Public Affairs-Associate PA Director - Shanghai
About this opportunity
About the job
The Associate PA Director plays a transversal role within China PA, encompassing healthcare policy, government/institutional relations, and patient advocacy covering both BU-specific and company-wide topics. Reporting to the China PA Head, this individual contributor role is responsible for developing and executing public affairs strategies that support Sanofi's business objectives and strengthen the company's reputation and access agenda in China.
Key Responsibilities
1. Healthcare Policy & Government Relations
Monitor, analyze, and interpret Chinese healthcare policy developments, regulatory changes, and government initiatives relevant to Sanofi's portfolio
Build and maintain productive relationships with key government bodies, institutional stakeholders, and industry associations (e.g., NHSA, NMPA, NHC, NDRC)
Represent Sanofi in policy dialogues, public consultations, and industry forums to advocate for evidence-based healthcare policies
2. Public Affairs Strategy & Execution
Develop and implement country-level PA strategies aligned with GenMed China business priorities and global PA direction
Contribute to product launch strategies from a PA perspective, ensuring policy and access considerations are integrated early
Design and execute public awareness campaigns to enhance Sanofi's visibility and credibility with key stakeholders
3. Patient Advocacy & Stakeholder Engagement
Engage with patient organizations, scientific societies, and associated institutions to build coalitions and advance shared healthcare goals
Develop and manage strategic partnerships with external stakeholders to support disease awareness and patient access initiatives
Represent Sanofi's patient-centric values in all external engagements
4. Crisis & Issues Management
Anticipate and manage potential public affairs risks and issues that may impact Sanofi's reputation or business operations in China
Assist crisis communication and response plans in coordination with Communications and Legal teams
5. Cross-functional Collaboration
Partner closely with Medical, Market Access, Regulatory, Legal, and Commercial teams to ensure PA strategies are integrated into broader business plans
Provide PA intelligence and insights to internal stakeholders to inform decision-making
Collaborate with regional and global PA teams to align on priorities and share best practices
About you
Qualifications & Experience
Bachelor's degree or above in Public Policy, Political Science, Public Health, Communications, or a related field
Minimum 8–10 years of relevant experience in public affairs, government relations, or healthcare policy, preferably within the pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical industry
Deep understanding of China's healthcare system, policy landscape, and regulatory environment
Proven track record of building and managing relationships with government officials, industry associations, and patient organizations
Strong strategic thinking with the ability to translate policy insights into actionable business recommendations
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both Mandarin and English
Ability to work effectively in a matrix organization and manage multiple priorities
Pursue progress , discover extraordinary
Better is out there. Better medications, better outcomes, better science. But progress doesn’t happen without people – people from different backgrounds, in different locations, doing different roles, all united by one thing: a desire to make miracles happen. So, let’s be those people.
At Sanofi, we provide equal opportunities to all regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, ability or gender identity.
Watch our ALL IN video and check out our Diversity Equity and Inclusion actions at sanofi.com !
Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Communications & Public Affairs role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 67 comparable Director Communications & Public Affairs roles across 30 biopharma companies.
Salary context
23 of 67 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 67 comparable roles
+ 7 more countries
Seniority mix
67 of 67 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
6 of 67 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
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.
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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.
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.