Associate, Issues and Public Affairs Communications

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life‑changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve.

This is hard, urgent, self‑less work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.

This role is an integral member of the Global Corporate Communications, Crisis and Issues team, supporting the U.S. Public Affairs Senior Director and collaborating closely with three Director and Senior Director‑level partners across the public affairs and issues communications function. This position works in a cross‑functional environment with Global Public Policy (GPP), Legal, Federal Government Affairs (FGA), Value and Access (LVA), and Business Unit Corporate Affairs (BUCAs), and reports to the Senior Director, U.S. Public Affairs.

The Associate primarily delivers public affairs communication campaigns that advance Lilly's U.S. policy priorities — including media strategy, collaborator engagement, third‑party mobilization, and digital/social amplification — while also supporting the team on issues and crisis communications. The ideal candidate will bring strong writing skills, sound policy judgment, and biopharmaceutical industry knowledge.

• Support the development and execution of environment‑shaping communications campaigns for priority U.S. policy goals in partnership with GPP, Legal, FGA, LVA, and the BUCAs; supply communications ideas and tactical options to cross‑functional partners, helping build shared ownership of the communications approach.
• Collaborate with partners within Global Corporate Communications — including Corporate Channels and Creative (CCC) and Internal Communications — to implement campaign tactics across earned, paid, and owned channels.
• Coordinate with trade associations' (e.g., PhRMA, BIO) public affairs teams to support alignment of their efforts with Lilly's policy priorities, and help inform internal stakeholders on the evolving policy and political environment.
• Contribute to counsel for cross‑functional partners on communications strategies and tactics that include earned and paid media, digital/social amplification, advocacy partnerships, speaking opportunities for Lilly executives, and events or briefings.
• Stay ahead of the evolving U.S. policy landscape in terms of drug pricing, intellectual property, patient affordability, reimbursement, and innovation.
• Demonstrate global sensibility by understanding how U.S. policy decisions connect to and intersect with international policy environments, and flag implications for broader campaign strategy as appropriate.
• Work with Federal Advocacy to find opportunities to improve the efficiency of advocacy groups through communications in support of policy priorities.
• Draft and support placement of op‑eds on behalf of Lilly executives.
• Develop advocacy communications materials, including issue backgrounders, fact sheets, and collaborator letters.
• Support the development of proactive and reactive message documents, including talking points, standby statements, press releases, and FAQs.
• Assist in monitoring and tracking the evolving external stakeholder landscape to help assess potential issues and inform response strategies.
• Collaborate with the broader team and external agencies on rapid response protocols and help lead incoming media inquiries related to public affairs and policy issues.
• Build and maintain relationships with key U.S. policy media.
• Work collaboratively with business partners and the extended communications team to run media inquiries, identify story opportunities, and support earned media placements.
• Evaluate and recommend new ideas to drive Lilly's voice externally.
• Partner with and provide direction to external agencies and vendors, as needed.
• Flex to support…