Blue Persimmon Group Senior Advisor/Principal Advisor, Advocacy & Outcomes Washington, DC · Remote · Full time Company website

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Blue Persimmon teams turn hard health questions into evidence, and evidence into better outcomes for people living with disease. Grounded in lived experience and led by data, our work incorporates four main components: lived experience, health solutions, research, and systems change. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Washington, DC, we are deliberately boutique. Senior experts do the work themselves, grounded in their years of experience with data and analysis that is informed by lived experience of patients and caregivers. That approach has carried across more than 60 disease areas, turning rigorous evidence into decisions that regulators, payers, clinicians, and patient communities can act on. We believe in giving back through pro bono services, student mentoring, and volunteering.

Curious, bold, and a little surprising, just like the blue persimmon that gives us our name, we start with questions and stay for results.

Position Summary: This is for an expert in patient-centered outcomes (PCO) research and strategy, filled at the Senior Advisor or Principal level commensurate with experience. The role leads a range of engagements involving evidence generation strategy and implementation to support medical product development and advocacy initiatives. This position is accountable for scientific integrity, efficient delivery, ethical and compliant engagement with patients, caregivers, advocacy organizations, client relationships, and contributes to business development, thought leadership, and firm operations. At the Principal level, the role also carries responsibility for leading a portfolio of client relationships, growing practice areas, and contributing to firm strategy.

Job Responsibilities:

In this role, you will design, conduct, oversee, and support patient-centered research and engagement with our clients, including but not limited to:

Research and related administration

• Lead multiple engagements from proposal development through delivery, including shaping project scope, ensuring appropriate staffing, and overseeing execution
• Serve as scientific steward/thought partner for multiple clients, including the development of long-term strategy and execution of short-term deliverables
• Manage budgets and timelines for given projects, ensuring on-time and within budget execution
• Craft compelling, client-ready presentations that tell clear, powerful stories

Organization development and strategy

• Contribute to organizational success, including strategic planning and business development activities
• Perform organizational and administrative responsibilities, including budget management, contract development and oversight, process development, and compliance

Patient-centered research, product development, and advocacy

• Direct clinical outcome assessment (COA) strategy and endpoint selection, aligned with FDA Patient-Focused Drug Development (PFDD) and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) guidance
• Design and oversee qualitative and COA research, including concept elicitation, cognitive debriefing, trial interviews, psychometric review, and concept mapping
• Advise on evidence and regulatory strategy, including regulatory and HTA submissions with patient experience data
• Partner with advocacy organizations to develop advocacy strategies, set research priorities, and engage industry, regulators, and policymakers while preserving their independence
• Lead consortia and public-private partnerships that amplify the patient voice in research and policy
• Conduct lived experience research, including externally-led PFDD meetings and patient and caregiver surveys
• Embed health equity, accessibility, and inclusive representation across programs
• Publish findings through reports, policy briefs, manuscripts, and plain-language summaries

Skills & Experience

• COA development research methods and experience directing COA strategy and qualitative studies
• Strong understanding of medical product development, clinical trials, and FDA, European Medicines Agency (EMA), and HTA expectations for patient experience data
• Working knowledge of HEOR methods (e.g., burden-of-illness and cost studies, economic modeling, real-world evidence) and of the policy landscape that shapes evidence requirements and access
• Understanding of the compliance and ethical considerations that govern interactions among industry, patients, and patient organizations
• Excellent scientific writing skills, with a record of leading conference abstracts, posters, and manuscripts
• Proven ability to lead client communications, manage multiple complex projects and budgets, and step into senior client leadership roles with credibility
• Superior interpersonal skills; able to relate to diverse stakeholders, including patients and caregivers, with sensitivity and minimal supervision

Requirements:

• Advanced degree (master’s or doctorate) in public health, psychology, health services research, health economics, health policy, or a related discipline
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in PCO research, HEOR, and/or medical product development in industry, consulting, patient advocacy organization, government, or academic settings, including at least 5 years leading projects and/or programs; Principal-level candidates will typically bring 15 or more years of experience, including senior leadership of teams, client portfolios, or functions
• Willingness to travel up to 20%

Ready to Make an Impact? Apply and tell us which aspects of this role excite you most. Blue Persimmon Group is an equal opportunity employer.