Head of Public Affairs, Brazil

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Job Description

Head of Public Affairs, Brazil

OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE:

Lead Takeda’s Public Affairs strategy in Brazil, shaping and executing institutional engagement with the Executive and Legislative branches, government stakeholders, industry associations, and patient organizations to help influence the public policy and healthcare environment in an ethical, transparent, and compliant manner. Protect and strengthen the company’s reputation while fostering sustainable conditions that support patient access to treatment.

Also, this role is in charge to ensure effective governance and delivery of strategic institutional partnerships, including the Hemobras tech transfer project, by connecting external stakeholders and internal cross-functional teams to enable contract execution, manage risks, and maximize the intended institutional and business value.

ACCOUNTABILITIES:  

• Responsible for defining, implementing, and periodically reviewing the Public Affairs strategy in alignment with Business Unit and Functions priorities and corporate guidelines, including the development of strategic narratives, engagement priorities, and advocacy plans.
• Represents Takeda institutionally before stakeholders involved in shaping public and health policies, ensuring consistent positioning, aligned messaging, and full adherence to Ethics & Compliance standards.
• Leads engagement with public authorities and decision-makers across Executive and Legislative branches, structuring agendas, interaction plans, and participation in consultations and public hearings on priority topics. Monitors and analyzes the political, legislative, and regulatory environment on an ongoing basis, maintaining an updated stakeholder map and recommending actions to mitigate risks and leverage opportunities.
• Coordinates Takeda’s participation in industry associations, sector coalitions, and relevant external forums, ensuring alignment of institutional positions and appropriate governance of external representation. Integrates Public Affairs priorities into Brand Plans and cross-functional initiatives involving Medical, Market Access, and Communications, ensuring strategic alignment, governance, and message consistency.
• Drives the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ESG agenda, as well as engagement with patient organizations, by establishing governance, support criteria, contractual processes, and impact measurement frameworks, with transparency and compliance. Also responsible for leading, developing, and engaging the team, as well as managing the area budget and external vendors or consultancies, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and execution of the strategic plan.
• Lead the partnership with Hemobras, with responsibility for establishing governance, defining: timelines and KPIs, coordinating cross-functional teams and resources, and ensuring effective contract execution and documentation in alignment with Legal. Oversee deadlines, deliverables, and budget, proactively manage risks and conflicts, and provide regular updates and key decision points to local and global leadership.

CORE ELEMENTS RELATED TO THIS ROLE:  

• Demonstrates senior-level influence and coalition-building capability within a complex political, legislative, and regulatory environment, with strong judgment and consistent adherence to Ethics & Compliance standards.
• Translates developments in the public policy and healthcare landscape into clear business and access implications, partnering effectively with cross-functional internal teams to shape strategic responses.
• Ensures robust governance of strategic institutional partnerships, including Hemobras, through strong PMO discipline, proactive risk management, and effective contractual execution.

DIMENSIONS AND ASPECTS:

Technical/Functional (Line) Expertise

Deep knowledge of the Brazilian healthcare system, public policy and government affairs.

Understanding of the pharma ecosystem, stakeholders and applicable ESG/CSR topics.

Leadership

Sets strategic direction and leads a multidisciplinary team.

Influences without formal authority and drives change across internal and external partners.

Decision-making and Autonomy

High autonomy to prioritize agenda, messaging and external engagements.

Decisions with reputational, regulatory and access impact; requires sound judgment and risk management.

Interaction

Intense interaction with the Executive/Legislative branches, industry entities and patient organizations; constant partnership with Communications, Ethics & Compliance and Business Units.

Innovation

Innovation in advocacy and use of data intelligence to anticipate scenarios.

Complexity

High complexity due to multiple stakeholders, sensitive topics and a volatile external environment.

EDUCATION, BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS: 

Education: Bachelor’s degree (e.g., Social Sciences, Communications, Law, Business Administration, Economics, Engineering or related fields). Postgraduate studies in Government Relations, Public Policy and/or Health Economics are a plus.

Languages: Fluent English

Experience: Typically 10+ years in healthcare/pharma with a focus on public policy, institutional relations, stakeholder management and people leadership.

Competencies: influence and negotiation, strategic and systems thinking, executive communication, risk management, cross-functional collaboration, compliance mindset, budget management and project/PMO discipline.

Locations

BRA - Parque da Cidade

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time