Associate Director, ISR Strategy & Governance

Purpose Statement:

We are building a best-in-class APAC Medical Affairs team to drive clinical, medical, and scientific excellence across the region. By combining regional expertise with local insights, our team will scale rapidly, influence strategic decisions, and ensure that Boston Scientific continues to deliver meaningful innovation to patients across APAC. 

Reporting to the CMO of APAC, the Associate Director, Regional Investigator Sponsored Research (ISR), serves as the strategic lead for the strategy, evaluation and execution of the ISR program across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Operating at the intersection of scientific innovation and real-world evidence generation, this role is accountable for aligning regional ISR activities with global research priorities, ensuring scientific rigor, compliance, and strategic impact.

This individual acts as the principal scientific and operational liaison for ISR-related activities in APAC, fostering high-impact collaborations with external investigators and thought leaders. The role requires close cross-functional engagement with Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Health Economics & Market Access (HEMA), Legal, Compliance, and Global Research partners to ensure that all research conducted meets the highest standards of quality, ethics, and scientific relevance. The ISR Lead plays a critical role in generating real-world clinical evidence and strengthening relationships with the external medical research community.

Responsibilities:

Research Strategy & Evaluation

• Lead the strategic evaluation, prioritization, and endorsement of ISR proposals to ensure alignment with APAC and global evidence generation priorities.
• Shape APAC’s ISR scientific roadmap by identifying critical data gaps and unmet clinical needs in collaboration with global, regional, and local medical teams.
• Provide scientific and methodological guidance to investigators and internal stakeholders to enhance research quality and relevance.

Cross-functional Leadership

• Act as the strategic liaison, establishing strong collaboration relations with Clinical Affairs and key functions including Medical Affairs, Clinical Operations, Finance, Regulatory, Compliance, and Legal to drive seamless ISR execution, as well as reinforce and align the clinical and commercial messages through scientific affairs
• Oversee governance processes related to ISR study approval, including representation in APAC and global clinical governance bodies to align portfolio decisions and study prioritization.
• Ensure compliance with internal decision-making frameworks, SOPs, and industry regulations across all ISR activities.
• Drive operational excellence through collaboration and influence, ensuring transparency and alignment across stakeholders.

Operational Oversight

• Lead end-to-end oversight of the ISR lifecycle — from proposal intake to study closure — ensuring scientific rigor, budgetary discipline, and operational timeliness.
• Monitor study progress, milestones, and deliverables through robust tracking systems; proactively identify and resolve barriers to execution.
• Ensure robust adherence to ISR governance frameworks, ensuring all activities comply with ethical standards, local regulatory requirements, and internal corporate policies and governance expectations.
• Advance the dissemination of ISR insights through scientific congresses, peer-reviewed journals, and internal knowledge-sharing platforms.
• Identify and develop needed metrics and reporting to evaluate team output and program impact. Identify areas of improvement and new opportunities to meet organizational goals. Implement solutions and make recommendations to management to improve performance and impact.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Pharmacy, Medicine, or related field; advanced degree (PhD, PharmD, MD) preferred.
• Minimum 10 - 12+ years of experience in clinical research, clinical affairs, or medical affairs, with direct involvement in ISR or investigator-initiated trials.
• Strong understanding of clinical development processes, research governance, and real-world evidence generation.
• Proven ability to assess study proposals for scientific merit, operational feasibility, and strategic alignment.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams including legal, compliance, and regulatory functions.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with experience building investigator relationships.
• Fluent in English; proficiency in other APAC languages is a plus (Korean, Japanese, Mandarin)
• Willingness to travel within the region (up to 30%).

Requisition ID: 623275

As a leader in medical science for more than 40 years, we are committed to solving the challenges that matter most – united by a deep caring for human life. Our mission to advance science for life is about transforming lives through innovative medical solutions that improve patient lives, create value for our customers, and support our employees and the communities in which we operate. Now more than ever, we have a responsibility to apply those values to everything we do – as a global business and as a global corporate citizen.

So, choosing a career with Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) isn’t just business, it’s personal. And if you’re a natural problem-solver with the imagination, determination, and spirit to make a meaningful difference to people worldwide, we encourage you to apply and look forward to connecting with you!