AstraZeneca Posted November 6, 2026

Global Medical Head, Infectious Disease

Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America Full time
Medical Affairs Vaccines & Infectious Disease
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AstraZeneca is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

To accomplish our goals and enable the best patient outcomes, we look for AZ BPM leaders to have five core capabilities and to act as role models for our AZ values. These capabilities include: track record of building and maintaining a deep and continued connection to medical practice/healthcare delivery; collaborative/matrix management skills with a focus on leading diverse groups (e.g., cultural, geographical, functional) to achieve excellent results in shared goals; well-developed communication and influencing skills, with the ability to distill complexity down to what matters most to our stakeholders; an ability to think strategically and creatively; and, business acumen.

The Global Medical Head – ID shapes product and disease area strategy, drives product launches and life cycle management, provides strategic direction for evidence generation, education and publication, and engages extensively externally to further the scientific leadership of AZ. It is a leadership position that reports directly to the Vice President, Franchise and Medical & Scientific Affairs (FMSA) and is responsible for all aspects of the global medical strategy and plan. The incumbent is a member of the FMSA leadership team, has direct reports, and is expected to develop a strong network with AZ colleagues in regions and countries.

What you'll do:

Accountable for the development and implementation of strategic medical plans at a global level, driving thinking around innovative evidence, confidence, and practice change initiatives

Ensures global strategy is effectively communicated at regional and country levels, and that regional/country needs are appropriately accommodated

Ensures effective collaboration with other key functions within BPM (e.g. Medical Excellence, Evidence Generation, Patient Centricity, Medical Information, Publications), across functions (e.g. Commercial, Pricing and Market Access, Research and Development) as well as with regions and markets

Provides quality input to AZ planning and decision-making processes (e.g. Brand Strategic Plan, prioritized early assets, lifecycle management)

Ensures operational effectiveness and efficiencies – delivery – through a continuous improvement approach; ensures that key performance indicators (KPIs) are developed and tracked

Represents Medical in cross-functional and cross-departmental projects of special interest

Ensures all V&I activities are carried out in compliance with AZ standards and standard operating procedures

Has budget accountability for the team

Coaches, mentors and performance manage direct reports, and takes an active role in succession and talent management

Fosters a high-performance culture and a strong team spirit

Essential for the role:

MD, PhD or PharmD

7-10 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, ideally in Medical Affairs, working at the country and global/regional level; strong academic experience in the infectious diseases (ID) space will also be considered

Experienced team leader at a global/regional level, with a track record of establishing high-performance teams. Strong and demonstrable leadership skills are a pre-requisite

Strategic and innovative thinker with executive presence

Demonstrated track record delivering results in a complex matrix environment, building capabilities, and leading large scale impactful medical initiatives

Strong analytical mind-set and ability to quickly assess large amounts of information and distil into key messages and actions

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace, and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $ 285,872.80 - 428,809.20 Annual USD. Base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition, our positions offer a short-term incentive bonus opportunity; eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program. Benefits offered include a qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]; paid vacation and holidays; paid leaves; and, health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans. Additional details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base pay (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Date Posted

06-Nov-2026

Closing Date

13-Nov-2026 Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Medical Affairs
Therapeutic area
Vaccines & Infectious Disease
Location
Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Medical Affairs role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 1681 comparable Medical Affairs roles across 177 biopharma companies.

1681Comparable roles tracked
1580Currently active
177Companies hiring similar roles
62Countries represented

Salary context

380 of 1681 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Peer group range $75,510 – $454,000 (median $214,050)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1681 comparable roles

United States752
China176
Japan100
Germany68
United Kingdom64
India58

+ 56 more countries

Seniority mix

1029 of 1681 peers have a known seniority level

Senior262
Director250
Manager231
Associate Director88
Associate81
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc39
Senior Director37
Executive/VP26
Principal15

Therapeutic area mix

596 of 1681 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology263
Neuroscience88
Immunology54
Rare Disease53
Cardiovascular / CVRM44
Dermatology & Aesthetics37
Respiratory21
Vaccines & Infectious Disease15
Gastroenterology13
Ophthalmology8

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

80%similar
Pfizer Pearl River, United States
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
GlaxoSmithKline LLC Home Worker, United States Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
GlaxoSmithKline LLC Philadelphia, United States Manager
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
IQVIA Durham, United States Executive/VP
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
65%similar
Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd Tokyo, Japan Associate Director
Same function Same therapeutic area
65%similar
Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH Berlin, Germany Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same therapeutic area

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Medical Affairs job in the United States, and choose locations and companies.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

80%
Development Head, RSV, RSV Combination, and Early Vaccine Programs
Pfizer · Pearl River, United States · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
Therapeutic Strategy VP, Infectious Disease
IQVIA · Durham, United States · Executive/VP
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
65%
Sr. MSL, Respiratory, Immunology & Infectious Diseases
AstraZeneca · Seoul, Korea, Korea, Republic of · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
65%
(Senior) Vaccine Clinician, Contractor, Beijing/Shanghai
Pfizer (Beijing) Research and Development Co., Ltd. · Beijing, China · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.