Medical Affairs Manager - Rare Diseases

Do you have experience in Medical Affairs and a passion for Rare Disease?  Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of people living with devastating diseases? This is an outstanding opportunity to join a high-performing medical team dedicated to rare disease. Your expertise can directly influence patient outcomes and clinical practice.

About AstraZeneca & Alexion Rare Disease:

AstraZeneca is a global, science led biopharmaceutical company transforming treatment across Oncology, CVRM, Respiratory & Immunology and Rare Disease.

Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease is dedicated to advancing care for people living with rare diseases. We work alongside clinicians to support appropriate access and redefine what is possible for patients and their families.

What you’ll do

Reporting to the Director for Medical Affairs, in this role you will drive Medical Affairs strategies across your brand portfolio.  As the local subject matter expert, you’ll maintain deep therapy area knowledge, providing medical leadership and governance and engaging in compliant scientific exchange. 

You’ll be a key member of the cross-functional teams for your Therapy areas, and will collaborate closely with multiple internal teams to support delivery of Alexion strategies and goals.

The position is a full-time permanent role, located in Sydney (Macquarie Park) – offering hybrid working (3 days in the office/week).

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of the Medical Affairs Plan for assigned rare disease brands/indications, aligning with brand strategy and business goals.

• Work closely with the Medical Science Liaison Manager and medical field team to ensure impactful implementation of the medical strategy.

• Drive compliant scientific exchange, field engagement, and KOL strategy, including identification of rising stars and building trusted partnerships in the therapeutic area you will be responsible for.

• Provide medical leadership and review across promotional and non‑promotional materials; translate ecosystem insights into strategic recommendations for brand, access, and medical education.

• Partner cross functionally with Commercial, Market Access, Regulatory, Legal, PV, Clinical Operations, and Corporate Affairs to shape practice and improve care pathways.

• Deliver high quality medical education to HCPs and internal teams on disease states, patient journeys and Alexion products.

• Spend time in the field to uncover insights, support medical education, and strengthen stakeholder relationships.

• Manage medical budgets and track impact against plan.

Essential for the role:

• Tertiary scientific qualification (e.g., medical, pharmacy, PhD or equivalent) and 4–5+ years’ experience in pharmaceutical Medical Affairs.

• Proven cross functional collaboration and matrix leadership, with strong business insight and the ability to influence without authority.

• Demonstrated collaborator management and external expert engagement; ability to build rapport across diverse specialties.

• Strong understanding of compliance, governance, PV requirements, and local codes/regulations; excellent scientific communication skills.

• Lifecycle awareness across drug development and medical launch excellence; capability to operate TA agnostically and switch indications as business needs evolve.

• Digital proficiency and basic data literacy; ability to plan projects and manage their progress.

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Doctoral degree (M.D., Ph.D., Pharm.D.) and experience in rare/orphan diseases.

• Experience with evidence generation, RWE, and market access support (e.g., payer/policy engagement, PBAC submissions).

• Exposure to AI enabled approaches for insights/patient identification and comfort with innovative solution

Why Join Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease

At Alexion, we are committed to making a difference through our bold mission: transforming the lives of people living with rare diseases. Recognized as a Great Place to Work, our team welcomes talented, diverse individuals who thrive in a collaborative environment. Here, your voice is heard, your expertise is valued, and your work truly changes lives.

So, what’s next

If you are ready to bring new ideas and fresh thinking to our team, we encourage you to apply. We look forward to connecting with candidates who share our commitment to advancing rare disease medicine.

Where can I find out more

Follow AstraZeneca on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/1603/
Visit our website: https://careers.alexion.com/

AstraZeneca in Australia has been formally recognised as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) and as a Gold Tier Employer within the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI). Visit our ANZ Careers Page - www.astrazeneca.com.au/careers.html & https://careers.alexion.com/ to learn more about our commitment to fostering a flexible, diverse, and inclusive environment.

We recognise that any recruitment process may present challenges, if there is anything we can do to make our recruitment process more accessible for you, please let us know via this Form.

Date Posted

Closing Date

Alexion is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging where every single person can belong because of their uniqueness. The Company will not make decisions about employment, training, compensation, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment based on race, color, religion, creed or lack thereof, sex, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), parental status (including adoption or surrogacy), military status, protected veteran status, disability, medical condition, gender identity or expression, genetic information, mental illness or other characteristics protected by law. Alexion provides reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of candidates and employees. To begin an interactive dialogue with Alexion regarding an accommodation, please contact accommodations@Alexion.com. Alexion participates in E-Verify.