Senior Director - Medical Science Liaison - Neuroscience Medical Affairs - Central Region

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve.

About the role

The Sr. Director, Medical Science Liaison is responsible for leading and managing the performance of a team of Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs). The Sr. Director provides national field strategic leadership and appropriately leverages the MSL’s scientific and clinical expertise to ensure mutually agreeable and impactful interactions with Scientific and Clinical Experts (SEs/CEs). The Sr. Director will also build and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external business partners specific to the therapeutic area.

Responsibilities

• Provide clarity of vision and expectation for MSL Team
• Coach performance and development of team members
• Foster personal accountability of team members aligned with performance expectations
• Recruit, hire, develop, and promote top talent
• Develop and coach personnel through scheduled interactions (e.g., field visits), providing both scientific and MSL role-specific coaching and feedback
• Contribute to succession planning and talent development activities
• Through coaching, enable the Field Medical Qualification process aligned with the expectations outlined in the procedure, including gaining and executing qualification if necessary
• Partner effectively with all internal medical, development, and commercial partners across therapeutic area
• Engage in Regional Health Care Market (RHM) forums, upskill cross-functional teammates to maximize medical-commercial interactions, and lead by example
• Plan to meet and exceed field coaching expectations, provide progressive coaching and competency upskilling to MSL team through consistent documentation of Field Coaching notes and engagement in PESA development plans
• Develop and implement regional field medical strategies aligned with both business unit and medical affairs strategies
• Develop field medical business plan and participate in higher-level business planning process to ensure the medical resource planning is aligned with business unit objectives
• Draft, communicate, and implement strategic plans to align MSLs with organizational clinical and scientific objectives, guiding MSLs to engage and support evidence generation efforts (i.e., registration trials, observational studies, etc.)
• Collaborate and participate in planning activities and in shared learning with other MSL leadership across the BU and enterprise
• Support medical affairs staffing at congresses and ensure clinical insights are communicated back into Lilly appropriately
• Oversee MSL congress activities by developing comprehensive strategies, coordinating with internal stakeholders such as clinical research, marketing, and regulatory teams, and ensuring all activities align with organizational objectives
• Provide guidance on key messaging, abstract submissions, and symposium planning
• Oversee quality, compliance, accountability, and effectiveness of team
• Partner with business unit, Ethics & Compliance, Legal, Medical Affairs, and Medical Affairs hosted capabilities to drive operational efficiency, consistency, and compliance
• Actively engage in FMSO, FMSS, and relevant GMAO-driven forums
• Ensure alignment and compliance with all applicable policies, laws, regulations, and guidelines
• Ensure appropriate documentation processes are employed
• Analyze all data on MSL activities to improve MSL performance
• Manage and monitor all team finance and HR-related issues appropriately
• Identify and participate in process improvement initiatives

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum 3 years of people leadership experience
• Minimum 5 years of industry, clinical, and/or medical experience
• 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)

Qualifications

• Master’s in health sciences (e.g., RN, RPh, PA, NP)
• Advanced degree (e.g., PharmD, M.D., Ph.D.) in a medically related field
• Prior experience with scientific or field medical strategy, demonstrating strong business acumen, broad strategic thinking, operational, and execution excellence
• Demonstrated learning agility for acquiring scientific and technical knowledge
• Demonstrated ability to provide effective feedback on the quality of verbal and written technical communications and documentation by personnel and provide direction to technical coaches and team
• Demonstrated leadership and the ability to achieve results through people
• Significant experience in motivating people, creating positive team experiences, and coaching/developing technical personnel
• Demonstrated ability to partner, influence, and work successfully within and across BUs, functions, and across levels of leadership
• Strong interpersonal skills and relevant experience in building professional relationships and networking
• Effective verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and ability to incorporate new learning into real-time solutions (agile, adaptable, results-oriented)
• Demonstrated decision-making ability to problem solve and develop and apply creative solutions and implement those decisions effectively

Additional Information

Role requires up to 50-75% travel

Field-based US role; residence in central region of US preferred

Pay

The anticipated wage for this position is $195,000 - $314,600. Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance).

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefit program including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k) and pension
• Vacation benefits
• Eligibility for medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug benefits
• Flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts)
• Life insurance and death benefits
• Certain time off and leave of absence benefits
• Well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities)