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About the Role

The Patient Advocacy Manager contributes to patient advocacy and patient policy activities across Merck Biopharma Japan’s Oncology, Fertility, and Rare Tumours businesses, working closely with the Head of Patient Advocacy. The role develops and executes patient-directed strategies that bring the patient voice into business and policy decisions while building trusted, compliant partnerships with patient organizations and other stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development and implementation of an integrated patient advocacy strategy across Oncology, Fertility, and Rare Tumours.
• Translate business and patient needs into annual advocacy plans, including priorities, milestones, KPIs, resource requirements, and budget.
• Act as a strategic and operational business partner to the Oncology, Fertility, and Rare Tumours leadership teams.
• Prioritize activities across the three business areas while maintaining a coherent patient policy narrative and consistent standards of engagement.
• Liaise with Global Government & Public Affairs and Global Patient Advocacy colleagues to ensure strategic alignment between local and global priorities.
• Build and maintain trusted, long-term, and compliant relationships with patient organizations and patient communities.
• Identify unmet needs of patients and caregivers, barriers to diagnosis and treatment, quality-of-life impacts, and gaps in information or support; convert these insights into practical recommendations.
• Support capability-building and network development in rare-tumour communities.
• Ensure that patient insights inform clinical development, evidence generation, value communication, HTA and reimbursement materials, launch planning, disease awareness, and access dialogues.
• Contribute to day-to-day patient policy and advocacy engagement with patient organizations, academic societies, healthcare professionals, public institutions, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Coordinate senior-level outreach with the Head of Market Access & Public Affairs.
• Represent Merck Biopharma Japan in patient-focused, multi-stakeholder dialogues.
• Develop clear patient-directed narratives and materials that translate scientific, regulatory, health-system, and access topics into language that is accurate and accessible to patients and non-specialist stakeholders.
• Develop and execute advocacy activities supporting appropriate consideration of priority rare-tumour conditions in the context of Japan’s specified intractable disease designation process.
• Translate patient insights into a practical rare-tumour patient advocacy roadmap.
• Lead the patient advocacy contribution to policy discussions on Japan’s drug pricing, reimbursement, HTA, and patient-access systems.
• Coordinate patient-directed value-evidence and HTA-readiness activities for priority launches and policy topics.
• Liaise with Market Access & Pricing to monitor developments in the NHI drug-price system, reimbursement rules, HTA-related policy, rare-disease policy, and other reforms.
• Develop evidence-based, patient-directed policy positions and advocacy messages.
• Work with Market Access, Medical Affairs, Government Affairs, and industry-association colleagues to align positions, prepare stakeholder engagement, and support constructive dialogue with authorities and policymakers.
• Ensure that patient perspectives are appropriately reflected in value dossiers, policy submissions, access strategies, and pricing or reimbursement discussions.
• Participate in relevant pharmaceutical-industry activities, including initiatives led by EFPIA and JPMA.
• Serve as the primary internal point of contact for patient advocacy and relevant patient policy activities conducted through EFPIA and its Japan-related forums or working groups.
• Represent or coordinate Merck Biopharma Japan’s participation in EFPIA working groups, consultations, position-paper development, evidence sharing, and joint advocacy initiatives.
• Coordinate positions and messages with regional and global Patient Advocacy, Market Access, Public Affairs, and policy teams.
• Bring relevant local learnings from patient advocacy plans and rare-tumour access priorities into EFPIA discussions.
• Develop and own the annual patient advocacy plan for assigned areas, including the forward plan for the following year.
• Maintain integrated multi-year roadmaps with phase-appropriate sequencing.
• Manage approved budgets and external agency or partner relationships.
• Provide regular progress updates, risk assessments, and recommendations to the Head of Patient Advocacy and relevant business partners.
• Capture learnings and demonstrate the impact of patient advocacy and policy activities through qualitative and quantitative reporting.

Requirements

• A minimum of 7–10 years of relevant experience in patient advocacy, public affairs, market access, government affairs, policy, external engagement, or related roles within the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry in Japan.
• Demonstrated experience building and managing partnerships with patient organizations and translating patient insights into strategy, policy, access, or business decisions.
• Experience in Oncology and/or Rare Disease / Rare Tumours is strongly preferred; Fertility / Women’s Health experience is a plus.
• Experience with industry associations, especially EFPIA, and the ability to contribute to working groups, position papers, consultations, and coordinated advocacy.
• Working knowledge of Japan’s healthcare environment, NHI drug pricing and reimbursement system, HTA-related policy developments, and the policy landscape relevant to rare diseases and specified intractable diseases.
• Familiarity with JPMA and EFPIA codes of practice and patient-engagement compliance frameworks.
• Authentic empathy for patients and caregivers, with a strong commitment to patient-directed healthcare.
• Excellent stakeholder-management, negotiation, influencing, and coalition-building skills across patient communities, industry, government, academia, and senior internal leadership.
• Strategic and analytical thinking combined with strong hands-on execution and project-management capability.
• Ability to connect patient advocacy, public affairs, market access, pricing, reimbursement, medical, regulatory, and communications perspectives.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to turn complex scientific, policy, and access topics into clear, credible, patient-accessible messages.
• Ability to work independently with one clear reporting line while collaborating effectively in a small, high-accountability, four-person team and a broader matrix organization.
• High ethical standards, sound judgment, cultural awareness, and a strong compliance mindset.

Skills

• Patient Advocacy
• Public Affairs
• Market Access
• Government Affairs
• Policy
• External Engagement
• Stakeholder Management
• Negotiation
• Influencing
• Coalition Building
• Strategic Thinking
• Analytical Thinking
• Project Management
• Communication Skills
• Compliance

Location

• Tokyo, Japan

Work Type

• Full-time

Experience Level

• 7-10 years

Education Level

• Bachelor's degree
• Master's degree preferred

About the Company

• Merck is a vibrant science and technology company with passionate employees working across healthcare, life science, and electronics. Our solutions enrich people's lives and contribute to a sustainable world. We are driven by curiosity and a desire to explore the unknown, aiming to create a better future for humanity.
• We are united by our purpose to help patients, improve quality of life, and support life. We develop medicines, intelligent devices, and innovative technologies in areas like oncology, neurology, and fertility. Our diverse and inclusive teams collaborate across six continents with passion and relentless curiosity to help patients at every stage of life.
• Joining the Healthcare team means becoming part of a diverse, inclusive, and flexible work culture with great opportunities for personal development and career advancement worldwide.

Equal Opportunity

• We are a group of curious people from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe this diversity drives excellence and innovation, strengthening our leadership in science and technology. We are committed to creating access and opportunities for everyone to grow and develop at their own pace. Join us to build an inclusive and belonging culture where millions of people are impacted and everyone can support the progress of humanity!
• Apply now to join a team dedicated to fostering discovery and enhancing human progress!