Overview

We are seeking a forward-thinking, impactful Director of Global Sustainability Policy and Partnerships to lead the development and advocacy of environmental policies and manage partnerships that support population health and AstraZeneca’s strategic objectives. In this role, you will advance our enterprise approach to decarbonising healthcare and enable the transition toward low-carbon, climate-resilient health systems. You will help shape evolving environmental legislation and standards, ensuring that environmental policies not only drive positive health and planetary outcomes, but also align with the long-term sustainability and growth of AstraZeneca.

In this high-impact role, you will help demonstrate how improving health outcomes contributes to lowering healthcare emissions, how to deliver more sustainable healthcare across the healthcare value chain including the patient care pathway, and how to integrate health into environmental policy and funding mechanisms.

You will also play a key role in AstraZeneca’s contribution to the collaborative efforts of the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Health Systems Task Force, chaired by AstraZeneca’s CEO and founded by King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales. You will manage AstraZeneca’s engagement in the Patient Care Pathway workstream of this Task Force and will collaborate across the sector, healthcare systems and NGOs with a focus on decarbonising patient care delivery.

You will report to the Global Head of Sustainability Corporate Affairs, Partnerships and Chair’s Office, and report dotted line to the Senior Director of Health Systems Policy.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead the development and execution of AstraZeneca’s global sustainability policy strategy on healthcare and health systems decarbonisation
  • Monitor, shape and influence evolving environmental legislation and regulatory standards, ensuring policies support AstraZeneca’s environmental, population health, and business objectives across priority markets.
  • Build and nurture strategic partnerships—across AstraZeneca, the healthcare sector, policymakers, international organizations (including the WHO), and NGOs—to advance sustainable, low-carbon, climate-resilient health systems.
  • Partner across AstraZeneca including with key markets and Medical Affairs to generate and help equip policymakers with evidence to support pathway redesign that improves health outcomes across a range of therapy areas, and reduces the environmental footprint of care (incl. emissions, water, waste etc) and lowers pressures on healthcare systems.
  • Shape AstraZeneca’s policies on climate-health topics e.g. related to health technology assessments (HTAs) and procurement, educating and partnering with key markets.
  • Provide strategic briefings to senior leadership across the business and foster cross-business knowledge sharing and best practices to support the championing of policy development at national, regional, and international levels.
  • Provide policymakers with robust evidence and strategic insights that guide pathway redesign, linking improved health outcomes with reduced healthcare environmental footprints.
  • Serve as AstraZeneca’s representative and expert on sustainable healthcare policy and partnerships—including supporting sector-wide initiatives, and advancing innovative evidence and modelling tools and global emissions benchmarking.

About You

Essential Skills & Experience:

  • Extensive experience in public policy, government or a similar, with a strong healthcare or pharmaceuticals background. Experience in low carbon, sustainable healthcare delivery.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication, with the ability to distil complexity into clear, persuasive messaging.
  • Analytical with a passion for interrogating and utilising data.
  • Demonstrated strategic thinking, problem-solving, and influencing skills across senior leadership and external stakeholders.
  • Adept at managing competing priorities in a dynamic, high-profile environment.
  • Team player who thrives on collaboration and building effective cross-functional and external partnerships.
  • Passionate about healthcare innovation and environmental sustainability.
  • Politically astute with sound judgment and strong external awareness.

Desirable Attributes:

  • Direct experience in healthcare or sustainability policy role.
  • Previous collaboration with therapy-area corporate affairs teams.
  • Experience in global organisations or fast-paced policy/communications agencies.
  • Strong international network and proven ability to build impactful alliances.
  • Academic background with a record of excellence.
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