At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.
Senior Director International Communications
Company Overview:
Lilly's International Business Unit (IBU) is the fastest-growing part of our business, delivering important new treatments across markets outside the US. As our portfolio expands and the demands on communications grow, we need a sharper international operating model: one that delivers consistent global narratives, builds affiliate capability, leads reputation and licence to operate across diverse markets, and orchestrates the full strength of our central communications function on behalf of IBU.
Responsibilities
Lilly's global communications team provides strategic support to the business, partnering with key function and therapy area leadership teams to amplify what matters, shape perceptions and protect Lilly's reputation.
The International Communications Senior Director – is responsible for driving the IBU strategy on reputation, issues preparedness and response, and policy communications, working as a business partner for prioritised markets. As a key communications practitioner, the successful candidate will be a critical member of the IBU Communications team, taking the lead on IBU-specific issues that affect Lilly's licence to operate in international markets. The candidate will work in close partnership with and report to the Associate Vice President for IBU Communications.
The role is accountable for protecting and shaping IBU's reputation across the markets in which we operate. This includes leading IBU work on licence to operate issues such as counterfeit medicines, market access narratives, country-specific reputation risks, and emerging issues that affect IBU markets. As a senior communications partner for priority markets, this is a leadership position requiring sharp judgement, deep expertise in reputation and policy communications, and the ability to provide expert counsel in high-pressure situations.
As a champion for IBU, the successful candidate will be accountable for surfacing affiliate reputation realities to inform global thinking; working in close partnership with the central Issues and Crisis Communications team to ensure that global issues frameworks are fit for international markets and that IBU-specific issues are well-handled within global protocols.
Responsible for designing IBU policy communications strategies that translate policy positions into clear, audience-ready narratives, the successful candidate will partner closely with International Government Affairs and Public Policy and global public affairs communications colleagues — including regional government affairs and policy roles — to ensure IBU policy priorities are tightly embedded into our communications and that policy and communications work in lockstep across IBU markets.
Communications strategies should be scalable, scenario-tested, and integrated with the broader communications, policy and GA work happening at country level through local corporate affairs directors.
The role is also a key counterpart to the central Issues and Crisis Comms team for cross-border issues, operating within a defined joint protocol that ensures coherent global narrative on issues that span US and international markets while allowing for rapid response in international markets where time-sensitivity is paramount.
Specific responsibilities include:
- Serve as business partner lead for IBU on IBU-specific issues, providing counsel to country General Managers and affiliate teams on reputation and licence to operate matters.
- Partner with international government affairs, global public affairs communications, and policy regional roles to ensure integrated responses on IBU priority issues.
- Lead IBU communications response on licence to operate issues including counterfeit medicines campaign, market access controversies, regulatory challenges with international media exposure, and country-specific reputation risks. Includes project management of multi-market interventions.
- Partner with the central Issues and Crisis Communications team under the joint protocol for cross-border issues — co-owning international-origin issues with global implications and implementing global-origin issues in IBU markets.
- Partner with Issues and Crisis Comms team on horizon scanning on emerging reputation, policy and licence to operate risks across IBU markets to inform global communications planning and preparedness.
- Develop and maintain IBU-specific holding statements, scenario plans and response protocols, ensuring they are tested and current.
- Partner with IBU Operational and Capabilities lead and affiliate teams to build issues management capability at country level, including peer learning and standard methodology sharing on reputation management.
- Improve opportunities to proactively develop IBU narrative on contested topics including access, affordability, and pharmaceutical industry reputation in international markets.
- Ensure all activities and campaigns are delivered in compliance with Lilly policies and procedures and external regulations.
- Internal collaborator and project management.
- Lead day-to-day work with PR agencies and specialist external partners (e.g. issues management, policy comms consultancies) as required.
- Develop and edit key communications including press releases, holding statements, internal Q&As, and policy-related media materials.
- Conduct and/or facilitate interviews with local, national, and international media outlets.
- Miscellaneous support of communication projects, including writing, issues management and critical thinking.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in relevant field, for example, Communications, Public Relations, Journalism or Literature
- Qualified applicants in the United States must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.
Additional Skills/Preferences
- Demonstrable senior experience of leading design and delivery of multi-country communications campaigns and media handling experience (eg in prior journalism, public relations, other communications roles, etc.)
- Robust experience of leading traditional and social media, including press releases, reactive handling, and issue management; alongside media relations, including interacting with A-list media and serving as a spokesperson.
- Global Mentality: Brings a global perspective to communications, with the cultural proficiency and awareness to lead campaigns that resonate across markets and partner effectively with teams worldwide.
- Deep experience in issue and crisis management, ideally including licence to operate issues in regulated industries.
- Experience in policy communications, including translating policy positions into communications narratives and working with Government Affairs and Public Policy teams.
- Experience in the development and execution of strategic and creative communications plans, including digital and social media.
- Successful experience working with cross-functional teams, including collaboration and consensus building.
- Experience of working across countries and regions, with ability to adapt to cultural preferences.
- Demonstrated ability to influence and negotiate with business partners, including with senior leadership in high-pressure situations.
- Sharp judgement and ability to act conclusively under time pressure.
- Experience running projects to time, outcomes and budget.
- PR agency management experience.
- Ability to flex between critical thinking and detailed delivery based on circumstances and business needs.
- Creative communications skills — written and verbal, as well as interpersonal.
- Ability to understand the business need and use communication to drive the business forward.
- Experience of working with new media technologies and ability to adapt to evolving technologies.
Additional Information
International travel required
Location:
Flexible
Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.
Lilly does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.
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