Director, Rare Disease Communications, EUCAN & International

Location: Barcelona - Spain (3 days working from the office and 2 days working from home) What you’ll do: The Director, Rare Disease Communications, EUCAN & International will provide communications expertise to the Europe and Canada (EUCAN) and International Region, including regional and market-level corporate and therapy area communications, internal communications, and executive leader visibility. The role reports to the Senior Director, Rare Diseases Corporate Affairs, EUCAN and has dotted-line reporting to the Head of Communications, Alexion and close business partnership with the Senior Director, Rare Disease Corporate Affairs, International. The successful candidate will be highly collaborative, work closely with Market and Area Communication Directors across EUCAN, MEA, Latam, and AsiaPAC, as well as with global cross-functional teams, to advance and deliver a coordinated communications strategy that aligns regional business priorities and Global Corporate Affairs objectives. External communications initiatives will predominantly focus on strengthening our corporate reputation as a trusted partner in rare disease, while supporting therapy area policy and market-shaping efforts. Internal communications initiatives will predominantly focus on increasing employee engagement, equipping leaders to engage their teams, and inspiring change. The position will play a functional and strategic leadership role across the region, helping to further build bridges between Alexion and AstraZeneca, raise capabilities, and lead the network of in-market communicators to optimise alignment, efficiency, and best practice. The role will also provide strategic counsel and guidance to the Senior Vice President, EUCAN & International, Alexion, working closely with them on executive communications and regional leadership visibility. Key Accountabilities Please note percentage time distributions are indicative only and workload distribution will ebb and flow in line with business priorities. 1. EUCAN & International Communications Business Partnering (40%) Partner with the SVP, EUCAN & International, Alexion to develop and deliver a strategic executive communications approach that strengthens Alexion/AstraZeneca’s profile as a leader in rare disease. Lead and support executive thought leadership activities, including speaker platforms, media engagement, and LinkedIn platform management for the SVP. Develop and lead internal communications across EUCAN & International to increase employee engagement and support delivery of the business strategy. Own communications for the EUCAN/International scorecard and related internal updates, including development of messaging and cascade of key priorities across the organisation. Develop and lead the communications plan for SVP scorecard talent and development initiatives, ensuring strategic alignment with broader HR communications across the organisation. Lead delivery of regional town halls and contribute to Global town hall agenda-setting and content development. Support the SVP with local town halls and employee engagement during Country Visits. Lead Quarterly Results internal communications, ensuring clear, consistent, and timely messaging for regional employees. Provide communications support for key HR and change management communications, including people announcements for SVP direct reports and strategic organisational developments. Contribute to Senior Leadership Meeting (SLM) communications and the annual Alexion Excellence Awards from the Alexion regional perspective. Manage the Alexion EUCAN & International WorkVivo page, ensuring it remains current, engaging, and aligned to business priorities. 2. Regional & Market Communications Partnering (40%) Provide communications partnership to drive the EUCAN & International Corporate Affairs agenda, shaping and delivering communications strategies for key regional initiatives. Develop and lead communications strategies for priority Corporate Affairs projects and summits, especially across the International Region. Convene the market communications network to build community & capabilities, ensuring all market communicators are able to adhere to newsflow, are using globally aligned practices and pull through of capability building programmes. Proactively identify best practice campaigns/communications approaches to elevate to global and/or other countries. Support in-market product communications through press release review, messaging alignment, and pull-through of major congress and data milestones, where appropriate. Provide strategic counsel to local communicators on crisis communications and business-critical projects, including reputational issues. 3. Global Strategic Contribution to and Pull Through of Alexion Corporate Affairs Priorities (20%) Contribute strategically to the development of the Alexion global Corporate Affairs strategy, including helping to shape scorecard priorities and communications planning. Support the pull those of those priorities in the markets. Support development and pull through of priority global communications deliverables and campaigns, such as Rare Disease Day. Participate in global Alexion Corporate Affairs meetings to enable stronger global-to-local co-creation, alignment, and feedback. Represent the regional perspective within the broader Global Corporate Affairs organisation, ensuring the needs of Rare Disease teams and markets are reflected appropriately in global plans. Support significant organisational change programmes and reputation management activity across the region. Lead regional scorecard reporting into CEO Updates and other key business reporting mechanisms, ensuring communications outcomes and priorities are clearly reflected. Education, Qualifications, Skills and Experience Essential for the role: Extensive experience in the communications arena with minimum of 8 years of experience Strong track record in delivering impactful internal and external communication strategies Strong business acumen and proven success in connecting critical communications to business outcomes (industry experience preferred) Ability to influence the business and communication decisions of senior management and to mentor senior leaders on their effectiveness Experience in successful change communication programme implementation Experience of crisis and/or issues management Prior experience in media relations Proven track record of effectively managing many projects and resources Highly-developed cultural sensitivity and ability to work in virtual teams Knowledge of and experience in working across geographic and cultural boundaries Fluent in English with excellent written and verbal communication skills and experience in a variety of media (speeches, fact sheets, briefings, executive presentations, news releases, etc) Desirable for the role: Expertise in Rare Diseases Experience with medical product and data communications/news flow Fluency in an at least one major language (excluding English) desirable Why AstraZeneca? At AstraZeneca we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. There’s no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration, and always committed to lifelong learning, growth and development. We’re on an exciting journey to pioneer the future of healthcare. Hybrid Working When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working give us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That’s why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn’t mean we’re not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.  So, what’s next? Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can’t wait to hear from you! Date Posted 23-jul-2026 Closing Date 22-jul-2026 Alexion is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging where every single person can belong because of their uniqueness. The Company will not make decisions about employment, training, compensation, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment based on race, color, religion, creed or lack thereof, sex, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), parental status (including adoption or surrogacy), military status, protected veteran status, disability, medical condition, gender identity or expression, genetic information, mental illness or other characteristics protected by law. Alexion provides reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of candidates and employees. To begin an interactive dialogue with Alexion regarding an accommodation, please contact accommodations@Alexion.com. Alexion participates in E-Verify.