Medical Affairs ID/Vaccine Executive Director
Verona Pharma
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1.Be in charge of ID/Vaccine and take responsibility for multiple therapeutic areas, namely vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, HIV infection, and all relevant products within ID/Vax.
2.Be a proactive and contributing leader of the relevant BU Leadership Team and foster cross-functional partners’ trust while representing the Medical Affairs team.
3.Prioritize corporate and medical strategies, with responsibility for budget and human resource management (hiring, placement, and training).
4.Enable the planning, execution, and management of medical strategies (Country Medical Affairs Plan: CMAP) across the therapeutic areas within the Franchise as an accountable Franchise Lead.
5.Report to and communicate effectively with the Head of Medical Affairs, while also acting as a point of contact for V&I Global Medical and Scientific Affairs.
6.Empower, develop, inspire, and lead a team of medical professionals through business management, coaching, and development.
7. As a key TA leader as well as a Medical Affairs professional, pay close attention to compliance and quality.
8.Attract and develop a Franchise Medical team distinguished internally and esternally for its strategic foresight, medical expertise, business acumen, and collaborative spirit.
Main job
Medical strategy of each therapeutic area:
- Participate in the development of the Global V&I Plan in response to requests.
- Supervise and enable the preparation of the CMAP (execution/decision is led by the Medical Advisor).
- Prioritize CMAP execution and resource/budget allocation within the Franchise.
- Oversee the Country input process, reviewing and approving drafts prepared by ID/Vaccine Medical Advisors (Japan V&I Trio Leads) to ensure alignment with Japan's medical priorities and the Global V&I strategy.
Medical strategy of each therapeutic area:
- Participate in the development of the Global V&I Plan in response to requests.
- Supervise and enable the preparation of the CMAP (execution/decision is led by the Medical Advisor).
- Prioritize CMAP execution and resource/budget allocation within the Franchise.
- Oversee the Country input process, reviewing and approving drafts prepared by ID/Vaccine Medical Advisors (Japan V&I Trio Leads) to ensure alignment with Japan's medical priorities and the Global V&I strategy.
Data generation:
- Support and supervise evidence generation and publication, as needed.
- Identify and prioritize evidence gaps across the Franchise from Japan's perspective, guiding Medical Advisors in aligning evidence generation activities with both local medical needs and global strategic priorities.
- IIS: 1) Provide scientific input and make final decisions for ISR (Investigator Sponsored Research) MISPs as a regional (Japan) representative/member for the operation and implementation of IIS in the Franchise (execution/decision is led by the Medical Advisor); and 2) ensure the scientifically and ethically appropriate implementation of IIS in the Franchise.
- Participate in the Scientific Committee Meeting (MA-SC), and monitor, contribute to, and make decisions on relevant scientific projects.
Communication / Collaboration:
- Collaborate effectively with the Business Unit Team, Regulatory, Clinical Research, Clinical Operations, Pharmacovigilance, Communications, Legal, Compliance, and other risk-related functions in the affiliate.
Communicate scientific, medical, clinical, and business needs credibly and effectively across a variety of internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
Act as a point of contact for relevant global functions where 1) multiple (>2) disease areas/products exist, or 2) insights from cross-therapeutic-area perspectives are essential, and support the Medical Advisor's global communication if needed.
Oversee and support ID/Vaccine Medical Advisors' participation in Japan Development Teams, ensuring Japan's medical landscape, patient needs, and healthcare system perspectives are appropriately reflected in global strategic discussions and decision-making.
Understand the regional (Japan) medical environment and policies, and make comprehensive proposals to senior management.
Management:
- Be part of the Medical Affairs Leadership Team (JMALT) and contribute to and make decisions on management and organizational matters.
Attract, retain, and develop the right diverse talent to develop and execute the medical strategy.
- Manage the budget for the responsible area.
- Lead scientific discussions and activities in the therapeutic areas in charge, and share necessary insights with local and global stakeholders based on high scientific expertise.
Be an effective partner in the Promotional Review process and understand the fundamentals of promotional regulations.
Ensure personal and team compliance with internal policies and external industry regulations related to Medical Affairs.
Required Skills
1. High expertise in the therapeutic area in charge
- Based on advanced scientific expertise (medicine, pharmacology, research, clinical practice, etc.), the ED leads scientific discussions and activities both inside and outside the division for the disease areas in charge.
- Conduct scientific reviews of various materials, assess their scientific validity, and take responsibility for final approval.
- Provide education and guidance to department personnel on scientific discussion and argumentation.
- Ability to analyze data gaps and conduct scientific research.
- Ability to identify education gaps from physician and patient perspectives.
2. Communication skills
- Ability to solve problems and understand medical as well as business needs.
- Ability to communicate smoothly and in a timely manner with local and global stakeholders.
- Strategic mindset: appropriately identifies problems to be solved, proposes and formulates solutions, and quickly leads to win-win outcomes through communication across various tasks.
- Ability to communicate in Japanese and English to serve as an ambassador for the Japan team.
3. Leadership (Result-Oriented)
- Understanding of how to build strategy and lead/advise the team developing therapeutic area strategies.
- Accountability to department staff and relevant stakeholders.
- Ability to manage business, budget (financial stewardship), and human resources as the ultimate person responsible for execution.
- Ability to motivate the team, develop talent, and understand the right hiring needs.
- Open and approachable leadership style.
- Sense of urgency and ownership.
4. Compliance
- Understand various compliance rules and codes in the industry and the region (Japan), and ensure thorough compliance.
- Lead and take final approval responsibility for the formulation and execution of compliance rules in inter-company business alliances, etc.
5. Knowledge and understanding of the pharmaceutical industry environment
- In addition to scientific expertise, understand the medical environment and policies in the region (Japan), and make comprehensive proposals to senior management.
- Deep understanding of Japan's healthcare system, including reimbursement, medical fee structures, and relevant clinical guidelines, to provide strategic oversight and comprehensive proposals to senior management.
- Motivation to improve the pharmaceutical industry environment beyond the company by collaborating with and learning from industry colleagues.
6. Patient-focused mindset
Strong intrinsic motivation to do better for patients and population health.
Job Experiences
Required:
Managerial experience in R&D, Medical Affairs, or equivalent functions in a pharmaceutical company (more than 5 years)
Significant research experience (basic research, drug discovery, clinical research, public health, etc.) or clinical experience
Scientific publications in international journals (as first author or corresponding author)
Academic presentations at domestic and international conferences
Preferred:
Clinical experience in the responsible area (for MDs)
Postdoctoral experience or clinical experience in the responsible disease area
Clinical research or drug discovery research management experience (Primary Investigator)
Reviewer experience for peer-reviewed journals
Conference chairperson experience (domestic or overseas conferences) or experience as a symposium speaker at scientific meetings
Work/study experience outside Japan
Major:
Graduate school degree equivalent in Pharmaceutical Sciences / Science
or medical license
Academic Background:
Required: M.D. or Ph.D.
Language:
Japanese and English : Fluent
Required Skills:
Advisory Board Development, Clinical Development, Clinical Medicine, Decision Making, Functional Expertise, Healthcare Education, Human Resource Management, Investigator-Initiated Studies (IIS), Key Opinion Leader Management, Medical Affairs, Multiple Therapeutic Areas, People Leadership, Project Life Cycle Management, Scientific Publications, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking, Vaccine Administration, Vaccine ManagementPreferred Skills:
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Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.
Employee Status:
RegularRelocation:
VISA Sponsorship:
Travel Requirements:
Flexible Work Arrangements:
HybridShift:
Valid Driving License:
Hazardous Material(s):
Job Posting End Date:
06/10/2026*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.
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