Who We Are

BioMarin is a leading rare disease biotechnology company focused on genetically defined conditions.

Guided by our purpose to develop medicines that make a profound impact on people’s lives, our global teams have delivered a portfolio of therapies since our founding in 1997. Our revolutionary treatments for conditions like achondroplasia (the most common form of dwarfism), PKU (phenylketonuria), CLN2, a form of Batten disease, and a number of forms of MPS (mucopolysaccharidosis) offer new possibilities for patients and families who previously had few, if any, available options. More recently, with the close of the Amicus acquisition, our portfolio has expanded to include therapies for Fabry disease and Pompe disease, expanding our ability to reach more people living with rare genetic conditions.

Our success comes from our unwavering commitment to excellence, our deep understanding of patient needs, our scientific expertise, and our world-class manufacturing capabilities. At the heart of BioMarin is a dedicated team of the brightest minds in the industry working together to deliver innovative therapies to patients and families around the world.

About Worldwide Research and Development

From research and discovery to post-market clinical development, our R&D engine involves all bench and clinical research and the associated groups that support those endeavors. Our teams work on developing first-in-class and best-in-class therapeutics that provide meaningful advances to patients who live with rare diseases.

Job Summary:

The Head of ICON, Medical Affairs is a senior medical leadership role responsible for leading Medical Affairs across ICON markets, including Central and South America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific including Russia and Turkey. This leader will be accountable for setting and executing the regional Medical Affairs strategy in alignment with global medical priorities, regional business needs, and local country requirements.

Reporting to the Head of Global Medical Affairs, this role sits on the Global Medical Affairs Leadership Team and serves as the Medical Affairs counterpart to the Commercial Head of ICON. The Head of ICON, Medical Affairs will provide strategic medical leadership across all relevant countries in the region, ensuring strong local execution, enterprise alignment, scientific excellence, and meaningful engagement with healthcare professionals, patient communities, and external stakeholders.

This role requires a leader who can operate across diverse geographies and healthcare systems, build and lead high-performing country medical teams, and translate global medical strategy into regionally relevant priorities that support patient access, appropriate use of therapies, and long-term business impact.

Key Responsibilities:

Regional Medical Affairs Leadership

•          Lead the Medical Affairs organization across ICON markets, including Central/South America, MEA, and APAC, with accountability for regional strategy, execution, talent, and performance.

•          Possess a collaborative spirit, a relentless work ethic, a deep-rooted commitment to serving patients, and a passion for transforming the lives of patients with genetic diseases

•          Personal drive, energy and mission orientation are qualities that align well with BioMarin’s patient-centric culture

•          Develop and execute the regional Medical Affairs strategy in alignment with global medical plans, brand priorities, evidence generation needs, and local market requirements.

•          Serve as the senior Medical Affairs leader for the ICON region, representing regional needs, opportunities, and risks on the Global Medical Affairs Leadership Team.

•          Partner closely with the Head of Global Medical Affairs to ensure the region is fully integrated into global medical strategy, planning, and decision-making.

•          Embraces DAI (Decision-maker, Adviser, Informed) decision-making framework to accelerate decision-making by clarifying roles, reducing consensus-seeking, and eliminating ambiguity

Enterprise and Commercial Partnership

•          Serve as the Medical Affairs partner to the Commercial Head of ICON, ensuring strong cross-functional alignment while maintaining appropriate medical independence and scientific integrity.

•          Partner with regional and country Commercial, Market Access, Regulatory, Clinical Development, Patient Advocacy, and other cross-functional leaders to support integrated regional execution.

•          Provide medical leadership to support regional priorities, including launch readiness, lifecycle management, evidence generation, external engagement, and patient access.

•          Ensure Medical Affairs contributes meaningfully to enterprise decisions by bringing clear regional medical insights, stakeholder perspectives, and healthcare system understanding.

Country and Regional Execution

•          Lead, manage, and develop Medical Affairs leaders across all relevant countries in the ICON region.

•          Ensure country medical plans are aligned with global strategy while appropriately tailored to local market dynamics, regulatory environments, standards of care, and stakeholder needs.

•          Drive consistent medical excellence across the region, including field medical strategy, scientific exchange, insight generation, advisory boards, medical education, evidence planning, and external expert engagement.

•          Establish clear operating rhythms, priorities, and performance expectations across a geographically dispersed regional team.

Scientific and External Leadership

•          Represent BioMarin externally as a senior medical leader in the region, building credibility with key external experts, healthcare organizations, patient communities, and other relevant stakeholders.

•          Ensure the region generates and communicates high-quality medical insights that inform global strategy, evidence generation, and cross-functional decision-making.

•          Support appropriate scientific exchange and education across the region, ensuring compliance with local regulations, company policies, and medical governance standards.

People Leadership and Organizational Development

•          Build, lead, and develop a high-performing regional Medical Affairs organization across diverse countries and cultures.

•          Set a clear vision for the team, establish priorities, and create accountability for execution and impact.

•          Coach and develop country medical leaders, strengthen succession planning, and ensure the organization has the capabilities required to support current and future portfolio needs.

•          Foster a culture of scientific excellence, collaboration, enterprise thinking, inclusion, and patient-centered decision-making.

•          Change leadership – ability to guide teams through uncertainty, foster adaptation, and inspire a shared vision.

Governance, Compliance, and Operational Excellence

•          Ensure all Medical Affairs activities are conducted with the highest standards of ethics, compliance, and scientific integrity.

•          Partner with Legal, Compliance, Regulatory, and other enabling functions to ensure appropriate governance across all regional and country medical activities.

•          Manage regional medical planning, budget, resource allocation, and performance tracking in alignment with global and regional priorities.

•          Identify operational gaps, risks, and opportunities across the region and implement practical solutions that improve consistency, quality, and impact.

Key Qualifications

•          Advanced scientific or clinical degree required; MD, PharmD, PhD, or equivalent strongly preferred.

•          Significant Medical Affairs leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, ideally including regional or multi-country leadership.

•          Experience leading Medical Affairs across complex international markets, with exposure to APAC, MEA, Latin America, or other emerging/growth markets strongly preferred.

•          Demonstrated ability to translate global medical strategy into regional and country-level execution.

•          Strong cross-functional leadership experience, including partnership with Commercial, Market Access, Regulatory, Clinical Development, and other enterprise stakeholders.

•          Proven ability to lead geographically dispersed teams across diverse cultures, regulatory environments, and healthcare systems.

•          Experience with rare disease, specialty therapeutics, or highly scientific/complex therapeutic areas preferred.

•          Strong understanding of medical governance, compliance, scientific exchange, field medical operations, evidence generation, and external stakeholder engagement.

•          Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, represent regional perspectives in global forums, and make sound decisions in complex matrixed environments.

Leadership Capabilities

•          Strong enterprise mindset with the ability to balance global strategy, regional business needs, and local country realities.

•          Credible scientific and medical leader with strong external presence and sound judgment.

•          Highly collaborative partner who can work effectively with Commercial leadership while preserving the independence and integrity of Medical Affairs.

•          Inclusive and culturally fluent people leader with experience leading teams across multiple geographies.

•          Strategic, pragmatic, and execution-oriented; able to set direction while also driving operational clarity.

•          Strong communicator who can simplify complexity, align stakeholders, and bring regional insight into global decision-making.

•          Comfortable operating in ambiguity, building structure, and leading through growth, change, and transformation.

Success Measures

•          Successful development and execution of an integrated ICON Medical Affairs strategy aligned to global priorities.

•          Strong partnership with the Commercial Head of ICON and other regional cross-functional leaders.

•          Effective representation of ICON medical needs, insights, and risks on the Global Medical Affairs Leadership Team.

•          High-performing country medical teams with clear priorities, strong engagement, and consistent execution.

•          Improved regional medical excellence across scientific exchange, external engagement, insight generation, and evidence planning.

•          Strong compliance record and consistent application of medical governance across countries.

•          Clear talent development, succession planning, and capability building across the ICON Medical Affairs organization.

Note: This description is not intended to be all-inclusive, or a limitation of the duties of the position. It is intended to describe the general nature of the job that may include other duties as assumed or assigned.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

The salary range for this position is: $301,900 to $415,000. BioMarin considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package. Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans.