global external communications associate director

Mission
Reporting to the Executive Director and head of Corporate Communications, this role has crucial accountabilities in the recently established corporate communications function and within the company overall – supporting the organisation in achieving its ambition to become recognised as a leader in medical dermatology.

The key responsibility of this role is the development and execution of the company's external communications strategy and plan, in alignment with the company ambition, long term strategy, and business priorities. Key deliverables include the strategic leadership of external communications at corporate level, creating, planning, and implementing successful communication activities across different channels, targeting key audiences (patients, HCPs, media, investors, authorities). In addition, leading media engagement at global level (targeting select key media outlets), and for corporate topics in Spain. The candidate will also support the company´s business functions as strategic expert Comms counsel, building Comms plans, and helping to develop a stronger Comms mindset on the way to making the Comms function an integral part of the business. A further crucial element of the role is delivering impactful business communication to external stakeholders around milestones like quarterly and yearly earnings – working in close collaboration with the Investor Relations team.

The Candidate will have the opportunity and accountability to create and shape the external communication strategy and execution – building on existing assets and channels and applying innovative approaches to deliver strategic, relevant, and impactful communication to external target audiences.

Tasks And Responsibilities

• Lead strategy creation, planning, and execution of the creation of corporate comms content, from the overarching company perspective, to science and pipeline, and brand comms (in close collaboration with Marketing, the Omnichannel team, R&D, and Medical Affairs), also including crisis management.
• Create and develop high quality content for external communication based on audience and channel insights (including campaign content, Q&A documents, press materials, Comms packs, leader briefings, key messages, videos and other digital assets)
• Provide strategic support on communication to select senior leaders (including C-suite) for activities with high impact for the company and the business.
• Work in close partnership with the channel comms team to develop an impactful channel strategy for external communications, implement it, and track impact.
• Monitor and track impact and success of communications tactics via a variety of metrics incl. media monitoring, digital channels, media coverage, etc. and continually adjust and improve based on measured insights.
• Delivering in a dynamic, high-pace environment, which means to swiftly react to external and internal changes and adjusting the communication approaches accordingly. Issues and crisis management to ensure - where possible - issues are avoided and - if they arrive - are well managed.
• Closely collaborate with internal Comms team to ensure a holistic approach of communicating to all internal and external target audiences, and creating and maintaining a strategic calendar of proactive and reactive internal Comms with a key focus on significant company milestones, pipeline news, and innovation stories.
• Lead agency engagement and resourcing (and other third-party suppliers) to deliver impactful strategies, plans, and content for external communication – manage budgets appropriately to deliver high value comms outcomes.
• Ownership of media relations strategy and execution with a focus on high value global outlets and also for corporate topics – and in close collaboration with the Spain Comms lead - national Spanish and local Cataluña media outlets.
• Supporting the Corporate Communications Executive Director with crises management planning and execution.
• Create and maintain an effective network with the in-market Comms leads in key affiliates to ensure appropriate support for local strategies and activities, corporate credibility building, launch support, and crisis management.

Skills And Experience

• Academic degree in either Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Business, or life sciences.
• Minimum 10 years experience in communications (with a focus on strategic, external communications, and media relations)
• Significant experience working in the healthcare, biotech, or pharmaceutical industries (alternatively in other highly regulated industries)
• Passion for healthcare and making a difference to patients
• Proven expertise in developing, implementing and measuring external communication strategies and programmes to support achieving business objectives, especially through driving awareness and credibility of a corporate entity and products with focus on innovation
• Track record of creating and executing innovative, engaging, and impactful communication strategies to reach relevant external target audiences (general public, media, HCPs, scientists, authorities)
• Added benefit would be experience in public affairs or government relations, specifically with authorities and industry associations.
• Strong team player who is able to successfully engage multiple stakeholders inside and outside of the company, building and maintaining productive relationships – including with c-suite and other senior business leaders. Ability to operate successfully in a complex matrix organisation with pro-active and strategic stakeholder management.
• Very strong writing skills in English and Spanish (ideally English and Spanish native speaker), alternatively high proficiency in written and spoken English and Spanish.
• Critical thinking and can-do attitude to pinpoint opportunities, get consensus, and action
• Ability to make sense of complex (business and science) matters and create engaging messaging that create relevance for a broad external audience
• Track record of successfully managing communication of complex (scientific) topics making them relevant and understandable for different audiences with tailored communication that is aligned with consistent overarching business messages.
• Prior exposure to investor relations work preferable

Personal profile
High energy, pro-active, and results-oriented strategic thinker Executive presence and proven ability to successfully manage relationships with a number of different stakeholders – including C-suite Able to deliver meaningful results in a fast changing and highly regulated environment Dedication to delivering high quality results that are relevant and appropriate for the business needs Exceptional team player and ability to operate with the highest integrity and discretion Ability to operate efficiently under pressure Experienced working in global organisations, with good understanding of the external (media) landscape Excellent analytical skills – distilling complex matters into meaningful insights and messages Experience in advising senior leaders in communications matters and crisis management Hands-on self-starter with a combination of analytical skills and business understanding Strong business partner with the ability to establish and maintain effective relationships at all levels.

Why work with Almirall?
We are a
people-centric company
where employees are at their best, patients and customer are at the heart of every decision, and our focus and agility allow us to deliver greater impact for all.

Additionally, for the 17th year in a row, we have been certified as Top Employer Spain, and also Top Employer Germany for the first time.

This strengthens our commitment to create a
unique work environment that helps our employees to develop their skills to fullest
and grow both professionally and as individuals.

We are delighted to have a great team that is proactive, innovative, and eager to transform the world of people with skin conditions.

We are
proud of each one of our employees
, their development, and growth: they are the success of the company.

Our purpose
"Transform the patients' world by helping them realize their hopes & dreams for a healthy life".

Our values

• Care: we listen & empathize, we value diverse perspectives & backgrounds and we help each other succeed.
• Courage: we challenge the status quo, we take full ownership and we learn from our success & failures.
• Innovation: we put the patient and customer at the center, we create novel solutions and we empower entrepreneurial mindsets.
• Simplicity: we act decisively and avoid over-analysis, we understand why before we act and we are agile & keep things simple.

At Almirall, it's all about people

#wearealmirall