Executive Director, Medical Affairs Strategy Excellence & Operations

Job Description

As a senior leader within Medical Affairs, the Executive Director will serve as a strategic thought partner and Chief of Staff to the Vice President of Medical Affairs, providing high‑level guidance and operational leadership across the organization. Leveraging a deep understanding of industry trends and internal priorities, this individual will shape the development of best‑in‑class medical excellence capabilities aligned with Otsuka’s vision, direction, and growth strategy.

The Executive Director, Medical Affairs Strategy, Excellence & Operations will lead five critical teams:
Strategic Planning, Business Solutions & Analytics, Vendor & Contracts Management, Governance & Procedures, and Global Medical Evidence Operations ensuring alignment with enterprise goals and medical excellence priorities. This role will champion operational rigor, foster strategic integration, and drive high‑quality insights to support decision‑making across the organization.

Serving as a key liaison across the Global, US, and Commercial ecosystem, the Executive Director will play a pivotal role in advancing scientific and medical initiatives. Through thoughtful leadership and collaboration, this individual will shape and execute the global medical affairs strategy, optimize operational frameworks, and enable data‑driven innovation across therapeutic areas.

• Serve as Chief of Staff to the VP of Medical Affairs, driving strategic alignment and operational integration across the Global Medical Affairs organization.

• Sets the overall direction of Medical Excellence & Operations (MEO); make critical decisions that have impact across Global Medical Affairs therapeutic areas (TAs) and functions.

• Leads the development, refinement, and execution of Medical Affairs strategies and objectives in alignment with corporate goals.

• Coordinates cross‑functional planning, meeting cadences, budget oversight, and communication on behalf of Medical Affairs leadership.

• Collaborates with cross‑functional teams to align medical affairs activities with commercial and clinical development strategies.

• Leads Medical Excellence for Med Affairs Strategy to ensure consistent best practices across programs and drive consistent methods of strategic and tactical planning and execution.

• Lead and manage core operational pillars within Medical Affairs Excellence & Operations Team, including:

• Global Asset Strategic Planning

• Business Solutions and Analytics

• Vendor and Contracts management

• Global Medical Evidence Operations

• Governance and Procedures

• Establish and implement systems, SOPs, and governance frameworks to ensure excellence, compliance, and efficiency in Medical Affairs processes (e.g., IME, ISTs, EAPs, publications, congresses).

• Provide and maintain the technological infrastructure, business tools, and data analytics, including the medical information contact center, to enable Global Medical Affairs teams to operate efficiently.

• Oversee the department’s budget, resource allocation, and vendor contracting processes (including key TA level vendors).

• Will ensure assignment of Med Excellence activities/projects to Otsuka priorities.

• Congress Strategy/prioritization, ensure aggregation of congress plans (including meetings) and awareness cross‑functionally.

• Develop and maintain calendar of important TA meetings across programs, including congresses and internal off‑site meetings (US and Global) to ensure no conflicts and adequate resourcing; will work with Administrative leads to ensure meetings are added to calendars.

• Develops and manages large teams driving a high‑performance culture; understands the required skillset(s) needed within the medical excellence function to deliver best results.

• Builds relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including industry partners.

• Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure Medical Affairs impact and execution.

• Deliver monthly and quarterly updates to Global Medical Affairs leadership and contribute to board‑level reporting, as needed.

• Keeps…