Senior Director, Emerging + Portfolio Scientific Communications

Senior Director, Emerging + Portfolio Scientific 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, selfless 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.

The Senior Director, Emerging + Portfolio Scientific Communications leads two connected areas of work: building the communications strategy for Lilly's next-generation science platforms and helping to tell the stories that define how Lilly's science is understood at the highest levels. On the emerging science side, this role owns the narrative for Lilly's genetic medicines (siRNA, gene therapies, in vivo genome editing), novel modalities, platforms, new focus areas and white-space scientific exploration.

This is category-creation work: architecting how the world understands Lilly's emerging science capabilities, not as a pipeline segment, but as a defining feature of the company's identity. On the portfolio storytelling side, this role partners with the AVP, Scientific Innovations Communications, Chief Scientific Officer, BU Leaders, and LRL Leadership Team to develop the speeches, presentations, and storytelling modules that travel across the enterprise and shape how Lilly's early and current scientific portfolios are perceived externally.

This is not a design execution role. Design and creative production resources will come through partnership with the Global Comms Strategy, Innovation and Operations team. This is a strategic communications leader who is passionate about science and thrives in shaping how it is presented to the world, ensuring that every high-stakes external engagement reflects both scientific rigor and narrative clarity.

Reporting to the AVP, Scientific Innovation Communications, this leader serves as a critical integrator across the Scientific Innovation Communications function. The role requires a rare communicator who combines deep scientific fluency with the strategic instinct to build platform-level narratives and the editorial judgment to shape how Lilly's senior leaders present the science externally.

Key Objectives / Deliverables

• PLATFORM NARRATIVE STRATEGY:
  Help to develop the overarching communications strategy for Lilly's emerging science portfolio. Build platform-level narratives (e.g., 'genetic medicines,' platform/new modalities,' infectious disease,' etc.) that establish Lilly's scientific leadership independent of any single asset.
• EXECUTIVE STORYTELLING AND PRESENTATIONS:
  Support the development of executive speeches, presentations, and storytelling modules for the Chief Scientific Officer, BU Leaders, and LRL Leadership Team. Partner with the Global Comms Strategy, Innovation and Operations team for design and creative production.
• ENTERPRISE SCIENTIFIC NARRATIVE:
  Develop reusable storytelling modules that travel across the enterprise, equipping leaders and communicators across Global Communications with the building blocks to tell Lilly's science story consistently and compellingly. Support storytelling for LRL and R&D achievements, building narrative modules that can be adapted for media, scientific, and other external audiences.
• SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AND CONGRESS ENGAGEMENT:
  Drive communications strategy for emerging science at key scientific forums. Develop early-stage narrative to build awareness and credibility.
• COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE AND PROACTIVE POSITIONING:
  Monitor the competitive landscape across new areas of our scientific interest and focus. Develop proactive positioning and messaging frameworks that define the category on Lilly's terms.
• MEDIA RELATIONS:
  Develop media strategy for emerging science landmarks and platform stories. Build relationships…