Junior Commercial Counsel

Novavax is seeking a pharmaceutical commercial attorney to provide contracting, product and compliance counsel for commercialization of Novavax’s growing vaccine portfolio in Europe. The role will support the commercial, medical affairs, and communications departments, providing advice on matters related to sales, promotional and educational activities, engagements with healthcare professionals and entities, and other applications of commercial law and regulatory compliance in the vaccine industry. This position will report to the Head of Legal, Europe and will work closely with colleagues in compliance, regulatory, finance, privacy and the rest of the legal function to advance the company’s commercial objectives. The position will work directly with commercial business teams as well – to provide integrated commercial support and guidance.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Draft, review and negotiate contracts in support of the European commercial department (all related functions), including purchase and distribution agreements, commercial engagements with vendors and HCP’s, and marketing vendor services agreements.
• Provide strategic and day-to-day legal direction and guidance to the commercial, medical, patient advocacy and communications teams on sales and marketing strategies, programs, policies, practices and initiatives with respect to compliance with relevant healthcare laws, guidance documents or opinions, and industry codes.
• Counsel the business on appropriate communications about our products and relationships with external stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, patients, academic institutions and payors.
• Provide guidance on commercial events, congresses, symposia panel speaker engagement, advisory board participation and other HCP related contracts such as consulting and speaking on behalf of the company.
• Review and provide legal guidance on financial and other interactions with healthcare professionals, patients, or others in a position to influence healthcare decisions (e.g., payers, advocacy groups, wholesalers/distributors, healthcare institutions etc.) to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Act as the legal point of escalation for the Medical Legal Regulatory committee (MLR), and any related sub-teams (Promotional Review Committee and Medical Regulatory Committee).
• As necessary, direct and manage the work of outside counsel within area of responsibility.

Relationships and Influence

• Naturally connects and builds strong relationships with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively.
• An ability to inspire trust and followership in others through compelling influence, powerful charisma, passion in his/her beliefs, and active drive.
• Encourages others to share the spotlight and visibly celebrates and supports the success of the team.
• Creates a sense of purpose/meaning for the team that generates followership beyond his/her own personality and engages others to the greater purpose for the organization as a whole.

Minimum Requirements:

• Juris doctorate from an accredited law school and member in good standing of a state bar
• 5+ years of providing legal advice and counseling on commercial contracting and pharmaceutical promotion
• Experience with pharmaceutical or biotech industry, preferably with vaccines or infectious disease
• Experience acting as an in-house legal counsel. with preference given to experience with small/start-up company experience.
• Detailed knowledge of European laws and regulations related to pharmaceutical products, including advertising laws, trade association rules, and regulatory guidances and other government regulation of pharmaceutical products, A familiarity with GDPR and data privacy issues is helpful.

• Proven judgment in working through complex issues, including those with significant strategic risk to a company
• Customer centric and solutions-oriented approach in supporting both external and internal clients while protecting the best interest of the company

• Strong verbal and written communication skills; English is the working language of the company.

• Team player capable of leading and participating within cross-functional project teams to meet key milestones under tight timelines
• Strong work ethic with ability to work independently

Preferred Qualifications:

• Working knowledge of international promotional laws and regulations for pharmaceuticals.
• Product launch experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience dealing with government agencies and other regulatory and/or enforcement bodies.
• Experience in large pharmaceutical companies, and ideally at least one small/start-up company