State Policy Lead — Health Access & Innovation

Novartis Group Companies; East Hanover (NJ); On-site; USD 225,000 - 419,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Disability benefits

401(k) matching

Job summary

Novartis Group Companies seeks a Head of State Policy to lead forward-looking state policy strategies, advancing patient access and pharmaceutical innovation while aligning with enterprise priorities. The role manages the State Policy team and translates policy trends into actionable guidance across US Public Affairs and the US business.

The role requires a bachelor's degree with significant state policy experience, strong leadership skills, and fluency with AI tools to support policy analysis

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in public policy, law, public health, business or related field preferred.
• Significant professional experience in state health policy, government affairs or public policy, with experience in the pharmaceutical or life sciences sector, a trade association, consulting or government.
• Demonstrated people-management experience, including setting direction, developing talent and leading through influence in a matrixed organization.
• Proven ability to develop policy strategy, synthesize complex information and translate analysis into practical advocacy recommendations.
• Demonstrated fluency with AI tools, including the ability to select appropriate use cases, develop effective prompts and workflows, critically evaluate and verify outputs, and use AI in accordance with applicable data, privacy, compliance and responsible-use requirements.
• Demonstrated enterprise mindset, including the ability to connect work across functions and geographies, balance local and functional priorities with broader organizational objectives, share insights and resources, and make decisions in the best interest of Novartis and patients.
• Strong executive communication, judgment and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to build alignment across senior internal and external audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and alignment of Novartis positions on priority state policy issues affecting patient access, affordability, pharmaceutical innovation and the US business.
• Manage, coach and develop the State Policy team, including one direct report, and foster curiosity, responsible experimentation and continuous learning in the use of AI-enabled ways of working.
• Direct predictive policy analysis and external research to identify three-to-five-year trends, emerging risks and opportunities across priority states.
• Partner with State Government Affairs leaders to translate policy positions into advocacy strategies, messages, tools and resources for priority state engagements.
• Connect insights, capabilities and stakeholders across US Public Affairs and the US business to accelerate learning and enable consistent enterprise positions.
• Represent Novartis in key trade associations and coalitions, including PhRMA and BIO, to shape industry policy positions and external strategies on priority issues.
• Oversee development of executive-ready briefings, policy materials and educational resources on topics such as drug pricing, 340B and patient access.
• Establish clear objectives and measures of impact for the State Policy function, manage external resources and ensure effective knowledge sharing across US Public Affairs.

Skills

Public Affairs

Leadership

Political Analysis

Policy Analysis

Media Relations

Social Media

Marketing

Press Releases

Business Communications

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree in public policy, law, public health, business or related field

Tools

Microsoft Access

Job description

Novartis Group Companies seeks a Head of State Policy to lead forward-looking state policy strategies, advancing patient access and pharmaceutical innovation while aligning with enterprise priorities. The role manages the State Policy team and translates policy trends into actionable guidance across US Public Affairs and the US business.

The role requires a bachelor's degree with significant state policy experience, strong leadership skills, and fluency with AI tools to support policy analysis