Senior Manager - Government Affairs

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

The Senior Manager – Government Affairs is accountable for building and executing Lilly’s government affairs strategy, working in alignment with cross-functional teams to deliver a multi-channel public affairs approach. The role drives engagement with key influencers across government, trade associations, policy forums, and advocacy groups. It is responsible for shaping and defending Lilly’s license-to-operate, advancing the Lilly brand, and creating opportunities for Lilly’s current and future portfolio through strategic relationship building – ensuring all activities remain fully aligned with applicable market Codes of Practice and company compliance standards. This role will report into Director – Government Affairs and Public Policy. The role will work closely with the Assistant Vice President - Corporate Affairs to assist in multiple projects.

1. Government Affairs & Stakeholder Engagement

• Monitor, interpret, and synthesize political and policy developments relevant to healthcare, pharmaceuticals, pricing, IP, innovation, and market access; translate insights into timely, actionable intelligence for senior leaders.
• Build and maintain senior relationships across key central government bodies including PMO, MoHFW, DoP, DBT, NPPA, ICMR, NIPER, NITI Aayog
• Represent Lilly at priority healthcare and pharma policy forums at national and state levels, ensuring the Lilly voice is clearly articulated on issues critical to the business.
• Support senior leadership in high-stakes government engagements – preparing crisp briefs, issue notes, and talking points for meetings with Ministers, senior officials, and regulators.

2. Policy Development & Advocacy

• Lead the development of evidence-based, locally tailored policy positions consistent with Lilly’s global policy framework across areas including innovation, policy framework for faster regulatory approver, clinical trials, access, pricing, and IP.
• Support all Lilly consultation responses – government and trade association – and drive direct engagement to shape future health policy.

3. Trade Association Strategy & External Platforms

• Drive Lilly’s trade association strategy and represent the organization at select industry forums; ensure Lilly’s positions on critical issues are amplified effectively.
• Partner with think tanks, research institutions, and industry bodies to build credibility and deliver outcome-oriented impact aligned to Lilly’s India narrative.
• Engage multilateral and international platforms as required to support India policy priorities.

4. Reputation & Issues Management

• Monitor the external environment for emerging risks; synthesise developments into decision-ready assessments for senior leaders.
• Manage complex, time-critical engagements with agility, maintaining composure and solution orientation under pressure.
• Ability to work in matrixed organization ensuring creation of appropriate briefing documents to

5. Governance & Compliance

• Ensure all government affairs and advocacy activities are conducted in strict adherence to applicable laws, Lilly’s Code of Business Conduct, and market Codes of Practice.
• Role model Lilly values and ethical standards in every interaction; proactively flag compliance risks or ambiguous situations.
• Support budget tracking and vendor/agency management relevant to the government affairs portfolio.

6. Events and Platforms

• Design and execute large scale events and integrated public affairs campaigns through effective project management skills
• Ability to work with multiple partners in creating such campaigns ensuring end to end delivery on turn-key projects
• Fast track contracting and onboarding of vendors to deliver campaigns impactfully

Qualification and Experience

• Master’s degree required; advanced degree or professional certification in public policy, health policy, economics, or a related field preferred.
• 8–10 years of progressive experience in government affairs, public policy, or public affairs – ideally in multinational pharmaceutical or healthcare organization or a top-tier advisory/professional services firm.
• Demonstrated experience in government relations, policy development, consultation working, and trade association engagement.
• Proven track record in designing and executing integrated public affairs strategies.
• Deep understanding of the Indian political system and the healthcare/pharmaceutical policy landscape.
• Experience operating in a global, matrixed organisational environment.
• Experience in crisis and reputation management preferred.
• This role requires frequent travel as per business need

Critical Skills & Capabilities

• Strong policy intelligence and stakeholder mapping capability, with the ability to anticipate risks and advise with confidence.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills – ability to distil complex issues into clear, concise briefs, notes, and presentations for senior audiences.
• Proven ability to build and manage senior relationships across government, industry, and civil society.
• Capability to design and deliver integrated advocacy and public affairs campaigns through partner and agency collaboration.
• Strong influencing skills across internal cross-functional teams and external senior stakeholders.
• High integrity, compliance orientation, and comfort navigating ambiguity and dynamic environments.
• Agile, collaborative mindset with strong delivery discipline and attention to detail.

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

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