Director, Scientific Communications

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; North Carolina; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is seeking a Director of Scientific Communications to lead external engagement and advisory activities, translating complex clinical and translational evidence into strategic medical direction across assets and lifecycle stages.

You will partner with Medical Affairs and cross-functional teams to shape launch readiness and scientific messaging. The role requires deep Medical Affairs expertise, executive presence, and a track record of compliant stakeholder

Qualifications

• Advanced scientific degree
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in Medical Affairs or related functions
• Proven success leading scientific engagement initiatives for education, external engagement, launch readiness, and lifecycle priorities
• Ability to interpret complex clinical, translational, real-world, and competitive data into strategic scientific direction
• Experience developing and executing KOL/external expert/advisory board plans within a compliant Medical Affairs
• Experience supporting launch readiness and lifecycle optimization through external insights and stakeholder engagement
• Strong cross-functional partnering across Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Publications, Regulatory, Commercial, Market Access, and Field Medical
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management in a matrixed environment
• Knowledge of pharmaceutical industry compliance, medical/legal/regulatory review processes
• Executive presence with focus on scientific accuracy and operational excellence

Responsibilities

• Lead scientific engagement priorities across assets and lifecycle stages
• Translate clinical and real-world evidence into strategic scientific direction for Medical Affairs
• Lead external expert engagement, advisory board planning, and stakeholder strategies
• Oversee Medical Education and Communications alignment with scientific insights
• Provide strategic input to congress planning, education, and external communications
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to ensure scientific alignment
• Advance launch readiness and lifecycle excellence through external insights and engagement
• Monitor landscape for implications on engagement, education, and priorities
• Ensure activities are compliant, accurate, and data-driven
• Oversee agency/vendor partners for scope, budget, timelines, and quality

Skills

Advanced scientific expertise

Strategic direction

Leadership in Medical Affairs

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

KOL engagement

Education

PharmD/PhD/MD/DO or equivalent

Job description

COMPANY: At BioCryst, we share a deep commitment to improving the lives of people living with hereditary angioedema (HAE) and other rare diseases. We leverage our expertise in structure-guided drug design to develop first-in-class or best-in-class oral small-molecule and injectable protein therapeutics. Our global headquarters is in Durham, North Carolina, we have a regional office in Boston, Massachusetts, and our employees span the globe across sites in multiple countries. We are proud of our culture of engagement and accountability that rewards people for innovative thinking and achievement of key objectives. For more information, please visit our website at www.biocryst.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

JOB SUMMARY: The Director, Scientific Communications serves as a senior leader responsible for developing and executing scientific engagement priorities across assigned therapeutic areas, assets, and lifecycle stages, including launch execution in highly competitive environments. This role requires deep Medical Affairs experience and the ability to translate clinical evidence, disease-state expertise, external insights, and business priorities into strategic scientific direction. Working across Medical Affairs and in close partnership with Medical Education & Communication and other cross-functional partners, this leader will drive external expert engagement, advisory board planning, stakeholder strategies, insight-generation activities, and scientific input to launch and lifecycle planning. The role ensures alignment between external scientific engagement, Medical Affairs objectives, communication planning, and organizational priorities while supporting compliant scientific exchange.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead scientific engagement priorities for assigned assets, indications, or therapeutic areas across disease-state strategy, launch planning, lifecycle management, and evidence dissemination.
• Interpret clinical, translational, real-world, and competitive evidence into strategic scientific direction that informs Medical Affairs planning and priorities along with external engagement.
• Lead external expert engagement, advisory board planning, KOL and stakeholder strategies, and insight-generation activities to inform scientific and medical priorities.
• Lead Medical Education and Communications direct reports and related activities to ensure scientific engagement insights, external expert perspectives, and Medical Affairs priorities are reflected in communication planning and related deliverables.
• Provide strategic scientific input to congress planning, medical education, field medical resources, and external communication planning in collaboration with Medical Education and Communications and cross-functional partners.
• Partner cross-functionally with Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Publications, Regulatory, Commercial, Market Access, Field Medical, and Patient Advocacy to ensure scientific alignment and coordinated execution.
• Advance launch readiness and lifecycle excellence in highly competitive environments by aligning external insights, stakeholder engagement priorities, scientific direction, field medical enablement, congress strategy, and Medical Affairs planning.
• Monitor the scientific, clinical, regulatory, and competitive landscape to identify implications for scientific engagement, education, stakeholder planning, and lifecycle priorities.
• Ensure scientific engagement activities and related inputs are accurate, balanced, evidence-based, strategically aligned, and compliant with applicable policies and review processes.
• Oversee agency and vendor partners supporting scientific engagement activities, including scope development, budget stewardship, timeline management, quality oversight, and performance feedback.
• Ensure finance & governance discipline to scientific engagement and medical education and communication activities, including budget forecasting, resource prioritization, compliant review processes, and responsible management of project spend.
• Serve as a scientific advisor and subject matter expert, supporting leadership decision-making and executive-level communication of complex scientific topics.

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS: Basic Qualifications and Experience:

• Advanced scientific or clinical degree required, such as PharmD, PhD, MD, DO, or equivalent.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in Medical Affairs, scientific engagement, field medical, medical education, publications, Clinical Development, or related pharmaceutical/biotechnology functions.
• Demonstrated success leading scientific engagement initiatives that support disease-state education, external expert engagement, launch readiness, evidence dissemination, and lifecycle priorities.
• Advanced scientific acumen, with the ability to interpret complex clinical, translational, real-world, and competitive evidence and translate data into strategic scientific direction.
• Experience developing and executing KOL, external expert, advisory board, stakeholder engagement, and insight-generation plans within a compliant Medical Affairs environment.
• Substantial experience supporting launch readiness, launch execution in highly competitive environments, or lifecycle optimization through external insights, stakeholder engagement, field medical enablement, congress input, and Medical Affairs planning.
• Proven ability to partner effectively with Medical Education and Communications and collaborate across Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Publications, Regulatory, Commercial, Market Access, Field Medical, external experts, and agency partners.
• Comprehensive understanding of pharmaceutical industry compliance requirements, medical/legal/regulatory review processes, and ethical standards governing scientific exchange.
• Exceptional communication, collaboration, project leadership, and stakeholder management capabilities, with the ability to influence effectively in a matrixed environment.
• Ability to operate with executive presence, strategic agility, and rigorous attention to scientific accuracy, operational excellence, and business priorities.

Preferred Qualifications and Experience:

• Experience in rare disease, immunology, or other relevant therapeutic areas; preferred experience across multiple therapeutic areas with the ability to quickly develop disease-state fluency and apply scientific engagement approaches across diverse clinical landscapes.
• Prior leadership experience in Medical Affairs roles focused on scientific engagement, external expert engagement, advisory board planning, insight generation, or field medical enablement.
• Experience partnering with Medical Education and Communications, Publications, or agency partners to translate scientific insights and Medical Affairs priorities into aligned communication planning.
• Experience working in matrix environments, including collaboration with priority markets and cross-functional launch teams.
• Experience with evidence generation planning, real-world evidence interpretation, advisory board planning, or investigator-sponsored research processes.
• Demonstrated success providing oversight of agency partners, managing budgets, and delivering high-quality scientific engagement activities within established timelines.

The statements in this position description are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. The manager may assign additional responsibilities and assignments from time to time.

BioCryst is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities without regard to age, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, Veterans status, disability and/or other protected class characteristics. Additionally, BioCryst is committed to achieving its business objectives in compliance with all federal, state and local law. Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.

Passionate. Smart. Motivated. We're all these qualities—but most importantly, we're committed to making a difference in the lives of those living with hereditary angioedema (HAE) and other rare diseases. If you're someone who turns challenges into triumphs and aims to achieve beyond what you think is possible, we're waiting for you. Culture is the fabric that binds us together and makes our company a special place to work. We are powered by our people, and every employee can provide valuable input on how we can achieve our goals through a culture of accountability. Our bold thinking comes from our "people-first" perspective, where we are united across fronts to do the right thing for patients, without fear of failure-but with embracing the learnings gleaned from setbacks that fuel our self-awareness. We value ownership, integrity, and the ability to laugh and learn from our mistakes. We are proud of our ability to reward innovative thinking and grow from personal and professional discovery.