Senior Director, Oncology Commercialization & Executive Communications

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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.

Senior Director, Oncology Commercialization & Executive Communications

Reports to Executive Director, Oncology & Cell Therapy Commercial Communications  

The Senior Director of Oncology Commercialization and Executive Communications will lead comprehensive, strategic communication efforts to position BMS as a leader in Oncology. This includes developing and executing high-impact communication strategies that align with business objectives to drive success and enhance brand value for multiple brands. Working closely with Commercialization and Corporate Affairs, this role will build awareness around the unmet medical needs in oncology, and help deliver on business objectives. The Senior Director will also oversee reputational issues and proactively manage risk. Additionally, this role provides executive communications counsel and support directly for the SVP, Global Oncology Commercialization organization.

This individual is a results-oriented leader with a high degree of confidence in engaging, building trust with, and influencing key stakeholders, including media, trade associations, and senior leadership. They will leverage these skills to advocate for Bristol Myers Squibb and strengthen the company’s reputation in biopharma. This strategic thinker will have deep expertise in corporate, healthcare policy, and U.S. and global regulatory landscapes and be adept at mobilizing internal and external stakeholders to support BMS. As an effective manager of direct and matrix teams, the Senior Director will have proven experience in implementing large-scale initiatives in collaboration with business partners and external agencies.  

This role provides strategic counsel on engagement opportunities, external thought leadership and media engagement, coordinating with colleagues in Corporate Communications and other organizations across Corporate Affairs. The position requires a strong communications professional who demonstrates sound business judgment and can work closely with senior leaders in the organization to help drive effective communications to both internal and external audiences. To be successful, the individual must possess experience in the Commercial business, ability to think strategically and execute tactically; and be able to measure results to drive outcomes in support of the business. 

The position is based in Princeton Pike, NJ.

Responsibilities: 

• Drive long-term success of multiple Oncology brands, building integrated brand and above-brand communications strategies to support a large portfolio of both growth and legacy products. Key components include media relations, brand & corporate communications, employee engagement, patient advocacy, corporate reputation, and issues management. 
• Thoughtfully establish communications to support product and pipeline milestones, including launches, new indications, disease awareness initiatives, and thought leadership. 
• Oversee the Oncology narrative and brand identity, as well as the development and evolution of all communication materials (owned, media, social), to enhance corporate visibility to position BMS as a leader in Oncology.  
• Lead and implement communications strategies that support Bristol Myers Squibb’s commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives, with a particular focus on advancing health equity in Oncology. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that health equity is woven into messaging, patient access programs, and overall corporate narrative, driving positive social impact and reinforcing BMS’s leadership in inclusive healthcare.  
• Maintain broad-based knowledge of Oncology research and development pipeline and business strategies to enable content development and review of communications materials, including corporate presentations, press releases, Q&A documents, and other relevant materials. 
• Manage product-specific public relations, including regulatory updates, launch messaging, and disease awareness initiatives to enhance product adoption and awareness.  
• Deliver appropriate communications strategies to maximize communications opportunities and mitigate relevant risks to the company and its assets by anticipating and preparing for stakeholder reactions to relevant corporate, brand, regulatory, and data milestones.  
• Develop and execute mutually beneficial initiatives with patient organizations and patient opinion leaders.  
• Lead the development and execution of the internal communications and employee engagement strategy by proactively driving ideas and programs that support culture evolution and an engaged workforce in partnership with HR and other functions. 
• Manage multiple external providers/agency support for best outcomes, in alignment with Sourcing Policies.  
• Develop integrated brand communications strategies in the U.S. and globally while collaborating with Commercial, R&D, Patient Advocacy, Access, Pricing, and Policy and Worldwide Commercial Operations groups to share plans, resources, and services. 
• Build relationships with key stakeholders, including media, advocacy groups, trade associations, KOLs and policy makers to garner positive coverage in support of the Company’s reputation.  
• Oversee issues management, providing guidance on related reputational issues as needed, to mitigate risk and ensure messaging is aligned. 
• Design and implement measurement practices to actively manage, optimize, and communicate performance against objectives across U.S. product and pipeline communications. 
• Provide executive communication strategic counsel and support to the SVP, Global Oncology Commercialization Organization, inclusive of both internal and external positioning efforts and other members of the Commercial Leadership Team. 
• Drive employee engagement and high performance within the Commercialization organization by developing and executing communication plans that motivate employees to understand and take appropriate action to execute the company’s mission, vision, strategic priorities and culture in the work they do every day. 
• Lead and support the team by coaching, proactively defining, and developing capabilities needed to advance the work of the function, attracting top talent, and creating an enriching and energizing work environment. 

Requirements: 

• The successful candidate has at least 12 years of experience in brand, commercial, or corporate communications, preferably in the pharmaceutical industry.
• S/he will be a self-motivated leader with a track record of setting, driving and delivering against integrated U.S. and globally focused communications strategies.
• S/he will have experience leading teams and successfully managing a team of direct reports.
• S/he will have expertise in strategic planning, issues management, internal communications, executive communications, social media management and engagement, and product communications, able to collaborate with business leaders to develop integrated communications strategies across every phase of the product lifecycle.
• S/he will have demonstrated ability to successfully lead and influence others. Finally, this individual will have a strong grasp of storytelling that can engage and energize employees and support the company’s business objectives.   
• Bachelor’s degree required, ideally in Communications or a related field.  
  Proven experience driving successful product lifecycle strategy in coordination with business partners in support of enterprise priorities. 
• Exceptional collaboration skills with the ability to partner effectively within the department and across the business to drive and scale communications strategies. 
• Ability to influence and advise senior leadership in both communications and business settings. Strong understanding of the U.S. healthcare space and the technical side of the business, including U.S. regulatory policy, R&D, pricing, and access.  
• Strong management and leadership skills. 
• Superior written and interpersonal communication skills. Strong presentation and facilitation skills; ability to engage with and persuade a wide variety of audiences. 
• Able to quickly learn the business and operate within a complex, fast-paced, and changing environment. 
• Highly knowledgeable about stakeholder engagement, content creation, channel strategy, and digital/social media best practices, including how to optimize content delivery across channels and audiences.  

The starting compensation for this job is a range from [$215,000-$260,000], plus incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility). The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills and where the job is performed. 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 our BMS Career Site (https://careers.bms.com/working-with-us).

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans then in effect and may include the following: Medical, pharmacy, dental and vision care. Wellbeing support such as the BMS Living Life Better program and employee assistance programs (EAP). Financial well-being resources and a 401(K). Financial protection benefits such as short- and long-term disability, life insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection and survivor support. Work-life programs include paid national holidays and optional holidays, Global Shutdown days between Christmas and New Year’s holiday, up to 120 hours of paid vacation, up to two (2) paid days to volunteer, sick time off, and summer hours flexibility. Parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military leave. Family care services such as adoption and surrogacy reimbursement, fertility/infertility benefits, support for traveling mothers, and child, elder and pet care resources.

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.

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.

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 adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

BMS cares about your well-being and the well-being of our staff, customers, patients, and communities. As a result, the Company strongly recommends that all employees be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 and keep up to date with Covid-19 boosters.

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: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

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