Novartis Posted August 7, 2026

Associate Director, Therapeutic Area Communications

Basel (City), Switzerland Regular
Communications & Public Affairs Associate Director

Novartis is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Location: East Hanover NJ, US or Basel, Switzerland. This role will follow a hybrid working model. If based in US, please only apply to REQ-10080236LI-#hybridThe Associate Director, TA Communications will support the development and execution of high-impact product and portfolio communications strategies across Novartis' Cardiovascular & Metabolic (CVM) Therapeutic Area in both the U.S. and global markets.The Associate Director will support communications strategy across a dynamic portfolio of mid-stage development assets, priority growth brands, and launch-stage programs advancing the next generation of cardiovascular innovation. Working across Global and US Communications, this individual will help shape the product stories behind priority brands tackling some of cardiology's most significant unmet needs, including ASCVD, thrombosis, and emerging risk factors such as Lp(a). They will support key development and launch milestones, craft compelling product and disease narratives, and help position breakthrough science in ways that resonate with stakeholders. This is a high-visibility opportunity to influence how future cardiovascular innovations are understood, differentiated, and ultimately brought to patients.

Key Responsibilities Support the development and execution of integrated communications strategies informed by market dynamics, stakeholder insights, and evolving communications trends.Partner closely with cross-functional development and commercial teams to identify opportunities where communications can most effectively advance brand and therapeutic area objectives.Collaborate across Communications functions, including media relations, digital communications, executive and internal communications, patient advocacy, issues management, and analytics, to deliver coordinated and impactful campaigns.Lead the development of compelling brand and disease-state narratives, leveraging modern content strategies and optimizing for AI-enabled and search-driven information environments.Protect and strengthen the reputation of Novartis and the CVM portfolio through proactive issues identification, risk assessment, and strategic communications planning.Develop and maintain reporting frameworks that measure communications effectiveness and demonstrate impact against business objectives.Ensure flawless execution while maintaining compliance with all legal, regulatory, and company requirements.Manage communications agency partnerships and budgets effectively and efficiently. Essential Requirements  Contribution of CVM communications strategies to Novartis' reputation, leadership positioning, and therapeutic area objectives.Strength, consistency, and differentiation of CVM storytelling across audiences and channels.Alignment of communications priorities and strategies across the therapeutic area.Audience engagement and narrative adoption, including visibility within AI-powered and search-based information environments.Effective use of OGSM planning principles to drive measurable outcomes and continuous improvement.Successful management of issues and reputation risks across CVM brands and pipeline assets.Feedback from internal and external stakeholders regarding collaboration, strategic partnership, and communications expertise.Demonstrated ownership of individual development objectives and continuous professional growth. Desirable Requirements: Bachelor’s degree required 7+ years of experience in communications with significant prior experience in brand communications disciplines, including data and regulatory milestones Management of agency partners and budget  Crisis and issues management Pharmaceutical experience preferred  Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.Accessibility and Accommodation:Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to all individuals. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to receive more detailed information about the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.

Job details

Seniority
Associate Director
Function
Communications & Public Affairs
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Basel (City), Switzerland
Employment type
Regular

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Communications & Public Affairs role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 29 comparable Associate Director Communications & Public Affairs roles across 14 biopharma companies.

29Comparable roles tracked
24Currently active
14Companies hiring similar roles
9Countries represented

Salary context

9 of 29 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Senior Associate, Site Affairs and Business Operations · Pfizer $82,700/yr – $137,900/yr
Peer group range $110,300 – $208,845 (median $176,800)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 29 comparable roles

United States13
India5
China4
Germany2
Singapore1
Colombia1

+ 3 more countries

Seniority mix

29 of 29 peers have a known seniority level

Manager17
Associate Director8
Senior4

Therapeutic area mix

2 of 29 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Neuroscience1
Oncology1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

45%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
Novartis East Hanover, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
Novartis Shanghai (Shanghai), China Associate Director
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. Princeton, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
Amgen USA Inc. Thousand Oaks, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
Novartis East Hanover, United States Associate Director
Same function Same seniority

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

45%
Associate Director, HIV Prevention Community Engagement & Advocacy, U.S. Public Affairs
Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Foster City, United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Associate Director, Strategy & Media Relations
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. · Princeton, United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Associate Director, Therapeutic Area Communications
Novartis · East Hanover, United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
35%
Manager, R&D Thought Leadership and Reputation
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) · Tarrytown, United States · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.