Director, Government Affairs & Industry

At AstraZeneca, we pride ourselves on crafting a collaborative culture that champions knowledge-sharing, ambitious thinking and innovation – ultimately providing employees with the opportunity to work across teams, functions and even the globe.

Recognizing the importance of individualized flexibility, our ways of working allow employees to balance personal and work commitments while ensuring we continue to create a strong culture of collaboration and teamwork by engaging face-to-face in our offices 3 days a week.

Our dedication to sustainability is also central to our culture and part of what makes AstraZeneca a great place to work. We know the health of people, the planet and our business are interconnected which is why we’re taking bold action to address some of the biggest challenges of our time, from climate change to access to healthcare and disease prevention.

Role Overview :
The Director, Government Affairs & Industry is a senior leader and key member of the Corporate Affairs Leadership Team. This role is accountable for designing, shaping, and driving AstraZeneca Canada’s national government relations strategy. The Director drives a coordinated, enterprise-wide engagement approach across federal, provincial, and municipal levels, aligned to a clear vision and business strategy. The Director is an expert communicator and planner, engaging both internally and externally to ensure stakeholder understanding.

Working cross-functionally, the Director leads and develops a diverse team of field experts—building a unified, high-impact team with a shared vision and strong collaboration. The Director is a trusted internal advisor who advises on business strategy and regularly briefs Canadian and global AstraZeneca executives on policy developments relevant to our priorities. They clearly convey priorities and regularly measure and articulate the impact of their team’s effort and outcomes.

The role also leads AstraZeneca’s strategy and operational plan within Innovative Medicines Canada, ensuring effective cross-functional participation, CEO-level engagement and alignment, and advocacy for policy positions that foster innovation and expand patient access. This role will also support AZ’s position as Board Chair at IMC.

This role calls for a politically astute, results-driven and high-values leader who thrives at building & driving strategy, advocacy, and influence, to advance AstraZeneca’s reputation, policy priorities, and societal impact across Canada.

This is a head office based role with approximately 30% travel required within Canada.

Key Responsibilities:

National Government Affairs Strategic Plans and Execution :
Designing, communicating, and completing a cohesive GR strategy focuses on the biggest opportunities. It unlocks the power behind AstraZeneca’s scientific advancements for Canadians. Build plans and achieve consensus across Corporate Affairs, Market Access and others, to drive success of core policy priorities across provincial and federal governments.

Economic & Societal Impact Strategy and Execution :
Develop compelling strategies that measure and communicate the economic and societal contributions of AstraZeneca’s Canadian head office, key partnerships and clinical investments. Leverage these to drive policy priorities, supporting external advocacy and internal decision-making. Enable the identification & development of critical evidence vital for policy priority advancement.

Critical Policy Execution and Impact :
Advance pivotal initiatives aligned to Corporate Affairs policy priorities, including accelerating access to medicines, and improving sector competitiveness via economic policy change.

External Collaborator Engagement:  Own the coordination and implementation of AstraZeneca’s proactive engagement with national, regional, and local government partners. Support, and lead where appropriate, engagement with other key life sciences and health care partners. Build and implement strategies to raise our corporate profile with key decision makers and advance our policy priorities. Build trusting relationships aligned to our values.

Internal Team Member Engagement:  Coordinate key…