Senior Manager, Thought Leadership & Issues Communications

Bristol Myers Squibb EU Policy; Princeton (NJ); On-site; USD 118,000 - 143,000; Full time

Job summary

Bristol Myers Squibb is seeking a Senior Manager of Enterprise Thought Leadership & Crisis & Issues Communications to help drive the global thought leadership strategy and readiness across enterprise communications.

The role partners with senior leaders and the corporate communications team to plan, craft messaging, prepare leaders for engagements, monitor impact, and support crisis communications with agility and alignment to company protocols.

Qualifications

• 7 years in corporate communications, thought leadership, media relations or related disciplines in healthcare/life sciences.
• Excellent writing and research skills with attention to detail.
• Experience supporting senior leaders in high-visibility external engagements (speaking, media, thought leadership).
• Strong writing and storytelling to translate complex issues into clear messaging.
• Proven project management with large, time-bound initiatives.
• Superior verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong analytical and decision-making abilities.
• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, English, Journalism, Political Science, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Drive planning and execution of thought leadership opportunities to elevate leadership voice.
• Identify and vet thought leadership opportunities with leader communicators; conduct benchmarking research.
• Write talking points, messaging, and materials; develop award submissions.
• Monitor impact of thought leadership efforts via engagement metrics and media coverage.
• Support crisis communications planning with readiness and agile response; align with protocols.
• Assist in implementing crisis response plans coordinating with stakeholders.
• Uphold integrity and obligations to stakeholders during reputation risk management.

Skills

Thought leadership

Writing

Research

Executive support

Storytelling

Project management

Interpersonal skills

Decision-making

Education

Bachelor's degree in Communications/English/Journalism/Political Science

Job description

Working with Us

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

Reporting to the Director, Enterprise Thought Leadership & Crisis & Issues Communications, the Senior Manager, Enterprise Thought Leadership & Crisis & Issues Communications plays a critical role in executing Bristol Myers Squibb’s global enterprise thought leadership strategy and supporting the company’s preparedness for and response to emerging issues and crises.

This role is responsible for helping to identify, plan and execute thought leadership and visibility opportunities that enable BMS leaders to deliver a cohesive enterprise narrative. The Senior Manager partners closely with leader communicators and the broader corporate communications team including the coordination, logistics, briefing and messaging materials, and leader preparation to ensure high‑quality, effective engagements across priority platforms.

In parallel, this role supports issues and crisis communications efforts, including monitoring emerging issues, developing messaging around complex and sensitive topics, and helping maintain and evolve the crisis communications scenario planning to ensure readiness, alignment, and integration with broader organizational protocols.

The successful candidate will bring strong judgment, excellent execution and presentation skills, and a proven ability to collaborate across teams to drive meaningful reputational impact in a fast‑paced, high‑visibility environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the planning and execution of thought leadership opportunities that elevate the BMS leadership team’s voice in telling the company’s story.
• Identify, vet, and present thought leadership opportunities for leadership team members, working in partnership with leader communicators. Additionally, conduct benchmarking research to identify white space.
• Write talking points, messaging, and materials for thought leadership opportunities and develop comprehensive award submissions.
• Monitor and analyze the impact and reach of enterprise thought leadership efforts, including engagement metrics, media coverage and industry recognition.
• Support the organization’s enterprise crisis communications scenario planning with a focus on readiness and emergent agile response, as well as continuous improvement, innovation, and consistency with relevant organizational protocols.
• Support the implementation of crisis response plans that address immediate and long‑term challenges, align with stakeholders, and strategize with interdisciplinary teams.
• Uphold the company’s commitment to integrity and obligations to our stakeholders in the course of managing reputation and risk scenarios.

Key Qualifications

• Accomplished communications professional with 7 years in corporate communications, thought leadership, media relations, issues management, or related disciplines, ideally within healthcare, life sciences, or another highly regulated industry.
• Excellent writing and research skills, with a keen attention to detail.
• Demonstrated experience supporting senior leaders or executives in high‑visibility external engagements, including speaking opportunities, media interactions, and thought leadership platforms.
• Strong writing and storytelling capabilities, with the ability to translate complex scientific, business, policy, or societal issues into clear, compelling messaging.
• Project management skills with proven success managing major projects and deadlines, coordinating within highly matrixed environments.
• Superior verbal and interpersonal communications skills.
• Exceptional problem‑solving, analytical, and decision‑making skills.
• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, English, Journalism, Political Science, or other relevant field.

Compensation Overview

Princeton - NJ - US: $117,640 - $142,552

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 [e-mail]. 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 [e-mail]. 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.

R1603552 : Senior Manager, Thought Leadership & Issues Communications