Astellas Pharma Posted October 8, 2026

Head Medical Affairs - Spain (Madrid, M, ES, 28046)

Madrid, Spain Type not listed
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Astellas Pharma 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

About Astellas

Astellas is a global life sciences company committed to turning innovative science into VALUE for patients. We provide transformative therapies in disease areas that include oncology, ophthalmology, urology, immunology and women's health. Through our research and development programs, we are pioneering new healthcare solutions for diseases with high unmet medical need.  Learn more at Astellas.com .

Are you driven to make a real difference in the lives of patients? 

We're seeking passionate individuals who thrive in dynamic environments, embrace new ideas, and aren't afraid to take intelligent risks. People who act with unwavering integrity and are deeply committed to making a tangible impact.

Working Environment and Location

This position is onsite in Madrid, Spain.

This position is hybrid and will require you to be onsite 2 days per week.

At Astellas we recognize the importance of work/life balance, and we are proud to offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues at the office with the flexibility to also work from home. We believe this will optimize the most productive work environment for all employees to succeed and deliver. Hybrid work from certain locations may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines.

Purpose and Scope

The Head of Medical Affairs, Spain has direct responsibility for Spanish Medical affairs organization, comprising of 21 Affiliate Medical Affairs team members. Responsible for overseeing, leading, and governing in the country:

MA headcount

MA budgets

All MA activities, including but not limited to: Input into the creation of Medical Strategies

Design and execution of MA sponsored studies

Oversight and management of Investigator Sponsored Research

Trainings

Development of scientific content for local activities

Review of promotional materials

Interaction with local HTA, HA and External Experts

Medical Information

This position will drive the creation and execution of country MA goals and ensure effective functional and cross-functional alignment through an engaged and collaborative approach to achieve the business objectives for the Astellas Spain, sitting as part of the Astellas affiliate leadership team.

This position provides leadership for the Medical Affairs Function regionally and globally through membership of the regional MA leadership team, contributing to the creation and execution of the MA Spain organizational goals.

Role and Responsibilities

Leadership

Represent the Medical Director’s voice/view at the Spain leadership table and other leadership forums. Ensure that the affiliate needs are reflected in the Spanish strategic and tactical plans and in development programs by supporting TA leads in

Collecting inputs from affiliate, e.g. local business needs and data gaps. Partner closely with the Head of market access, to provide insight on local Access strategy and challenges.

Support affiliate in rationalizing tactics, by considering synergies within country and taking a cross- portfolio view to prioritize resources and tactics across TAs. Ensure consistency across the affiliate Medical Affairs department. Identify opportunities for increased efficiency.

Understands fully the local market dynamics, and healthcare environment within Spain. Support the affiliate in creating and maintaining a network of Key External Experts in Spain in the relevant TAs. Support TA leads in gathering field insights from the region to input strategy.

Champion a collaborative mindset. Ensure full alignment with key stakeholders cross functionally with regard to business objectives and strategies within the region, being a proactive partner to functions in the affiliate and an active member of management teams.

Coordinate information/communication within the affiliate and with Region MA, Global MA and other functions.

Continue:Role and Responsibilities

Governance

Responsible for ensuring that the Spain MA teams fulfill overall MA objectives in line with Astellas strategy and functional imperatives.

Ensure that the MA function in the affiliate is operationalized according to the highest standards.

Guarantee medical governance within Spain, partnering with the Regional MA Operations to ensure all procedures are in place and aligned with Company Policies and SOPs and that people are appropriately and timely trained and adhere to these standards and procedures.

Oversee and provide strategic direction to the relevant Affiliate Medical Affairs team members and ensure plans, budget and resources are managed proactively. Ensure quality of execution and timely delivery of clinical trials, and that the quality of affiliate data generation meets the goals for regional and global approval via a strong partnership with the MA Est. Mkts. Operations Group. Oversee the execution of affiliate plans and activities and provide regular reports aligned with Regional and Global operation metrics.

People Management

Oversees headcount allocation within the country. Responsible for assessing local business needs and builds capabilities to the required standard to meet the needs of the Affiliates and Medical Affairs strategic goals.

Responsible for managing the senior affiliate MA talent, e.g. personal development plans, talent retention.

Responsible for people management and the development of high potential talent within the MA community

Preferred Qualifications

Medically qualified.  PhD or Masters.

Fluent in Spanish & English, spoken and written.

At least 10 years’ experience in the Pharma industry in different MA roles, preferably including Affiliate Medical Affairs Head

Strong understanding and ability to comply with industry laws and regulations.

Strong expertise in the medical sciences, clinical development, medical program designing including experience in designing , executing and reporting of clinical trials

Experience in managing large Medical Affairs budgets with demonstrated ability to apply pro-active risk management on budget and timelines

Proven leadership capability in aligning medical strategies with corporate goals and providing critical business shaping insights.

Strong understanding of Market Access issues and HTA environment in Spain.

Experience in managing large multicultural teams. Championing matrix management.

Highly developed understanding of the external market place to identify long term benefit for unmet customer, payer and patient needs.

Outstanding interpersonal and networking skills

Why Astellas

Global collaboration: Become part of a connected global business of like-minded life science leaders, all dedicated to improving patients' lives worldwide.

Real-world patient impact: Contribute to transformative therapies that reach patients around the world, knowing your work makes a difference every day.

Relentless Innovation: Join a company at the forefront of scientific breakthroughs, where you'll have the opportunity to shape the future of healthcare.

A Culture of Growth: Chart your own course within a supportive environment that values your contributions, champions your development, and empowers you to pursue your passions.

Our Organizational Values and Behaviors

Values: Integrity, Innovation and Impact sit at the heart of what we do.

Behaviors: We come together as ‘One Astellas’ , working with courage and a sense of urgency . We are outcome focused and consistently take accountability for our personal contribution.

Our Organisational Values and Behaviours

Integrity

Innovation

Impact

One Astellas

Accountability

Courage

Sense of Urgency

Outcome Focus

Skills and Capabilities

Organizational Focus

Benefits

Careers | Astellas

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Beware of recruitment scams impersonating Astellas recruiters or representatives. Authentic communication will only originate from an official Astellas LinkedIn profile or a verified company email address. If you encounter a fake profile or anything suspicious, report it promptly to LinkedIn's support team through LinkedIn Help.

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Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Medical Affairs
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Madrid, Spain
Employment type
Not listed

How this role compares

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

We currently track 1144 comparable Medical Affairs roles across 160 biopharma companies.

1144Comparable roles tracked
1065Currently active
160Companies hiring similar roles
57Countries represented

Salary context

288 of 1144 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
Lowest disclosed · 2027 Future Talent Program - Global Medical Affairs - Intern · Merck $39,908/yr – $111,111/yr
Peer group range $75,510 – $454,000 (median $231,700)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1144 comparable roles

United States521
Japan76
China54
United Kingdom54
Germany51
China's Mainland50

+ 51 more countries

Seniority mix

695 of 1144 peers have a known seniority level

Director199
Senior146
Manager139
Associate Director65
Associate58
Executive/VP30
Senior Director26
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc25
Principal7

Therapeutic area mix

399 of 1144 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology162
Neuroscience60
Immunology36
Rare Disease34
Dermatology & Aesthetics31
Cardiovascular / CVRM30
Respiratory19
Vaccines & Infectious Disease17
Gastroenterology7
Ophthalmology3

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.

40%similar
AstraZeneca Barcelona, Spain Associate Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Gilead Sciences, S.L. Madrid, Spain Manager
Same function Same country
40%similar
40%similar
AstraZeneca Barcelona, Spain Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Chiesi Farmaceutici Barcelona, Spain
Same function Same country
40%similar
Sanofi-Aventis SA (Spain) Barcelona, Spain Manager
Same function Same country

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.

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.

40%
Associate Director, Global Health Economics & Outcomes Research
AstraZeneca · Barcelona, Spain · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Global Medical Performance & Field Medical (MSL) Excellence Director, Respiratory & Immunology
AstraZeneca · Barcelona, Spain · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Medical Science Liaison - Cataluña
Teva Pharmaceuticals · Barcelona, Spain · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
MSL Neurociencias - Barcelona
Johnson & Johnson · Barcelona, Spain · Seniority not listed
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.