Medical Science Liaison

Chiesi

We have an exciting opportunity for a Medical Science Liaison to join our Rare Disease Team

At Chiesi it is our people who are at the heart of what we do and achieve. A proud family business we are a Top Employer and a Great Place to Work in the UK. 

We provide an excellent benefits package, including:
•    salary up to £40,000 (part time salary) based on experience (role is part time 3 days a week on a 18 month contract)
•    annual performance related bonus
•    2 additional paid well-being days in addition to annual leave
•    group personal pension scheme with flexible contributions
•    private medical insurance
•    private dental insurance
•    group life assurance
•    employee assistance programme
•    salary sacrifice and employee discount schemes
•    annual high-performance incentive awards
•    enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption policies
•    paid carers leave
•    flexible smart working

We are committed to an inclusive recruitment process and will provide reasonable adjustments upon request.

If this sounds like the next step in your journey, we’d love to hear from you! 

Job Purpose

The role will support the Rare Diseases Medical Manager in delivering the strategic medical plan for the allocated therapy area(s) and work in collaboration to deliver operational excellence of the UK and Ireland (UKI) Medical team.

This is a part time role (3 days a week) on a fixed term contract for 18 months

Profile

A strong scientific background in medical or biological science is essential for this role. You should be confident in communication and interpersonal skills with excellent strategic planning and organisational skills and also be able to prioritise work effectively; balancing both long- and short-term requirements and be able to demonstrate previous excellent cross functional working.

You should have good working knowledge of Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Pharmacovigilance laws and regulations and the ABPI/IPHA Code of Practice. 

The defining skills, therefore, will be well-developed communications skills combined with the ability to strategically plan, critically appraise progress, and work towards implementing change with external and internal stakeholders. The role is field-based with frequent UK & International travel requiring flexibility.

The rare disease world is constantly changing and as such the scope of the role will evolve with the demands of the business. The assigned products and focus will change and it’s possible that in the future working additional days will be available but this cannot be guaranteed.

Responsibilities

•    Develop and maintain in-depth knowledge of relevant products and relevant disease area(s) in order to act as an expert medical resource.
•    Attend relevant national and international scientific meetings/congresses to ensure up-to-date knowledge of therapy area, gather competitive intelligence, and respond to any specific enquiries from healthcare professionals.
•    Support the Rare Diseases Medical Manager in developing and executing the UKI Medical Affairs plan to support the medicines within their therapy area(s), including UKI phase IIIb and IV clinical trial planning.
•    Management of UKI activities in Phase III & IV clinical development, including local investigator-initiated studies. 
•    Develop and execute national advisory boards in line with the UKI Medical Affairs Plan. Provide support to MSL(s) to plan and execute regional advisory boards.
•    Develop and execute key opinion leader plan within the relevant disease area(s).
•    Regular communication with the external medical community to remain abreast of issues in the field and to provide medical support and direction to them and inform internal stakeholders of clinical developments.
•    Work with the training function to provide support to train and educate the medical and commercial teams on clinical and medical issues as relevant.
•    Attend and proactively participate in brand team and concept meetings as part of a cross functional matrix team.
•    Provide local medical expert input into UKI and global commercial teams where relevant.
•    Review and approval of materials and/or activities for compliance with the ABPI/IPHA Code of Practice.
•    Under guidance, work in a collaborative manner with Market Access to support access to therapy area medicines for HTA submissions to NICE, AWMSG, SMC, NSPE or reimbursement discussions with NHS England.
•    Proactively manages projects to completion in independent manner, anticipating obstacles and difficulties that may arise, resolving them in a collaborative manner.
•    Support the execution of the Risk Management Plan(s) in relevant Therapy Areas. 
•    Ensure compliance with all statutory requirements, internal processes and procedures for Pharmacovigilance.
•    Ensure that all activities and interactions are conducted in compliance with applicable local, global and national laws, regulations, guidelines, codes of conduct (including but not limited to the ABPI/IPHA Code of Practice) company policies and accepted standards of best practice.

Role Requirements

•    A biological science / medical / pharmacy degree and an in-depth knowledge of the ABPI/IPHA Code of Practice.
•    Minimum of 2 years Industry experience within a medical affairs function is essential, experience of working in rare diseases is preferable.
•    Must have demonstrated organisational skills to manage multiple projects in multiple therapy areas simultaneously.
•    Strong written and verbal communication skills along with excellent judgment and ability to work in a cross functional team environment.
•    Strong presentation skills. 
•    Understanding of UKI healthcare and market access environment and ability to partner with healthcare providers.
•    Experience in implementing pharmacovigilance requirements and regulatory/legal framework.
•    Ability to travel as part of role to support the UKI Medical Affairs plan and to attend domestic and international conferences. Flexibility to change workings days / occasional weekend / travel will be required.
•    This is primarily a customer facing role with a strong preference for face-to-face contact but will frequently be working from home. Good transport links essential.

Key Competencies

•    Resilient profile with the ability to deliver in a challenging external environment.
•    Ability to engage and manage multiple stakeholders (both internal and external) to achieve the objective(s).
•    Curious with learning agility.
•    Creative and strategic thinker.
•    Operationally excellent with good adaptability.
•    Organised with systematic approach to prioritisation.
•    Strong communication and presentation skills.
•    Process orientated to achieve the business objective with excellent cross functional working.