Director, Patient Advocacy & Engagement

Who We Are: Cogent Biosciences is a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on developing novel precision therapies to treat a broad range of patients with unmet medical needs. Cogent’s lead program, bezuclastinib, is designed to selectively and potently inhibit exon 17 mutations found within the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase, including KIT D816V. KIT D816V is responsible for driving a rare and serious condition called Systemic Mastocytosis, and exon 17 mutations are also found in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), a type of cancer with strong dependence on oncogenic KIT signaling. Bezuclastinib has exhibited promising initial data across all three trials: APEX in AdvSM, SUMMIT in NonAdvSM and PEAK in GIST, including an encouraging safety profile across 600+ patients in single agent and combination dosing.   The Role: Cogent is seeking a Director, Patient Advocacy & Engagement. The successful candidate is someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is passionate about making an impact on the lives of patients with unmet medical needs. Reporting to the Executive Director, Patient Advocacy & Engagement, this role will develop and execute strategic advocacy engagement initiatives for our Systemic Mastocytosis programs, ensuring alignment throughout the product development lifecycle, with a special focus on new product launches and patient-centered outcomes. The Senior Director/Director will work collaboratively with cross functional team members to increase awareness of our programs in the patient community, bring the patient voice into the everyday operations of Cogent, and highlight critical patient insights to help inform strategic decision making. Responsibilities: Establish Cogent as a strong partner to the global Systemic Mastocytosis patient advocacy community by building strategic, long-term partnerships, strengthening existing collaborations, and identifying new groups for engagement Develop, lead, and execute annual strategic plan for Patient Advocacy & Engagement to support our Systemic Mastocytosis programs, including commercial launches Lead our external patient advocacy engagement strategy through the identification, negotiation, and execution of mutually beneficial opportunities for strategic partnerships with relevant Patient Advocacy Groups and medical associations in alignment with company’s objectives Develop and execute innovative patient-facing educational initiatives aimed at increasing awareness of Cogent’s programs, disease education, and optimizing access to care; identify opportunities to co-create and collaborate on initiatives with key patient advocacy groups Support the development of global, national, and local patient advocacy organizations through relationship building, networking, capacity building, and sharing best practices Gather and champion patient insights by conducting virtual and in-person patient advisory boards to inform key cross-functional initiatives and proactively share ongoing insights from patient advocacy group engagements Collaborate with cross-functional team members from Marketing, Market Access, Patient Services, Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Patient Recruitment, Legal, Regulatory, and Research to deliver on workstreams and initiatives that support program goals including clinical trial awareness and commercial launch efforts Oversee vendors for patient advocacy and engagement initiatives (e.g., patient advocacy webinars, patient videos, awareness initiatives, etc.) including management of budget, timelines, and deliverables Coordinate and plan Cogent’s presence at key patient meetings and participation in awareness days/months (e.g., sponsorships, materials, booth presence, employee engagement activities, etc.) Represent Cogent at U.S. and global patient advocacy meetings and events as well as key scientific congresses Develop metrics to measure the success of advocacy initiatives, ensuring alignment with organizational goals Continually innovate and elevate Cogent’s approach to patient advocacy and engagement Maintain a high level of cross-functional coordination, strategic planning, budget adherence, compliance, customer service and creativity in managing and executing all aspects of the patient advocacy and engagement function Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree is required 8-12+ years in patient advocacy, patient engagement, patient marketing, patient services or related experience in the pharmaceutical industry required; level commensurate with experience Deep understanding of commercialization and R&D, including experience with successful commercial product launches Demonstrated success in navigating regulatory and legal compliance related to advocacy efforts Proven leadership and effective collaboration in Cross-Functional Teams Experience in rare diseases, hematology, allergy/immunology, or oncology preferred Agile, strategic leader able to successfully navigate fast-paced environments Experience developing and executing patient-facing disease education and awareness resources and initiatives Experience in patient digital health initiatives and campaigns a plus (e.g., virtual booths, webinars, podcasts, social media platforms, CRM, paid search/SEO, etc.) Excellent organizational, planning, and interpersonal skills Strong executive presence and communication skills Self-starter who motivates, is detail-oriented, solutions-oriented, has tack, diplomacy, leadership skills and who has a flexible and positive approach  Able to make sound decisions and communicate recommendations after careful consideration of various courses of action, decision support data, and regulatory environment Experience working with all levels of management and consulting with key business stakeholders with an ability to influence for greater outcomes Attention to detail and the ability to work individually, within a multi-disciplinary team, as well