Head, US Commercial Patient Advocacy & Ecosystem Strategy

GSK•Washington, DC

About The Position

Head, US Commercial Patient Advocacy & Ecosystem Strategy Location: Washington, DC The US healthcare system is complex and constantly evolving. GSK collaborates with diverse stakeholders to better understand patient needs in diagnosis, treatment, delivery, and care. Our ambition is to collaborate with external groups (health organizations, public health societies, patient advocacy groups, and non-traditional partners) to address specific challenges and opportunities in 1) prioritized disease areas 2) US health system changes and broader policy reforms 3) external giving opportunities aligned with GSK priorities. The Head, US Commercial Patient Advocacy & Ecosystem Strategy (PAES) will report to the Vice President, US Government Affairs and Public Policy & Advocacy (GAPPA). This person will serve as a key member of the GAPPA LT, who is responsible for leading targeted engagement with patient groups in priority disease areas and driving advocacy for system-level changes to shape the policy and access environment (both local and national) related to GSK’s product portfolio. The Head, PAES manages a team accountable for driving external GSK advocacy and health system initiatives, managing relationships with external groups and organizations, as well as external funding strategies. The incumbent will work with stakeholders in a highly matrixed environment. These partners include members of the US Commercial Leadership Team, US Business Unit Heads and Functional Vice Presidents, the GAPPA Leadership Team, US Medical Affairs and the Chief Patient Organization, global Patient Advocacy & Engagement, The Strategy/Insights/Analytics Team, Digital & Technology, national PAG (Patient Advocacy Groups) and public health group leaders. With a focus on GSK’s priorities, the Head will transform how GSK serves patients, providers, and ultimately brings value to the US healthcare system.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree - BA/BS in public policy, public health, health administration, business, communications, political science, or related field.
At least 8 years in pharma / biotech industry or healthcare consulting
Deep experience in working with external organizations (PAGs, think tanks, etc.) to drive clear health advocacy strategies
Proven knowledge of US health system design, payment models, delivery transformation (value‑based care, ACOs, integrated delivery systems, AI), and health policy trends
At least 5 years leading matrix teams
At least 3 years managing people

Nice To Haves

A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in government/public affairs, external affairs, nonprofit/NGO engagement, health systems strategy, or related functions — including a minimum of 5 years in people management and leading cross‑functional teams.
A demonstrated track record building and managing strategic partnerships with patient advocacy groups, professional societies, health organizations, foundations, and/or government stakeholders.
Proven experience designing and implementing multi‑stakeholder external engagement strategies that align to commercial, medical, access, policy, and health system transformation objectives.
Experience managing meaningful program budgets and external giving/funding allocations (experience with budgets in the low‑ to mid‑millions; comfort overseeing ~$10–20M).
Experience working closely with legal/compliance, medical affairs, market access, finance, commercial teams, and global stakeholders to operationalize external engagement.
Working familiarity with pharmaceutical industry compliance and legal constraints for external engagement, grants, and donations (e.g., US Sunshine/OPD, PhRMA Code implications).
Experience using patient insights, qualitative research, market intelligence, and real‑world evidence to inform strategy.
Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills; ability to represent the organization externally and influence senior internal leaders.
Demonstrated ability to synthesize external stakeholder input and health system trends into actionable insights and present them to senior leadership.
Experience coaching and developing individual contributors (directors), leading through influence, setting priorities and performance expectations, and managing workload across multiple complex projects.

Responsibilities

Implement the vision of the team to establish GSK leadership in both disease advocacy/awareness and proactively shaping the broader environment
Lead prioritized external stakeholder engagements in priority disease and issue areas
Ensure advocacy partnerships improve the care experience for patients by addressing barriers to care, closing treatment gaps, and measurably improving the understanding, prevention, and treatment of disease
Gain key patient and health system insights (access policy, care delivery, reimbursement, technology, innovation) from external collaboration; embed and represent key findings into GSK strategies through appropriate internal teams (IBCT, Market Access, SITO, Digital & Tech)
Integrate US health system trends in diagnosis, treatment, and delivery to proactively drive specific ecosystem strategies at the local and national levels
Initiate the “pull through” from advocacy engagements to orchestrate multistakeholder health system initiatives, in collaboration with internal and external partners, to lead advocacy, policy, and ecosystem priorities
Serve as a strong, forward-looking thought partner for USC leadership with the ambition to get ahead of US health system transformation
Acts as a strong financial steward of GSK and is responsible for managing a significant project and external giving budget
Serves as the single point of accountability for governance, controls, oversight, reporting, and risk management of advocacy activities; ensuring funding areas of interest are aligned cross-functionally and used to guide funding decisions; establishing process and risk management/controls for direct contracting with US patients
Ensure that the team serves as an independent, enterprise-oriented, product-agnostic strategic function