Senior Director, Scientific Affairs

West Pharmaceutical Services / Progressive Medical; Exton (PA); Vor Ort; USD 180.000 - 240.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

West Pharmaceutical Services seeks a Senior Director, Scientific Affairs to lead Scientific Affairs and Communications, advancing external leadership, credibility and engagement in support of the Elastomers and Primary Containment business strategy.

This role partners with Product Management, Marketing, R&D, Quality, Regulatory, and others to translate scientific insights into actionable strategy, customer-facing content, and external thought leadership, driving scientific excellence worldwide.

Qualifikationen

• Minimum of 12 years of progressive scientific, technical service, medical affairs, or scientific affairs leadership experience, including leadership of global teams and external scientific engagement in relevant industries.
• Strong leadership, strategic vision, and cross-functional collaboration across product, marketing, R&D, quality and regulatory functions.
• Experience in pharmaceutical packaging, containment, elastomers, materials science and regulatory expectations.

Aufgaben

• Lead the Scientific Affairs and Scientific Communications functions, establishing scientific strategy and external engagement plans aligned with business strategy and objectives.
• Serve as senior scientific leader, providing guidance on domain science, regulatory expectations, and industry trends.
• Translate scientific insights into actionable recommendations for product innovation and differentiation.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to support strategic customer engagements and communicate the company’s scientific value proposition.
• Represent the organization externally through conferences, publications, webinars, and thought leadership activities.
• Build and maintain relationships with customers, standards organizations, academics, and external experts.
• Develop scientific materials, publications, presentations, white papers, and training content to support leadership and market adoption.

Ausbildung

Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related scientific field

Master’s degree, Ph.D., Pharm.D., or equivalent advanced scientific degree

Jobbeschreibung

Description

At West, we're a dedicated team that is connected by a purpose to improve patient lives that has been at the center of our Company for more than a century. Our story began when Herman O. West solved the problem of supplying penicillin in mass quantities to the US Government during World War 2. Through our work to deliver thousands of life-saving and life-enhancing injectable medicines to millions of patients daily, West's indelible mark on the healthcare industry has just begun. A name started our story. How will yours help write our future?

There's no better place to join an inclusive community of professionals with opportunities for lifelong learning, growth and development. Supported by benefit programs, we empower the physical, mental, emotional and financial health of our team members and their families.

We believe in giving back to help those in need in the communities where we live and work. And are equally committed to creating a healthier environment and planet through our sustainability efforts.

Job Summary

The Senior Director, Scientific Affairs is responsible for leading the Scientific Affairs and Scientific Communications functions, advancing the organization’s scientific leadership, credibility, and external engagement in support of the Elastomers and Primary Containment (E&PC) business strategy. This role serves as a senior scientific leader across pharmaceutical packaging, containment, elastomers, materials, regulatory expectations, and emerging industry trends, and is charged with delivering scientific insights that inform new product offers, build external KOL credibility, and ensure West's scientific leadership.

The role partners closely with Product Management, Marketing, R&D, Technical Customer Support, Quality, Regulatory, and others to translate scientific insights into actionable business strategy, customer-facing scientific content, technical thought leadership, and evidence-based product positioning. The Senior Director will lead a team focused on scientific excellence, customer impact, cross-functional collaboration, and global consistency in scientific communications and engagement.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Lead the Scientific Affairs and Scientific Communications functions, establishing scientific strategy, domain science focus areas, priorities, and operating plans – including external engagement plans – aligned with business strategy and objectives, product portfolio roadmap, customer needs, and market opportunities.
• Serve as a senior scientific leader and, if and where appropriate, subject matter expert, providing guidance on pharmaceutical packaging, containment, elastomers, materials science, regulatory expectations, and emerging industry trends.
• Translate scientific, technical, regulatory, and customer scientific insights into actionable recommendations that support new product innovation, differentiation, and long-term business strategy – establishing West's scientific leadership and elevating the industry standard.
• Partner with Product Management, Marketing, Technical Customer Support, R&D, Quality, and Regulatory Affairs to support strategic customer engagements and communicate the company’s scientific value proposition.
• Represent the organization externally – including with scientific staff – through industry conferences, technical forums, publications, webinars, customer engagement, and scientific thought leadership activities.
• Build and maintain relationships with key customers, industry and standards organizations, academic partners, and external experts to strengthen scientific credibility, and market and regulatory influence.
• Develop and implement strategies to influence standards organizations and the industry, pulling together employees with seats on standards organizations boards/committees through an enterprise community of practice, and ensuring a strategic One West approach externally.
• Lead the development of scientific materials, technical narratives, publications, presentations, white papers, and training content that support scientific leadership, customer education, product positioning, and market adoption.
• Provide scientific input into product claims, technical documentation, launch materials, and commercial enablement resources to ensure accuracy, consistency, and alignment with approved messaging.
• Identify opportunities to generate and communicate scientific evidence – through internal and external laboratories – that supports product performance, customer applications, regulatory understanding, and competitive differentiation.
• Own the governance and lifecycle management of scientific content and claims to ensure that all scientific communications are accurate, consistent, evidence-based, current, and delivered in formats that meet evolving customer needs.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to assess customer challenges, market needs, technology trends, and scientific gaps that may influence product strategy, innovation priorities, or lifecycle management.
• Provide scientific perspective to support product launches, customer programs, strategic initiatives, issue resolution, and business development opportunities.

Additional Responsibilities

• Build and maintain close relationship with other internal technical organizations, especially R&D and Technical Customer Service.
• Lead, coach, develop, and build a high-performing Scientific Affairs and Scientific Communications team, fostering scientific rigor, collaboration, accountability, external engagement, and customer-focused execution.
• Establish goals, priorities, metrics, and processes to ensure effective delivery of Scientific Affairs and Scientific Communications programs, including engagement and positioning within relevant standards-setting organizations.
• Ensure activities are conducted in alignment with company policies, quality expectations, compliance requirements, and applicable standard operating procedures.

Education

• Required: Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related scientific or technical field (or equivalent experience)
• Preferred: Master’s degree, Ph.D., Pharm.D., or equivalent advanced scientific degree in a relevant discipline

Work Experience

Minimum of 12 years of progressive scientific, technical service, medical affairs, or scientific affairs leadership experience, including leadership of global teams and external scientific engagement in the pharmaceutical packaging, drug delivery, medical device, biotechnology, life sciences, and/or related healthcare industries