Executive Director, State Government Affairs

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Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren’t words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it. You’ll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. Read more: careers.bms.com/working-with-us.

Position Summary

The Executive Director (ED), State & Local Government Affairs (SLGA), will be an integral part of the USPGA leadership team and is charged with shaping healthcare public policies in the 50 U.S. states to support patient access, affordability and innovation. The ED will drive achievement of BMS enterprise, commercial and USPGA goals through effective strategic engagement with state legislatures, state executive branches, state agencies and relevant third-party partners.

The successful ED will report into the Senior Vice President, USPGA, and lead a team of 13 regional and local government affairs staff across prioritized market states in the U.S. and drive this external-facing organization to generate awareness of and advocate for public policies that support BMS and our patients. Cross-functional collaboration with a diverse set of partners will also be key to the success of the SGA team and this leader.

The ED will also communicate and collaborate directly with senior corporate leaders and should be positioned to seek out and secure high-value opportunities for BMS executive engagement at the state level.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in biopharmaceutical industry advocacy and should be highly familiar with the current legislative and policy environment across the 50 states. The successful ED should also possess extensive understanding of state government affairs and politics, with strong history of successfully influencing state legislation and public policies. Deep and pre-existing external relationships will be key to the success of this position.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive efforts to influence BMS’ state and legislative and policy priorities around the country
• Serve as a member of the USPGA leadership team and drive achievement of high impact organization approved goals; includes in-person attendance of bi-weekly USPGA leadership team meetings
• Lead and manage a team of approximately 13 state and local lobby staff (field based throughout the U.S.)
• Develop, implement and execute comprehensive, creative advocacy and government affairs strategies that reflect business priorities that support key business objectives for inline and pipeline products
• Build policy champions through successful education and engagement of state policy makers including Governors, Legislators and State Attorneys General with a focus on topics such as patient affordability, patient access and innovation
• Position BMS as the primary resource to inform policymakers in the development of policies and messaging on issues of importance and relevance
• Assess impact of proposed state legislation and regulation on the businesses within the BMS portfolio, propose and guide lobbying strategies
• Represent BMS externally in high profile settings—with policy makers, government agencies and key third party forums, as appropriate
• Collaborate closely with Alliance Development team to take leading roles in key, state-based trade associations and other external organizations to ensure political and policy alignment with BMS business priorities
• Develop plan to engage corporate executives more visibly with important state policy makers and key state partners
• Maximize opportunities to establish business connectivity and collaborate with the communications, policy analysis/impact assessment, local government affairs and alliance teams to ensure seamless coordination internally and externally
• Manage local budgets and coordinate campaign contributions and memberships.
• Manage external consultants, ensuring they are informed and aligned to organizational objectives; ensure compliance with relevant state lobby laws
• Lead team with a patient first mentality and strict adherence to the BMS corporate values
• Serve as a member of the USPGA leadership team contributing to high-impact organization goals

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum 15 – 20 years of experience in state government affairs working in the biopharmaceutical industry and/or with key third party partners
• Proven track record of successful industry advocacy
• Broad and deep understanding of the legislative and policy challenges facing the innovative biopharmaceutical industry in the U.S. states
• Comprehensive awareness of the biopharmaceutical business model/industry
• Successful leadership experience running and managing lobbying teams in a corporate, association, consulting or other relevant setting
• Understand the current external environment and approach it with optimism, integrity, and passion for creating real and sustainable change
• Proven ability to translate complex technical topics into understandable messages for internal and external audiences
• Proven ability to work collaboratively, foster teamwork and drive performance. Must demonstrate excellent networking and relationship-building skills and the ability to interact with confidence with various levels and functions
• Strong political acumen
• Candidate must possess excellent presentation, written, oral, communication skills and interpersonal skills, as well as proven management and leadership experience
• Must possess strong executive presence and be able to interact with senior leaders confidently to garner trust and offer strategic counsel
• Excellence in leading people with strong emotional intelligence and a focus on people development are preferred; flexible team member with positive attitude, energy and ability to prioritize projects
• Proven ability to manage complex budgets and balance strategic thinking with operational excellence
• Ability to maintain good working relationships, internally and externally.
• Ability to work in a deadline-driven and fast-paced environment including managing multiple projects and working with team members in different time zones.
• Experience working with a variety of stakeholders, including trade associations and large coalitions, and ability to proactively drive consensus.
• Strong commitment to BMS values is paramount to the success of this leader
• Excellent organizational skills and consistent attention to detail
• While the role is field-based, the successful candidate must maintain a primary residence and work location in the Washington, DC metropolitan area that supports regular, in-person engagement with USPGA leadership team and key, national, DC-based stakeholders in accordance with business needs and responsibilities
• Domestic travel required (up to 20%)

#LI-Remote

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

Compensation Overview:

$276,340 - $334,853

The starting compensation range(s) for this role are listed above for a full-time employee (FTE) basis. Additional incentive cash and stock opportunities (based on eligibility) may be available. The starting pay rate takes into account characteristics of the job, such as required skills, where the job is performed, the employee’s work schedule, job-related knowledge, and experience. Final, individual compensation will be decided based on demonstrated experience.

Eligibility for specific benefits listed on our careers site may vary based on the job and location. For more on benefits, please visit https://careers.bms.com/life-at-bms/.

Benefit offerings are subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans in effect at the time and may require enrollment. Our benefits include:

• Health Coverage: Medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision care.
• Wellbeing Support: Programs such as BMS Well-Being Account, BMS Living Life Better, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).
• Financial Well-being and Protection: 401(k) plan, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, supplemental health insurance, business travel protection, personal liability protection, identity theft benefit, legal support, and survivor support.

​Work-life benefits include:

Paid Time Off

• US Exempt Employees: flexible time off (unlimited, with manager approval, 11 paid national holidays (not applicable to employees in Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico or Rayzebio employees)
• Phoenix, AZ, Puerto Rico and Rayzebio Exempt, Non-Exempt, Hourly Employees: 160 hours annual paid vacation for new hires with manager approval, 11 national holidays, and 3 optional holidays

Based on eligibility*, additional time off for employees may include unlimited paid sick time, up to 2 paid volunteer days per year, summer hours flexibility, leaves of absence for medical, personal, parental, caregiver, bereavement, and military needs and an annual Global Shutdown between Christmas and New Years Day.

All global employees full and part-time who are actively employed at and paid directly by BMS at the end of the calendar year are eligible to take advantage of the Global Shutdown.

*Eligibility Disclosure: The summer hours program is for United States (U.S.) office-based employees due to the unique nature of their work. Summer hours are generally not available for field sales and manufacturing operations and may also be limited for the capability centers. Employees in remote-by-design or lab-based roles may be eligible for summer hours, depending on the nature of their work, and should discuss eligibility with their manager. Employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should consult that document to determine if they are eligible. Contractors, leased workers and other service providers are not eligible to participate in the program.

Uniquely Interesting Work, Life-changing Careers
With a single vision as inspiring as “Transforming patients’ lives through science™ ”, every BMS employee plays an integral role in work that goes far beyond ordinary. Each of us is empowered to apply our individual talents and unique perspectives in a supportive culture, promoting global participation in clinical trials, while our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues.

On-site Protocol

BMS has an occupancy structure that determines where an employee is required to conduct their work. This structure includes site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design jobs. The occupancy type that you are assigned is determined by the nature and responsibilities of your role:

Site-essential roles require 100% of shifts onsite at your assigned facility. Site-by-design roles may be eligible for a hybrid work model with at least 50% onsite at your assigned facility. For these roles, onsite presence is considered an essential job function and is critical to collaboration, innovation, productivity, and a positive Company culture. For field-based and remote-by-design roles the ability to physically travel to visit customers, patients or business partners and to attend meetings on behalf of BMS as directed is an essential job function.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to adastaffingsupport@bms.com. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

Data Protection

We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection.

Any data processed in connection with role applications will be treated in accordance with applicable data privacy policies and regulations.

If you believe that the job posting is missing information required by local law or incorrect in any way, please contact BMS at TAEnablement@bms.com. Please provide the Job Title and Requisition number so we can review. Communications related to your application should not be sent to this email and you will not receive a response. Inquiries related to the status of your application should be directed to Chat with Ripley.

R1598346 : Executive Director, State Government Affairs