Ascendis Pharma is a dynamic, fast-growing global biopharmaceutical company with locations in Denmark, Europe, and the United States. Today, we're advancing programs in Endocrinology Rare Disease and Oncology.
Here at Ascendis, we pride ourselves on exceptional science, visionary leadership, and skilled and passionate colleagues.
Guided by our core values of Patients, Science, and Passion, we use our TransCon® drug development platform to fulfill our mission of developing new and potentially best-in-class therapies to address unmet medical needs.
Our culture fosters a place where skilled, adaptable, and highly resourceful professionals can truly make their mark. We offer a dynamic workplace for employees to grow and develop their skills.
Position Summary
The Global Medical Affairs Planning & Effectiveness, Medical Content Platform Lead is responsible for leading the global operating model, governance framework, and technology strategy for Medical Affairs content management and review processes within Veeva MedComms. This role serves as the business owner for Medical content platforms and capabilities, including Veeva MedComms and related systems, ensuring a scalable, compliant, and efficient framework for content creation, review, approval, distribution, and utilization across global and local markets.
The position requires significant cross-functional leadership and influence across Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Market Access, Commercial, Legal, Compliance, and Information Technology organizations. The individual will drive strategic alignment, establish governance and decision-making forums, define standards and metrics, lead global change management initiatives, and ensure technology investments support evolving business needs.
In addition, this role provides oversight and strategic direction for medical review processes, driving operational excellence, consistency, compliance, and continuous improvement across content review workflows.
Key Responsibilities
Global Content Governance and Operating Model
- Own and evolve the global Medical content governance framework, including policies, standards, taxonomy, metadata strategy, content architecture, and lifecycle management.
- Establish and maintain an integrated operating model across Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Market Access, Commercial, and IT to ensure content systems function as a coordinated enterprise capability.
- Define governance structures, decision rights, prioritization frameworks, and cross-functional steering committees to support effective content operations.
- Lead resolution of competing stakeholder priorities and drive decisions that balance compliance, usability, scalability, and business objectives.
- Develop global standards for content repositories while minimizing duplication and ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture principles.
- Establish and maintain content management best practices and ensure consistent adoption across regions and functions.
Platform Ownership and Technology Strategy
- Serve as the senior business owner and primary Medical Affairs representative for MedComms and related content management platforms.
- Partner closely with IT to define platform roadmaps, enhancement priorities, investment strategies, and long-term capability development.
- Translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions and ensure alignment with Medical Affairs strategic objectives.
- Lead governance and prioritization of system enhancements, backlog management, taxonomy changes, workflow optimizations, and new capability implementation.
- Oversee platform adoption, training, user support models, and change management initiatives.
- Collaborate with vendors and internal technical teams to optimize system performance and user experience.
Content Review and Approval Excellence
- Provide strategic oversight for medical and non-promotional content review processes globally.
- Ensure compliant, efficient, and consistent review workflows across cross-functional stakeholders.
- Establish standards and best practices for content submission, review, approval, documentation, and audit readiness.
- Oversee review governance forums, prioritization processes, escalation pathways, and decision documentation.
- Guide support of product launches, new indications, data disclosures, and label updates through effective content review planning.
- Drive continuous process improvement initiatives to reduce cycle times and enhance review quality.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Act as the primary liaison among Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Market Access, Commercial, Legal, Compliance, and Information Technology.
- Build strong relationships with senior leaders to align priorities and advance enterprise initiatives.
- Chair governance committees and facilitate strategic discussions related to content operations and platform capabilities.
- Influence stakeholders across organizational boundaries without direct authority.
- Foster collaboration and accountability across global functions and markets.
Analytics, Metrics, and Operational Performance
- Develop and maintain global performance measurement frameworks for content operations and governance effectiveness.
- Define key performance indicators related to adoption, utilization, review efficiency, compliance, content accessibility, and operational effectiveness.
- Create executive dashboards and reporting capabilities that provide visibility into system performance and business outcomes.
- Monitor trends and identify opportunities for optimization and innovation.
- Establish market-level targets and benchmarks to support continuous improvement.
Change Management and Capability Building
- Lead global change management strategies supporting new processes, governance models, and technology initiatives.
- Develop communication plans, training programs, knowledge resources, and adoption campaigns.
- Promote awareness and accessibility of available content and platform capabilities.
- Build organizational capability through education, coaching, and stakeholder engagement.
- Support development of future-state operating models that enhance effectiveness and scalability across the organization.
Requirements
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Education
- Bachelor's degree required.
- Advanced degree in Life Sciences, Business Administration, Healthcare Management, Information Management, or related field preferred.
Experience
- Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or healthcare industry.
- Significant experience in Medical Affairs operations, content governance, non-promotional review, or regulated content management environments.
- Demonstrated expertise with Veeva MedComms, Medical content management systems, electronic document management systems, and associated workflows.
- Experience leading global cross-functional initiatives and governance programs.
- Proven track record driving business process transformation and technology-enabled operational improvements.
- Experience partnering effectively with Information Technology organizations and managing enterprise platform strategies.
Knowledge and Skills
- Strategic leadership and enterprise thinking.
- Deep understanding of Medical Affairs operations and scientific content workflows.
- Expertise in content governance, taxonomy, metadata, and repository architecture.
- Strong knowledge of regulated content review and approval processes.
- Ability to translate complex business needs into scalable operational and technical solutions.
- Exceptional influencing and stakeholder management skills.
- Experience establishing governance structures, decision rights, and prioritization frameworks.
- Strong business process ownership within highly regulated environments.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and executive presentation skills.
- Strong analytical capability with experience building metrics and performance dashboards.
- Sound decision-making and judgment in complex organizational situations.
- Project and change management expertise.
- Ability to balance consensus-building with decisive leadership.
The estimated salary range for this position is $190 - $210K. Actual salary determination is dependent on a variety of factors, some of which include: experience, qualifications, and geographic location. This position may be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus or an incentive compensation plan (eligibility varies based on role and position level), discretionary stock-based long-term incentives, paid time off, and a comprehensive benefits package.
Benefits
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Medical, dental, and vision plans
- Company-offered Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance
- Company-provided short and long-term disability benefits
- Unique offerings of Pet Insurance and Legal Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program
- Employee Discounts
- Professional Development
- Health Saving Account (HSA)
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Various incentive compensation plans
- Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity Insurance
- Mental Health resources
- Paid leave benefits for new parents
Ascendis Pharma is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
A note to recruiters:
We do not allow external search party solicitation. Presentation of candidates without written permission from the Ascendis Pharma Inc Human Resources team (specifically from: Talent Acquisition Partner or Human Resources Director) is not allowed. If this occurs your ownership of these candidates will not be acknowledged.