AD, Sponsorships & Memberships

Boehringer Ingelheim; Ridgefield (CT); On-site; USD 166,000 - 248,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Retirement savings plan

Paid time off

Disability and life insurance

Company-sponsored programs

Job summary

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is seeking an Associate Director for Sponsorships & Memberships to lead end-to-end processes across intake, evaluation, approval, contracting, payment, documentation, and closeout.

You will triage a high-volume portfolio and exercise delegated decisions within established thresholds. You will partner with Legal, Compliance & Integrity, Finance, and Procurement to ensure governance, escalation, and alignment with business objectives, while delivering a

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required, preferably in related scientific, business, or clinical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• Five+ years of relevant industry or academic experience across cross-functional areas (medical affairs, operations, finance, compliance, commercial).
• Experience independently managing complex, high-volume, externally facing operational processes; sponsorships/memberships/funding experience preferred.
• Knowledge of relevant OIG, FDA, PhRMA, transparency, and organizational requirements with ability to apply standards.
• Strong stakeholder and external customer management to set expectations, build relationships, coordinate responses, and resolve issues.
• Clear written and verbal communication, with ability to prepare decision-ready materials and present recommendations.
• Cross-functional collaboration with peers, senior management, committee members, and external organizations without direct authority.
• Portfolio and workload management with ability to prioritize and maintain accountability.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end execution of Sponsorships and Memberships process for assigned areas from intake to closeout.
• Triage and prioritize a high-volume portfolio to meet business, compliance, and timing requirements.
• Exercise delegated decision-making and approval authority within defined thresholds.
• Review eligibility and render final approval or denial for sponsorships and memberships as appropriate.
• Apply risk-based, compliant judgment aligning with policy and business objectives.
• Escalate risk or issues to FRC with documented recommendations.
• Own stakeholder and external customer experience and communicate service expectations.
• Guide customers through requirements, decisions, and escalation pathways; coordinate across functions.
• Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Finance, Procurement, and senior management for alignment and governance.
• Maintain documentation, tracking, reporting, and metrics for activity and audits.
• Present requests with historical context and risk-based recommendations.
• Be the subject matter expert for Sponsorships and Memberships pathways.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Written communication

Verbal communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Portfolio/workload management

Risk-based judgement

Process improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree

MA/MS/MBA preferred

Job description

As an employee of Boehringer Ingelheim, you will actively contribute to the discovery, development, and delivery of our products to our patients and customers. Our global presence provides an opportunity for all employees to collaborate internationally, offering visibility and the opportunity to directly contribute to the company's success. We realize that our strength and competitive advantage lie with our people. We support our employees in several ways to foster a healthy working environment, meaningful work, mobility, networking, and work-life balance. Our competitive compensation and benefit programs reflect Boehringer Ingelheim's high regard for our employees.

The Associate Director (AD), Sponsorships & Memberships is the process owner accountable for end-to-end execution, stakeholder and external customer experience, and ongoing performance of the Sponsorships and Memberships process. The role manages a high-volume portfolio averaging more than 500 requests annually and serves as the primary point of contact and process subject matter expert. The AD establishes clear ways of working and guides internal stakeholders and external customers through intake, evaluation, cross-functional review, approval, contracting, payment, documentation, reporting, and closeout.

The AD partners with Legal, Compliance & Integrity, Finance, Procurement, business partners, and senior management; manages day-to-day Funding Review Committee (FRC) operations; and applies established governance, policies, and escalation pathways to support consistent and compliant decisions. The role uses performance data, stakeholder and external customer feedback, and external benchmarks to identify and implement practical improvements that strengthen efficiency, service quality, customer experience, and scalability. Effective performance supports informed funding decisions, trusted stakeholder relationships, accurate reporting, achievement of BIPI business objectives, protection of BI's reputation, and mitigation of operational and compliance risk.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end execution of the Sponsorship and Membership process for assigned therapeutic areas and businesses, from intake and evaluation through approval, contracting, payment, documentation, and closeout.
• Triage and prioritize a high-volume portfolio to meet business, compliance, and timing requirements.
• Exercise delegated decision-making and approval authority as a defined and essential component of the scope of this role.
• Independently review, determine eligibility, and render final approval or denial decisions on Sponsorship requests up to an established dollar threshold, and on Membership requests irrespective of dollar amount, without requiring additional escalation or secondary approval.
• Apply sound, risk-based, and compliant judgment to each decision, ensuring alignment to policy, precedent, and business objectives.
• Escalate sponsorship requests to the Funding Review Committee (FRC) when areas of risks are identified irrespective of dollar threshold in a timely fashion with a documented, well-reasoned recommendation.
• Own the stakeholder and external customer experience for the process.
• Establish clear service expectations and communication standards; serve as the primary point of contact for internal stakeholders and external sponsorship and membership organizations; guide customers through requirements and decisions; anticipate needs; coordinate responses across functions; and resolve or elevate issues while representing Boehringer Ingelheim professionally.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance & Integrity, Finance, Procurement, business partners, and senior management to ensure appropriate review, contracting, payment, strategic alignment, thresholds, controls, and escalation pathways.
• Apply applicable policies, SOPs, and regulatory requirements consistently.
• Manage day-to-day Funding Review Committee operations, including agenda and meeting planning, intake readiness, preparation and distribution of decision-ready materials, facilitation, documentation of decisions and rationale, communication of outcomes, action tracking, and escalation.
• Present requests and provide process expertise, historical context, and risk-based recommendations.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for Sponsorships and Memberships, including identification of the appropriate funding pathway.
• Interpret requirements and provide consultation, training, onboarding, and guidance to promote consistent and compliant application across the organization.
• Maintain accurate documentation, tracking, reporting, and metrics for sponsorship and membership activity.
• Provide visibility into volume, status, spend, trends, and process performance, and support internal and external audits.
• Monitor portfolio performance, workload, capacity, and emerging risks.
• Prioritize work and elevate material issues, trends, or resource constraints that could affect compliance, timelines, customer experience, or business outcomes.
• Lead ongoing review and continuous improvement of the Sponsorships and Memberships process.
• Use performance metrics, stakeholder feedback, and external benchmarks to identify needs, prioritize opportunities, partner on the design and implementation of enhancements, and sustain performance following implementation.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required, preferably in a related scientific, business, or clinical discipline; advanced degree (MA/MS/MBA) preferred.
• Five-plus (5+) years of relevant industry or academic experience, preferably including cross-functional experience across medical affairs, operations, finance, compliance, commercial, and/or business operations. An equivalent combination of advanced academic training, fellowship, residency experience and/or relevant industry experience will be considered. Completion of a Boehringer Fellowship program would satisfy this requirement.
• Demonstrated experience independently managing complex, high-volume, externally facing operational processes; experience with sponsorships, memberships, grants, or funding processes strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of relevant OIG, FDA, PhRMA, transparency, and organizational requirements, with the ability to apply established standards and elevate novel or material issues.
• Strong stakeholder and external customer management, with the ability to set expectations, build trusted relationships, understand needs, navigate differing priorities, coordinate a consistent response across functions, resolve issues, and use feedback to improve the end-to-end process experience.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including the ability to prepare decision-ready materials, present recommendations, facilitation, discussions, and tailor information for different audiences.
• Cross-functional collaboration and influence, including effective partnership with peers, senior management, committee members, and external organizations without relying on direct authority.
• Portfolio and workload management, with the ability to establish priorities, manage competing timelines and resources, and maintain accountability for execution.
• Risk-based judgment and analytical capability, including identification of compliance and operational risks and analysis of data, budgets, and metrics to support recommendations and escalation.
• Process improvement capability, with experience identifying, designing, implementing, and sustaining enhancements to complex operational processes.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accurate, complete, and audit-ready documentation.

Eligibility Requirements

• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without restriction.
• Must be willing to take a drug test and post-offer physical (if required).
• Must be 18 years of age or older.

Compensation

The base salary range for this position is $165,600 to $248,400. The position may be eligible for a role specific discretionary bonus, relocation, and/or other compensation elements. We continuously review market data and may adjust salary ranges as needed in the future. Actual compensation will be based on job-related factors such as skills, experience, and qualifications, and other factors permitted by law.

Benefits include medical, dental and vision coverage, retirement savings opportunities, paid time off, paid holidays, disability and life insurance benefits, and other company-sponsored programs.