for you.
Position Summary
Editas Medicine is seeking a Director/Sr Director, Patient Advocacy to lead and develop the patient advocacy and patient community strategy. Leading the Patient Advocacy function includes responsibility for developing a comprehensive and transformational engagement plan that advances shared priorities and makes a meaningful impact in the lives of people living with serious diseases across the continuum of clinical development and commercialization. This person will create meaningful relationships with local and global patient advocacy and professional organizations, remain abreast of new developments that have an impact on the function, and define and deliver on clear metrics to measure advocacy efforts.
Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities:
- Lead the development and execution of strategic plans for engaging local and global patient communities to support the advancement of gene edited medicine in sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, from clinical development to product approval, launch, and beyond
- Analyze the external stakeholder landscape to identify and prioritize potential partner organizations and individuals
- Identify, initiate, and oversee strategic patient advocacy initiatives and partnerships related to informing, advancing and expediting research, delivering community education, supporting access to appropriate care, and addressing policy barriers
- Leverage patient insights learned from the patient community and serve as internal consultant to champion and further incorporate patient perspectives into all appropriate initiatives, including disease education programs, clinical trial design, research collaborations, and corporate communications.
- Be the key relationship manager for patient advocacy groups; lead and facilitate regular communications to advance mutually beneficial priorities
- Represent the company at external advocacy group meetings, make presentations to patient audiences
- Lead initiatives to understand, document, and communicate the patient perspective; including advisory boards, patient perspective research, etc.
- Ensure high-quality communications materials are produced in a timely, accurate manner, such as presentations, patient materials, Q&As, etc.
- Effectively manage budget and direct advocacy-related requests for funding (charitable donations, sponsorships, and disease awareness events), ensuring all advocacy funding requests are reviewed according to compliance policies
- Ensure adherence to legal and compliance frameworks that enable the company’s relationships with advocacy stakeholders to be respectful and appropriate
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred (e.g., MS, RN, PhD, or MD)
- Minimum of 8 years of relevant patient advocacy, communications, commercial, or related experience in the biopharmaceutical industry
- Demonstrated knowledge of the biopharmaceutical industry, including deep understanding of the Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance environment, including a strong understanding of guidelines and best practices for patient advocacy engagement in the US
- Experience leading patient advocacy engagement activities for pre-commercial investigational medicines
- Strong leadership skills with a proven ability to collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders at all levels
- Highly motivated individual with the flexibility and creativity to excel in a fast-moving, dynamic, small-company environment
- Must be willing and able to travel (approximately 10-20%) and regularly meet with patient advocacy organizations in the US (as needed)
Preferred Qualifications:
- Prior experience engaging with patient communities in the Hematology therapeutic area/gene therapy
Benefits Summary:
Editas provides a comprehensive array of benefits to all employees, including a Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Medical Plan, a company-funded Health Savings Account, Dental and Vision Insurance, Life and Disability Insurance, Dependent Care Account, Tuition Reimbursement, 401(k) plan with company match, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, Employee Assistance Plan, Wellness Programs, and a flexible Paid Time Off policy.