Medical Affairs Director, Rare Disease

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 115,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

The Opportunity

The Medical Affairs Director, Rare Disease owns and leads the Medical Affairs strategy for the rare disease genetics portfolio within the Cancer Diagnostics division, including scientific content development, evidence generation, external scientific engagement, and KOL partnerships. This role is accountable for shaping the scientific narrative, setting evidence-generation priorities, establishing Medical Affairs infrastructure and governance, and advancing the organization’s scientific leadership in rare disease. The Director serves as the primary Medical Affairs leader for rare disease, partnering with R&D, commercial, data/IT, and enterprise Medical Affairs teams to influence key business decisions and accelerate portfolio growth through scientific excellence.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy & Leadership

• Own the rare disease Medical Affairs roadmap, objectives, and performance metrics, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and measurable impact.
• Represent the rare disease portfolio in executive, cross-functional, and governance forums, providing scientific leadership and influencing strategic decision-making.
• Identify and champion new scientific, clinical, and business opportunities informed by emerging evidence, market dynamics, and unmet stakeholder needs to support long-term portfolio growth.
• Provide strategic leadership for enterprise scientific and data initiatives, representing rare disease priorities and influencing future-state capabilities.
• Act as the strategic Medical Affairs leader and primary partner to Commercial and cross-functional leadership, leveraging insights from KOL engagement, scientific conferences, publications, and emerging clinical trends to influence portfolio strategy, evidence priorities, and compliant scientific communication.

Evidence Generation & Infrastructure

• Own the rare disease evidence generation strategy, identifying evidence gaps, prioritizing research initiatives, and leading execution of studies aligned with business and scientific objectives.
• Lead the development of Medical Affairs infrastructure, governance frameworks, operating procedures, and evidence generation standards to support scalable growth and scientific excellence within rare disease.

Scientific Content & Communications

• Own and lead scientific content strategy for the rare disease portfolio, establishing priorities and directing the development of webinars, publications, educational materials, and thought leadership content that advance organizational objectives.
• Monitor and synthesize emerging clinical evidence, scientific literature, guidelines, and market trends to inform Medical Affairs strategy, evidence generation priorities, and scientific communications.
• Provide Medical Affairs leadership and final scientific oversight for concept, functional, and MLR reviews, ensuring scientific rigor, compliance, and alignment with business objectives.
• Lead cross-functional scientific content development efforts, directing internal subject matter experts and external partners to deliver high-impact scientific and educational materials.
• Lead publication and scientific communication strategy, driving abstracts, manuscripts, presentations, and other scientific outputs that enhance organizational credibility and scientific impact.

External Scientific Engagement

• Own the organization’s scientific engagement strategy at major conferences, maximizing visibility, thought leadership, and stakeholder relationships.
• Build and lead a comprehensive KOL, advisory board, and external engagement strategy, generating actionable insights that inform scientific priorities and portfolio strategy.

Education & Commercial Enablement

• Lead the development of scientific education programs and training strategies, ensuring internal teams are equipped with accurate, impactful, and compliant scientific knowledge.
• Direct the creation of scientific education resources and claims strategies that strengthen customer engagement and support portfolio growth.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations, Company policies, operating procedures, and ethical standards while fostering effective collaboration with employees, KOLs, and external partners.

Minimum Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Genetic Counsling, Genetics, or related scientific/medical field

• 8+ years experience in Medical Affairs, clinical,scientific,orrelated roleswithin genetics, rare disease, diagnostics, biotechnology, academia,or other life sciences settings, includingexperienceleading cross-functional initiatives and scientific strategy. DirectMedical Affairsexperiencestronglypreferred.

• Strong background in rare diseaseand/orgenetics, with the scientificexpertiseandcredibilityto influenceinternalstakeholders,engageexternalexperts, andrepresent the organization withinthe broader scientific community.

• Demonstrated publication and literature review experience, including authorship or oversight of abstracts, posters, and peer-reviewed manuscripts; comfort translating complex genetic and clinical data into clear scientific narratives.

• Demonstrated ability toinfluence cross-functional stakeholders,driveorganizationalinitiatives, and achieve resultsin a matrixed environment.

• Ability to manage cross-functional projects across R&D, commercial, regulatory, and quality stakeholders in a matrixed environment, and to train non-scientific audiences (e.g., sales teams) on complex medical and scientific content.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability toeffectively engage stakeholders at alllevels of the organization.Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver resultsin a fast-paced, evolving environment.

• Experiencedevelopingand leadingKOL engagement strategies,advisory boards, and scientificexternal engagementactivities; demonstrated ability to representthe organizationwith credibilityat scientific conferences and professional meetings.

• Authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship.

• Experience developing or executingan evidencegeneration and dissemination strategy, including identifying evidence gaps and aligning scientific output to commercial and organizational priorities.

• Demonstrated ability to perform the Essential Duties of the position with or without accommodation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Board certification/eligibility as a genetic counselor (e.g., ABGC/ABMGG) preferred for candidates from a genetic counseling background. No specific license required for candidates entering from a PhD or equivalent scientific background.

The base pay for this position is

$149,300.00 – $298,700.00

In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.

JOB FAMILY:

Medical & Scientific Affairs

DIVISION:

ONCO Cancer Diagnostics

LOCATION:

United States > Madison : 5505 Endeavor Ln

ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS:

WORK SHIFT:

Standard

TRAVEL:

Yes, 50 % of the Time

MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE:

No

SIGNIFICANT WORK ACTIVITIES:

Continuous sitting for prolonged periods (more than 2 consecutive hours in an 8 hour day)Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer of Minorities/Women/Individuals with Disabilities/Protected Veterans.EEO is the Law link- English: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_English.pdfEEO is the Law link- Espanol: http://webstorage.abbott.com/common/External/EEO_Spanish.pdf