Head (m/f/d) Federal States Policy & Governmental Affairs (Associate Director)

As the Head (m/f/d) Federal States Policy & Governmental Affairs, you will lead the company’s federal states (Länder) government affairs strategy in Germany, shaping engagement with state governments, ministries, and state chancelleries while ensuring close alignment with national policy priorities.

The position can be based in Munich or Berlin.

You will serve as the key interface between state-level stakeholders, the Federal Policy team, and internal partners across Market Access, Communications, Business Units, Medical Affairs, Patient Engagement, and New Products.

Combining strategic leadership with hands-on execution, you will drive coherent policy narratives, high-impact stakeholder engagement, and measurable policy outcomes across Germany.

Your Responsibilities

• Own Federal States segmentation and prioritisation based on political relevance, policy impact, company footprint, and strategic objectives

• Serve as primary relationship owner for 1–2 priority federal states, engaging directly with State Ministers, State Secretaries, senior staff, and relevant parliamentary stakeholders. Maintain light-touch oversight across all federal states to ensure consistent messaging, early risk identification, and opportunity sensing

• Ensure tight alignment with the National Policy team: translate national positions into regional narratives, surface Federal States insights for federal advocacy, and prevent fragmentation of messages and positions. Oversee narrative assets and toolkits (message grids, framing documents, federal states specific value propositions, executive briefing packs)

• Apply strong political judgement and antenna; engage credibly up to minister level in bilaterals, roundtables, and strategic dialogues. Design and deliver high-impact engagement formats (political roundtables, ministerial site visits, cross-sector coalition meetings)

• Own and steer the federal states policy dashboard: monitor developments, drive prioritisation, ensure decision transparency, and provide regular updates to Policy and senior leadership

• Drive cross-functional orchestration across Market Access, Communications, Business Units, Medical, Patient Engagement, and New Products

• Own specific policy topic(s) as part of the German Policy Team

• Lead and develop a team of 2–3 Local Governmental Affairs Managers

Your Profile

• Required Qualifications & Experience

• Significant experience in Government Affairs and/or political institutions, ministries, or parliamentary processes

• Strategic acumen linking federal states and national policy dynamics to business priorities and translating them into coherent, compliant strategies

• High political sensitivity and integrity, combined with sound judgement, discretion, and the ability to remain effective under pressure

• Ability to translate complexity into actionable guidance

• Excellent communication skills, including structured writing and executive-level briefing capabilities

• Fluent in German and English, both written and spoken

• Willingness to travel regularly within Germany for stakeholder engagement, roundtables, and site visits

Preferred Skills

• Proven exposure to federal states politics in Germany

• Strong matrix leadership and stakeholder orchestration skills

People with severe disabilities and their equivalents will be given preference if they are equally qualified.