Public and Government Affairs Innovation Lead｜Non-line Manager｜Corporate Affairs (Shinagawa, Japan, Tokyo)

Role Purpose:

As a seasoned business professional, drive Japan’s innovation agenda by engaging with key policy makers and driving association topics to advance strategies that protects and elevates the value of innovation, influence MFN related policies, improve predictability of pharma drug pricing, and strengthens our position as a trusted thought partner to government and industry.

Serve as the enterprise‑wide center of excellence on innovation policy, helping teams make informed decisions by translating complex policy intelligence, global innovation policy trends, including MFN and pricing dicussions, industry and competitor signals, and government updates, into clear, practical insights that support aligned, forward‑looking actions.

Uphold Boehringer’s Our Values and Our Behaviors and partner closely with senior executives across Japan and global teams. Connect strategies, navigate ambiguity together, and steer integrated advocacy efforts that emphasize the broader impact of investing into innovative medicine. As a result, enhance Boehringer’s influence, reputation, and business value across internal and external stakeholders.

Key Job Accountabilities:

Act as the Innovation & MFN Policy Lead

Develop policy roadmap with strategic goals and tactics for Association driven activities and Boehringer driven ones i.e., development of strategies for company positioning, executive messaging, white paper, position papers, study sessions, media interviews, etc.

Parter with Corporate Affairs Head to collaborate with business counterparts and said goals to strategize and drive progress on shaping innovation policies.

Build trusted relationships with internal stakeholders to understand insights that address local business needs.

In the long-run, potential opportunity to expand responsibilities to support therapeutic areas for the business.

Advocacy & Stakeholder Engagement

Develop a stakeholder outreach program, which maps out a narrative strategy of who, what, when, where, how to shape and influence policy.

Leverage existing networks to build and strengthen strong relationships with external stakeholders (ministries, associations, etc.) to influence policy outcomes.

Develop senior leadership engagement strategy and prepare leadership for external engagements.

Policy Intelligence & Scenario Planning

Monitor MFN, pricing reform, innovation trends. Anticipate scenarios and inform internal stakeholders of implications to align on next steps.

Demonstrate strong knowledge of pharma industry policy advocacy to synthesize policy implications and advise next steps.

Integrated Campaign Planning

Take an integrated approach to leverage media when appropriate. Collaborate with agency, Communication team and the business to develop high-quality plans with consistent communications

Internal alignment

Act as a bridge between Corporate Affairs/PGA and the business to align strategies, messages, and next steps.

Serve as Japan key contact for innovation topic with global counterparts. Advise global team about Japan policy environment, updates, plans, results as required; push back if needed for the right reasons.

Key Contacts:

Report to Head of Corporate Affairs

Key interactions with: Corporate Affairs PGA and Communications (Japan and Global)

Japan Country Managing Director

Human Pharma President

Business Leaders in Human Pharma Business Unit Market Access and Healthcare Affairs

Marketing Team

Patient Engagement

Medical function

Qualifications:

10 years+ years of advocacy work, experience in the pharmaceutical industry a plus.

A Bachelor's/Master's degree in relevant field.

Experience in driving public affairs and policy work on corporate, association, and government levels.

Excellent Japanese and English (writing, speaking, negotiating) a must.

Strong understanding of Japanese pharma industry eco-system, up to date on innovation and pricing system topics.

Ability to communicate complex policy issues clearly, navigate uncertainty, understand business context, manage complex internal stakeholder relationships, and have the tenacity to adapt with speed to accomplish goals.

Demonstrated ability to manage and balance global expectations to achieve local goals.

A proven understanding of how communications can enhance policy shaping.

Strong project management skills, including managing agencies, to deliver strong results on a timely basis.

Understands and values being a good team player, builds and protects trust and team reputation, contributes to creating valuable impact to the business as one team.

Ability to work well under pressure, influence without authority, respects differences, own mature interpersonal skills to identify win-win solutions.

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