Post-Doctoral Fellow, Behavioral Science Consortium

at Astellas Pharma in Northbrook, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Do you want to be part of an inclusive team that works to develop innovative therapies for patients? Every day, we are driven to develop and deliver innovative and effective new medicines to patients and physicians. If you want to be part of this exciting work, you belong at Astellas!

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are committed to turning innovative science into medical solutions that bring value and hope to patients and their families. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people throughout the world. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.com .

This position is based in Northbrook, Illinois. Remote work from certain states may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines. Candidates interested in remote work are encouraged to apply.

Purpose and Scope:

The Post-doctoral Fellow, Behavioral Science Consortium (BSC), will support the organization in understanding and implementing insights from behavioral science to improve health outcomes for patients. The fellow will provide support to different teams within Astellas, including Medical Affairs and Development, by researching and synthesizing behavioral science findings and translating them into actionable insights. The fellow will also help align the BSC’s services with those of the other Patient Centricity teams to ensure that the offerings to the organization are cohesive and complementary.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

+ Work in a translational role with the BSC Faculty (external, academic experts) to draw on their relevant disciplines (behavioral economics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, public health, social epidemiology etc.) and apply insights from these disciplines to challenges regarding patient, healthcare provider, and caregiver behaviors in different therapeutic areas

+ Lead and/or support research projects in collaboration with the BSC Faculty, including but not limited to:

+ Developing behavioral science-related research questions

+ Conducting secondary research (literature reviews) across multiple sub fields of behavioral science

+ Summarizing and communicating research findings

+ Managing project logistics and administration

+ Support the development and delivery of curriculum (i.e., educational content and resources on behavioral science)

+ Act as a consultant to internal teams on the application of behavioral/social science principles, in a practical manner, to human behavior-related challenges

+ Manage multiple detailed projects simultaneously, working with matrix project teams (i.e., teams comprised of members from different parts of the organization)

+ Collaborate closely with other teams in the Patient Centricity Division to

+ Infuse understanding of human behavior into the entire product lifecycle (from early development through commercialization)

+ Ensure the BSC offerings are complementary to those of the other Patient Centricity Division’s teams and in line with Patient Centricity’s larger mission

+ Shape this role new role within the BSC with a builder’s mindset

Quantitative Dimensions:

The fellow will lead the development and execution of project-based work and provide support for curriculum development and delivery. Primary measures of success will include:

+ Quality of operational project execution and management (e.g., timeliness, achievement of set project objectives, stakeholder communication)

+ Quality of research and summary writing/presentation of projects

+ Number and complexity of projects and curriculum pieces completed

+ Impact of project deliverables (outcomes) on the decision making and/or future action of the internal customers (supported teams).

Assessment tools will include regular (ongoing, mid-year and end-of-year) feedback. Additional methods of evaluation (e.g., customer satisfaction surveys) may be employed depending on the project.

Organizational Context:

This role will be part of the Behavioral Science Consortium team within the global Patient Centricity Division. The BSC’s mission is to enhance organizational understanding of patient behaviors in the real world to inform better decisions, identify new healthcare opportunities, and to enable the delivery of a more holistic, comprehensive, and differentiated approach to patient care. The BSC partners with external, academic experts from multiple social and behavioral disciplines (the BSC Faculty), which allows Astellas to deepen its understanding of individual, environmental as well as social and cultural factors that influence patient health outcomes.

The fellow will report to the Senior Director, Behavioral Science Consortium. There will be no immediate direct reports to this position.

Qualifications:

Required

+ Advanced degree (PhD) in behavioral economics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, public health, applied behavioral sciences or other social science discipline

+ Passion and curiosity to understand and explore behavioral science concepts and principles as applied to deepening our knowledge of health behaviors and behavioral science-inspired interventions

+ Must be able to independently structure and execute secondary research assignments on short timelines (4 – 6 weeks)

+ Must be able to synthesize and clearly explain complex concepts to non-academic audiences

+ Operational expertise including integration, execution, and management of multiple projects and timelines in a fast-paced environment

+ Proven experience in networking, collaborating and achieving consensus in complex environment with multiple stakeholders

+ Comfort with and ability to assemble and lead a global team

+ Strategic intuition

+ High level of empathy and sensitivity working within a range of cultural contexts

+ High degree of comfort working within ambiguity, experimentation and iteration

+ A commitment to the Astellas Way: Patient Focus, Ownership, Results, Openness and Integrity

Preferred

+ Minimum 1 year experience in consulting, behavioral science or patient-facing work; could include product/brand management, commercial, not-for-profit, or direct health care/health care delivery experience and research

+ International or multi-cultural experience

+ Design thinking skills

+ Proven experience in presenting work to non-academic audiences

Category Patient Centricity

Astellas is committed to equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment.

EOE including Disability/Protected Veterans