Blackbird - Associate Director, Patient Engagement and Patient Centered Innovation

About Blackbird:
Blackbird is an integrated development team comprised of Clinical Development, Operations, Regulatory and Patient Engagement within Raven Venture Capital, part of RA Capital Management.  Blackbird’s mission is to transform clinical trial planning and execution, with the goal of lower costs and expedited timelines across RA Capital’s portfolio. Blackbird provides companies with strategic, data-driven clinical study design assessments, operational optimizations, and innovative best practices to minimize inefficiencies and prevent the need to “reinvent the wheel” at each portfolio company. Blackbird is also at the cutting edge of defining the future of patient-centered drug development through it’s patient-centered innovation team.

About the Role:

The Patient-Centered Innovation team centralizes patient advocacy and engagement at the fund level for the benefit of the portfolio and is responsible for developing novel and best-in-class patient engagement solutions, managing advocacy partnerships, and ensuring that patient insights inform every stage of our portfolio companies’ work and further accelerate Raven’s development strategy.  We are looking for a Associate Director - Patient Engagement & Patient-Centered Innovation to help drive this mission forward by building innovative engagement tools, enhancing advocacy relationships, and leading strategic patient-focused initiatives across both our portfolio and within our new company builds.

This role is ideal for a highly motivated patient engagement professional who is fed up with the status quo of patient engagement and possesses a strong background in health policy, patient advocacy, pharmaceutical research & development, and management consulting. The candidate will have deep experience in building and managing patient advocacy relationships, managing parallel projects, developing patient-centered engagement strategies, and driving regulatory and policy initiatives that both competitively advantage our portfolio and translate to enhanced patient experiences.

Key Responsibilities

1. Client-Facing Patient Engagement

Consult with portfolio companies to recommend, develop and implement patient engagement strategies tailored to their therapeutic areas. Work cross-functionally with clinical operations, medical affairs, and external affairs teams to embed patient insights into business strategies and clinical trial execution. Train and mentor internal stakeholders on best practices in patient advocacy and patient engagement innovation.

1. Product & Tool Development

Lead the creation and implementation of innovative patient engagement solutions, including developing in-house tools to accelerate clinical trial recruitment and retention, mapping patient advocacy groups to identify the white space in patient engagement, designing analytical tools that measure patient engagement impact on R&D timelines and cost, and implementing AI-powered technology to better measure clinical trial burden on patients. Collaborate with internal teams to operationalize patient insights into product development.

1. Patient Advocacy & Policy Engagement

Develop and maintain strategic relationships with patient advocacy groups, key patient opinion leaders, and healthcare changemakers with the goal of building and sustaining an expansive network of patient advocates who can be deployed to business-critical activities and projects. Serve as a key liaison between patient organizations, investment team members, and portfolio companies to ensure patient-focused drug development. Represent the company at industry conferences, summits, and regulatory discussions on patient advocacy and engagement. Provide insights on emerging policy, reimbursement, and regulatory trends impacting patient communities and the biotechnology industry.

Qualifications

Required Experience & Skills

• 5-7+ years of experience in patient advocacy, public affairs, health policy, or clinical operations, preferably within a biotech, pharmaceutical company, or a major patient advocacy organization.
• Strong background in developing and leading patient engagement programs across diverse disease areas.
• Experience working with regulatory bodies (FDA, EMA, etc.) and shaping policy discussions on patient access and clinical trial design.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with grassroots, national and global patient advocacy groups.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with experience speaking at conferences, publishing thought leadership, or leading workshops.
• Ability to analyze and quantify patient engagement impact, using metrics-driven approaches to improve trial design and patient retention.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to develop scalable tools and frameworks to enhance patient-centric initiatives.
• Influence Without Authority; Effectively guide and align stakeholders through expertise, relationship-building, and strategic insights rather than direct control.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and adapt to a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to travel 10-20%

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Advanced degree (MPH, MBA, MD or related) is not required, but preferred in Health Care, Health Policy, Public Health, or a related field.
• Expertise in oncology, neurology, or rare diseases highly preferred.
• Experience leveraging AI-driven or technology-enabled patient engagement solutions.
• Prior leadership experience within a major patient advocacy organization or biotech company.
• Ability to make clear recommendations, and when called upon to execute on behalf of biotech companies.
• Confidence to work independently in evolving environment; Ideate a project, proactively seek feedback from the relevant stakeholders, take constructive criticism productively, execute timely on project tasks, measure and report outcomes without direct guidance.

Why Join Blackbird?

•  Opportunity to shape the future of patient engagement inside a leading venture capital fund.
• High-impact role with broad exposure to multiple cutting-edge clinical programs.
• Collaborative, fast-paced environment with significant opportunities for professional growth.
• Ability to work autonomously and take ownership of strategic initiatives while partnering with experienced biotech leaders.