Senior Director, Patient Advocacy

Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, is a clinical-stage company developing orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists as a new class of medicines for the treatment of narcolepsy and potentially other sleep-wake disorders. Centessa’s lead investigational candidate – cleminorexton (formerly ORX750) – is being developed for narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, and idiopathic hypersomnia. Centessa's OX2R agonist portfolio includes additional clinical and preclinical-stage assets with potential utility across a broader range of neurological, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric conditions.

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Centessa was recognized as a Great Place to Work ® in 2026.

Description of Role

The Senior Director of Patient Advocacy will lead the development and execution of the company's patient advocacy and engagement strategy, ensuring the patient voice is embedded across clinical development, corporate strategy, disease awareness, and future commercialization efforts. Partnering closely with executive leadership, cross-functional teams, and colleagues within our parent organization, this individual will help develop and implement a strategic framework for incorporating patient perspectives into key business, development, and commercialization decisions. The role will build advocacy partnerships, drive patient-centered initiatives, influence decision-making, and advance measurable improvements in patient outcomes, disease awareness, clinical trial engagement, and access.

Key Responsibilities

Build and lead the company's patient advocacy and engagement function, including strategy, operating model, governance, and external engagement frameworks.

Establish and cultivate relationships with patient advocacy organizations, professional societies, caregivers, patient leaders, and rare disease communities.

Develop processes to capture, analyze, and integrate patient insights across research, clinical development, regulatory activities, communications, and future commercialization planning.

Create and execute disease awareness, patient education, and community engagement initiatives that support diagnosis, education, and patient outcomes.

Develop and drive a strategic approach for integrating the patient voice into enterprise decision-making across Centessa and its parent organization, ensuring patient insights meaningfully inform clinical development, regulatory, medical, market access, and future commercial strategies, including clinical trial design, recruitment, retention, and participant experience.

Drive cross-functional collaboration across Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Regulatory, Communications, Commercial, Market Access, and parent company stakeholders to advance a patient-centric culture and ensure patient perspectives are incorporated into strategic decision-making.

Identify advocacy, policy, and market-shaping opportunities that support both patient and organizational objectives.

Establish metrics, KPIs, and reporting processes to measure advocacy impact and organizational effectiveness.

Manage advocacy-related budgets, grants, and external partnerships while ensuring compliance with industry standards and company policies.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred (e.g., MPH, MHA, PharmD, PhD).

Minimum 10 years of experience (combined with advanced degree) in patient advocacy, patient engagement or related biotechnology or pharmaceutical functions.

Demonstrated success building, launching, or significantly expanding patient advocacy capabilities, programs, or functions.

Proven ability to influence executive leadership and drive alignment across cross-functional teams in evolving and ambiguous environments.

Experience developing patient education programs, disease awareness initiatives, and patient-facing communications.

Experience establishing governance processes, operating frameworks, and performance metrics with measurable outcomes.

Knowledge of compliance requirements related to advocacy engagement, grants, and patient-facing activities.

Preferred experience in rare diseases, neurology, CNS in pre-commercial organizations.

Compensation

The annual base salary range for this position is $175,000.00 to $275,000.00. Individual compensation within this range will be determined based on a variety of factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge and location.

In addition to base pay, this role is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus. Centessa also offers a comprehensive benefits package, which includes a 401(k) plan, company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, generous paid time off, and a health and wellness program.

Work Location

The Senior Director, Patient Advocacy role is based in the US, with occasional travel .

POSITION: Full-Time, Exempt

EEOC Statement: Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subdisary of Eli Lilly and Company believes in a diverse environment and is committed to equal employment opportunity for all its employees and qualified applicants. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. We will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

Please note: We will not assign referral rights for any unsolicited resumes from recruitment agencies.