Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs, Innovative Medicine, EMEA

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com.

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world. We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual. At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.

Job Function:

Communications & Corporate/External Affairs

Job Sub Function:

Multi-Family Communications & Corporate/External Affairs

Job Category:

People Leader

All Job Posting Locations:

Zug, Switzerland

Job Description:

About the role

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions and profoundly impact health for humanity.

We are seeking an exceptional enterprise leader to serve as Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs (CPA), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), for Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. This executive role will shape the environment in which our business operates, protect and enhance trust in Johnson & Johnson, and accelerate the region’s most important business, policy, access and reputational priorities.

As the senior CPA leader for EMEA, you will be responsible for the execution of the CPA strategy in the region, translating global business priorities into focused regional and market action, and deploy talent and resources against the highest-value opportunities. You will lead a diverse team including regional, cluster and market CPA leaders, and contribute to build a future-ready function defined by strategic impact, disciplined execution, insight, innovation and measurable outcomes.

You will report to the VP, Global Leader, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine Communications & Public Affairs, serve on the EMEA Innovative Medicine Leadership Team and the global Innovative Medicine CPA Leadership Team, and act as principal strategic counselor to the EMEA Company Group Chair and regional leadership.

This role requires a sophisticated understanding of the diverse geopolitical, healthcare, media and stakeholder landscape across EMEA, combined with the ability to connect global strategy, regional leadership and market execution as one integrated CPA system.

Key Responsibilities and Impact

Lead strategy implementation and protect and enhance Johnson & Johnson reputation 

• Implement CPA strategy aligned with enterprise, global Innovative Medicine and regional business priorities, with clear choices, outcomes and accountability. 

• Use geopolitical, policy, stakeholder, reputational, competitive and business intelligence to anticipate shifts, identify opportunities and risks, and influence global and regional decisions. 

• Protect and strengthen trust in Johnson & Johnson through proactive reputation leadership, disciplined issues preparedness, and decisive crisis response across markets. 

• Drive cross-sector alignment with Johnson & Johnson MedTech and enterprise partners, ensuring consistency on priority reputational topics and presenting one Johnson & Johnson voice where it creates greater impact. 

Advance priority Therapeutic Areas, innovation and portfolio leadership 

• Align EMEA CPA with global and business priorities and contribute regional insight to the co-creation of global Therapeutic Area strategies, ensuring focus on must-win launches, growth brands, scientific milestones and pipeline opportunities. 

• Execute integrated regional strategies across earned, owned, paid, social and digital channels, congresses, campaigns, patient advocacy and stakeholder engagement, using common global platforms with disciplined regional and market activation. 

• Strengthen the visibility and relevance of our science and innovation while ensuring communications are differentiated, evidence-based, locally meaningful and compliant. 

• Align Communications, Public Affairs, Patient Engagement & Advocacy and business partners around shared outcomes for priority Therapeutic Areas and brands. 

Shape policy and access environments to help more patients benefit from innovation 

• Execute an integrated EMEA Public Affairs strategy across Therapeutic Areas and above-brand priorities, connecting regional advocacy with global strategy and market action. 

• Partner with Market Access, Government Affairs & Policy, Patient Engagement & Advocacy, Medical Affairs and commercial leaders to shape policy debates, strengthen health systems and advance timely, sustainable access to innovative medicines. 

• Represent the company with senior external stakeholders and build coalitions across industry, patient, policy, media and broader civil-society networks to advance constructive healthcare solutions. 

• Ensure regional positions, narratives and activation plans are evidence-led, outcome-focused and consistently executed across priority markets. 

Provide high-impact executive counsel and mobilize the organization 

• Serve as a trusted counselor to the EMEA Company Group Chair and regional leadership, bringing external perspective, sound judgment and clear recommendations to consequential business and reputational decisions. 

• Lead executive positioning and communications for the region’s highest-priority enterprise, business, policy and reputational moments. 

• Set the strategy, governance and priorities for regional employee engagement and transformation communications, equipping leaders and employees to understand the strategy, act with clarity and deliver results. 

• Build the communications capability of senior leaders and establish a focused model for top-tier leadership events, regional forums and change moments. 

Lead with insights, disciplined choices and measurable impact 

• Define outcome-based metrics and operating reviews that demonstrate impact, enable rapid learning and guide resource allocation. 

• Champion modern capabilities, including data, digital, social, AI-enabled workflows and new engagement models, with appropriate governance and responsible use. 

• Simplify processes, reduce duplication and scale shared content, platforms, tools and expertise across global, regional and market teams. 

Enterprise and people leadership 

• Lead, inspire and develop a diverse, high-performing EMEA CPA organization of approximately 40 professionals, including regional, cluster and market leaders. 

• Build a strong succession pipeline, attract and retain exceptional talent, and create an inclusive environment in which people can grow, challenge and perform at their best. 

• Operate as an enterprise leader beyond the boundaries of the function, contributing to EMEA business strategy, transformation, culture and organizational effectiveness. 

• Shape the evolution of the CPA operating model, clarifying accountabilities across global, regional, cluster and market teams and moving resources dynamically toward the highest-impact priorities. 

• Model the expected ways of working: own the outcome, act as one team, know and drive the business, learn and evolve, and simplify to amplify. 

• Maintain rigorous financial, compliance and risk stewardship across the regional function and its external partners. 

Leadership Profile, Skills and Experience 

• 15+ years of progressively senior leadership experience in Communications, Corporate Affairs or Public Affairs, with significant experience in the pharmaceutical or broader healthcare sector strongly preferred. 

• Proven success leading a sizable, geographically dispersed function in a complex global matrix and aligning diverse stakeholders around a clear enterprise agenda. 

• Deep expertise across reputation, media, public affairs, patient advocacy, executive and employee communications, issues and crisis management, digital engagement and major product or scientific milestones. 

• Sophisticated understanding of the EMEA geopolitical, policy, regulatory, access, media and healthcare environment, with the judgment to navigate complexity, ambiguity and differing market realities. 

• Exceptional executive presence and a record of advising the most senior leaders, influencing high-stakes decisions and representing an organization credibly with external stakeholders. 

• Enterprise mindset and strong business acumen, with the ability to connect science, policy, reputation and commercial priorities and translate strategy into focused execution and measurable outcomes. 

• Transformational and inclusive people leader with a strong record of building leadership teams, developing diverse talent, strengthening succession and leading through change. 

• Strategic, creative and entrepreneurial thinker who anticipates future needs, makes bold choices and converts insight into action at pace. 

• Outstanding written, verbal, presentation, negotiation and relationship-building skills across cultures and audiences. 

• Unquestioned integrity, sound judgment and commitment to responsible, compliant and values-based leadership. 

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in communications, journalism, political science, public policy, business or a related field preferred. 

Language and travel 

Fluency in English is required; additional EMEA languages are an advantage. The role requires regular travel across EMEA and occasional global travel. 

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world. We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual, and we respect the diversity, dignity and merit of our employees. 

Johnson & Johnson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination based on characteristics protected by applicable law. 

Reasonable accommodation is available to qualified individuals who need support during the application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, or to access employment benefits and privileges.

 

 

Required Skills:

 

 

Preferred Skills:

Agile Decision Making, Brand Reputation Management, Communications Measurement, Competitive Landscape, Consulting, Corporate Communications, Corporate Communications Strategy, Corporate Management, Crisis Communication, Developing Others, Inclusive Leadership, Integrated Marketing Communications, Intercultural Communication, Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, Strategic Thinking, Transparency Reporting, Unified Communications