Associate Director, Rare Neurology Thought Leader Liaisons Congress Lead

Job Description

Associate Director, Rare Neurology Thought Leader Liaisons Congress Lead | AstraZeneca

The Tone:
This is a strategic role at AstraZeneca, specifically within Alexion Rare Neurology, focused on the US commercial organization. The company develops therapies in rare neurology, particularly for gMG and NMOSD markets. This role is crucial for maximizing the impact and return on investment of scientific congress activities, driving engagement with thought leaders, and positioning brands to advance commercial strategy.

The TL;DR
• Role: Mid-Senior Level
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Hybrid, US
• Pay: $151081–$226622 yearly
• Team: Reports to Senior Director of Rare Neurology Thought Leader Liaisons
• Mission: Lead the central strategy and execution for rare neurology congress activities to maximize thought leader engagement and drive competitive advantage.
• Tech Stack: Congress management tools, CRM systems, analytics platforms

What You’ll Actually Do
• Strategy & Portfolio Management: Lead the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of local, regional, and national congresses for key gMG and NMOSD stakeholders, developing a comprehensive congress calendar and investment framework that optimizes resource allocation and aligns with business objectives.
• Pre-Congress Planning: Design and execute pre-congress engagement strategies, collaborating with Thought Leader Liaisons, Medical Affairs, and Brand Marketing to identify priority attendees, align on scientific messaging, and coordinate bespoke materials and digital tools for maximum on-site impact.
• On-Site Execution: Serve as the strategic lead for Alexion’s on-site presence at major congresses, orchestrating booth operations, symposia, hospitality events, and Key Opinion Leader meetings, while gathering real-time intelligence and ensuring compliance with all policies.
• Post-Congress Follow-Up: Design and execute comprehensive post-congress strategies, developing communication plans for internal and external audiences, facilitating timely follow-up with priority attendees, and amplifying key insights and content through appropriate channels.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as the primary liaison between Thought Leader Liaisons, sales, medical affairs, and brand teams for all congress-related activities, facilitating regular planning forums to align on strategy, share insights, and ensure congress intelligence informs broader market insights and tactical planning.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Mid-Senior level professional with at least five years of experience in bio/pharma, demonstrating expertise in congress strategy, medical meetings, or event management, potentially combined with marketing, medical affairs, or commercial operations.
• Experience: A proven track record of developing and executing successful congress strategies that drive business outcomes and stakeholder engagement, experience managing budgets, optimizing resource allocation to maximize ROI, and a willingness to travel over 50% of the time, including significant overnight and weekend travel during peak congress seasons.
• Skills: Strong project management capabilities with the ability to manage multiple complex initiatives across diverse geographies, demonstrated ability to work effectively across functions and influence without direct authority, exceptional organizational and planning capabilities with meticulous attention to detail, effective verbal and written communication skills to synthesize complex information, and proficiency with congress management tools, CRM systems, and analytics platforms.
• Bonus: A graduate degree (MBA, MSc, or related field), prior experience in Neurology or rare disease therapeutic areas, established relationships within the gMG and NMOSD medical communities, experience with thought leader engagement strategies and KOL management, or a background in medical education or scientific communications, alongside strong analytical skills and an entrepreneurial mindset.