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Position: Associate Director of Policy, Advocacy & Government Affairs, Ireland

Location: Dublin

Position Summary

BMS is recruiting an Associate Director of Policy, Advocacy & Government Affairs, Ireland. Operating in a complex but highly visible market with a significant BMS footprint, this person will be responsible for setting and delivering BMS’s policy, patient advocacy and government engagement strategy in Ireland, shaping the external environment to support timely and equitable patient access to innovative medicines. The role involves senior‑level engagement with government, the HSE, regulators, patient organisations and system leaders, translating political and policy developments into clear strategic advice and action for the UK & Ireland leadership team.

Key Responsibilities

Lead and Inspire:

Develop and lead an all-Ireland wide policy, advocacy & government affairs strategy. Work closely with key stakeholders including Site lead & Strategy & Business excellence lead at Cruiserath and with the cross functional commercialization teams based in Ireland and in the UK to achieve shared objectives.

Shape Public Policy:

Champion and execute initiatives that influence political debates, legislation, and national policies, all aimed at optimising patient access to medicines in Ireland. Set and deliver measurable objectives for policy influence, access improvements, and reputation enhancement, reporting progress to senior leadership.

Build Relationships:

Map and prioritise key stakeholders in Ireland’s policy landscape, including patient groups, government bodies, and industry partners. Lead proactive engagement with government departments, health agencies, and parliamentary committees to shape policy outcomes aligned with BMS’ mission. Be the face of our company in these interactions.

Advocate for Patients:

Ensure that all policy and advocacy initiatives are grounded in the goal of improving health outcomes and access for patients in Ireland. Engage with patient advocacy groups to ensure their voices are heard and collaborate on shared priorities.

Strategic Counsel:

Anticipate and respond to emerging policy trends, such as Life Science Strategy, digital health, personalized medicine, and sustainability in healthcare. Provide expert advice to our organization on navigating the ever-changing policy and political landscape in Ireland. Share insights and guide our approach to public policy challenges.

Represent Our Interests:

Actively participate in trade associations to ensure our interests are well-represented and maximized. You will be the BMS Chief Representative to IPHA, proactively engaging in workstreams to shape policy and faster access to innovative medicines.

Advise Senior Leadership:

Work closely with General Manager of UK & Ireland, senior executives, including the Global Policy team, to enhance our engagement with the Irish Government.

Corporate Governance & Directorship:

Serve as a statutory director of Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals UC, with responsibility for upholding the highest standards of corporate governance. This includes oversight and formal sign-off of company accounts, ensuring compliance with Irish legal and regulatory requirements, and contributing to the effective stewardship of the organization’s financial and operational integrity.

What we’re looking for

A clear commitment to improving patient access to innovative therapies in Ireland, and to ensure the patient voice is meaningfully reflected in policy and advocacy efforts.

A passionate advocate with a proven track record in health policy, advocacy or government affairs, with demonstrated ability to secure policy change within the Irish market.

Minimum of eight years’ relevant experience gained in Government, politics, the health system, patient advocacy, consultancy, or the wider life sciences industry.

An innovative thinker with deep understanding of Ireland’s political landscape, health system, public health priorities, and medicines and life sciences policy, and how this can align with BMS’s in-market, European and global priorities.

A confident navigator of complex policy and political environments.

A compelling communicator capable of absorbing, synthesising and clearly articulating complex issues for diverse audiences, including senior internal stakeholders.

Strong leadership skills with the ability to represent BMS’s significant Irish footprint and interests internally and externally, operating with autonomy as key and senior representative of a high-impact team.

Excellent relationship‑building skills, with experience engaging effectively across government, system leaders, patient organisations and industry stakeholders.

Why you should apply

You will help patients in their fight against serious diseases
You will be part of a company that encourages excellence and innovation, respects diversity, develops leaders and values its employees.
You’ll get a competitive salary and a great benefits package including, but not only, an annual bonus, pension contribution, family health insurance, 27 days of annual leave , access to BMS Cruiserath on-site gym and life assurance

#LI-Hybrid

If you come across a role that intrigues you but doesn’t perfectly line up with your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be one step away from work that will transform your life and career.

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 adastaffingsupport@bms.com. 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 TAEnablement@bms.com. 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.

R1599520 : Associate Director of Policy, Advocacy & Government Affairs, Ireland

Associate Director of Policy, Advocacy & Government Affairs, Ireland

Benefits

Job Description