Global Head of Respiratory Biologics at AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg, Maryland

Job Description:

Salary: Competitive & Excellent benefits package


Location: Gaithersburg, MD USA


Closing date for all applications: 3rd May 2024



About AstraZeneca

At AstraZeneca, we put patients first and strive to meet their unmet needs worldwide. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big, and working together to make the impossible a reality. If you are swift to action, confident to lead, willing to collaborate, and curious about what science can do, then you're our kind of person.



About Gaithersburg

Our Gaithersburg, Maryland facility crafts life-changing medicines for people around the world. This campus employs more than 3,500 specialists in our field and is only a short drive from Washington, DC. This modern and vibrant scientific campus is the home of R&D and Oncology in the US. Here, we play host to some of the most ground breaking technology and lab spaces, all designed to encourage collaboration and cross-functional science. We believe employees benefit from being challenged and inspired at work. We are dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusion and collaboration.


The Gaithersburg site offers various amenities to help boost efficiency and help keep our employees happy and healthy. This includes a fitness center, employee healthcare clinic, electric vehicle charging stations, dry cleaning, full-service cafeteria, and copy center. This is where you'll find newly designed, activity-based workspaces to suit a variety of working styles while strengthening collaboration between teams.


BioPharmaceuticals Medical (BPM) ensures the best patient outcomes by providing healthcare decision-makers around the world with the evidence and confidence they need on AstraZeneca (AZ) therapies. We support our internal stakeholders with medical strategic insight and expertise, with the aim of achieving scientific leadership, whilst aspiring to be a great place to work keeping patients at the core of everything we do.


In order to accomplish our goals and enable the best patient outcomes, we look for AZ BPM leaders to have five core capabilities and act as role models for our AZ values. These capabilities include:


• Track record of building and maintaining a deep and continued connection to medical practice/healthcare delivery
• Collaborative/matrix management skills with a focus on leading diverse groups (e.g., cultural, geographical, functional) to achieve excellent results in shared goals
• Well-developed communication and influencing skills with the ability to distil complexity down to what matters most to our stakeholders
• An ability to think strategically and creatively
• Business acumen


The Global Head of Respiratory Biologics, shapes product and disease area strategy, drives product launches and life cycle management, provides strategic direction for evidence generation, education and publication, and engages extensively externally to further the scientific leadership of AZ. It is a critical strategic leadership position that reports directly to the VP Medical Affairs R+I and is responsible for all aspects of Medical Affairs related to the brand and in the respiratory biologics space. The incumbent is a member of the R+I BPM leadership team, as well as global product/brand teams, has direct reports, and is expected to develop a strong network with regions and countries. The ideal candidate will have the ability to pair their own unique medical expertise with insight from markets, healthcare professionals, patients and health systems, to develop and execute world-class medical strategies, globally. Through their leadership, they will enable outstanding product launches, practice-defining clinical studies, generation of real world evidence, transformation of health systems and, ultimately, acceleration of population health.



Typical Accountabilities:

• Builds and leads the global R+I BPM team
• Forms strategic alliances and role models Medical leadership across the business
• Accountable for the development and implementation of strategic medical plans at a global level
• Ensures global strategy is effectively communicated at regional and country levels, and that regional/country needs are appropriately accommodated
• Ensures operational effectiveness and efficiencies - delivery - through a continuous improvement approach; ensures that key performance indicators (KPIs) are developed and tracked
• Contributes to establishing and implementing appropriate policies and standards for global Medical activities, ensuring all R+I activities are carried out in compliance with AZ standard operating procedures



Essential criteria:

• Doctoral level degree (MD, PhD, and/or PharmD)
• 7-10 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, ideally in Medical Affairs, working at the country and global/regional level
• Experienced team leader at a global/regional level, with a track record of establishing high performance teams
• Strategic and innovative thinker with executive presence
• Demonstrated track record delivering results in a complex matrix environment, building capabilities, and leading large scale impactful medical initiatives
• Strong analytical mind-set and ability to quickly assess large amounts of information and distil into key messages and actions
• Ability to flex between high level strategy and detailed tactics, as required
• Success executing multi-year strategic plans


AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.