Communication Business Partner

About Astellas

Astellas is committed to building strong employee relationships as a path to better business outcomes. The organization is guided by a culture that values ethics, agility, patient focus, accountability, results, and open communication. This is an opportunity to join a global life sciences company that continues to evolve with a strong values-based approach.

Role Purpose

The Communications Business Partner acts as a strategic advisor to assigned senior leaders, including members of the C-suite. Working within Internal Corporate Communications, this role develops and delivers integrated communication plans that support enterprise goals, create clarity across the organization, and strengthen leadership communication.

The position requires a proactive approach to anticipating communication needs, building clear narratives, preparing presentations and messages, and advising on the best channels to reach both internal and external audiences. Because the role sits in a highly matrixed global environment, it also calls for sound judgment, strong change-communications capability, and the ability to guide leaders through sensitive or high-impact situations, including issues and crisis communication.

Key Responsibilities

Executive communications and strategic advisory

• Act as a reliable communications counselor for senior leaders, ensuring alignment with business priorities, internal communications strategy, and corporate objectives.
• Shape leadership communication plans in advance by anticipating needs and creating forward-looking messages and engagement approaches.
• Convert business decisions, change initiatives, and strategic priorities into clear, credible messaging tailored to the right audience.

Leadership content and presentation development

• Develop executive-level communications such as speeches, presentations, town halls, videos, organizational updates, and written leadership messages.
• Support C-suite contributions to media relations, investor relations, and company publications, including the Integrated Report.
• Turn enterprise strategy, performance, and positioning into authentic leadership narratives and engaging storytelling for internal and external use.

Internal communications and channel planning

• Create and implement internal communication plans that improve alignment, employee engagement, and adoption of change for assigned leaders and functions.
• Guide leaders on choosing the right channels, sequencing communication thoughtfully, and timing messages across tools such as intranet, email, town halls, leader cascades, and live events.
• Manage execution of important leadership communication moments, including announcements and organizational updates.

Change communications

• Lead communication efforts for enterprise and functional change programs such as transformations, reorganizations, and strategy changes.
• Apply change communications expertise to keep messaging consistent, understandable, and reassuring throughout the change journey.
• Work with Internal Corporate Communications leaders and stakeholders to align leadership messaging with broader transformation and corporate initiatives.

External communications, media, and reputation support

• Align internal messaging with external communication themes in partnership with External Corporate Communications.
• Support and shape leaders’ external social media activity, including both drafting and curating content.
• Help prepare leaders for outside-facing opportunities such as media interviews, conference sessions, analyst or stakeholder interactions, and public appearances.

Issues and crisis communications

• Contribute to planning and execution for issue and crisis communications, including leader readiness, internal coordination, and collaboration with external communications teams.
• Advise leaders during sensitive situations by supporting message creation, internal alignment, and timely delivery.
• Partner with internal and external communications leads to handle high-impact situations with confidentiality and strong governance.
• Ensure employees receive accurate, timely, and clear information that helps maintain trust and stability during difficult periods.

Vendor and agency coordination

• Manage outside vendors and agencies supporting executive communications, events, messaging, or content creation.
• Track deliverables, timelines, and quality standards to ensure work meets enterprise expectations and communication goals.
• Use agency support effectively while keeping messaging consistent and governed.

Cross-functional and global collaboration

• Partner with Communications, Investor Relations, functional communicators, and regional teams to produce integrated communications.
• Coordinate with global communication partners to extend leader reach and keep messaging aligned across geographies and audiences.
• Look for opportunities to amplify leadership messages across multiple channels and platforms.
• Handle all highly sensitive matters with strict confidentiality.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, or a related discipline.
• 5 to 8 years of experience in corporate, internal, or executive communications within a complex global organization.
• Proven ability to advise senior leaders or executive stakeholders on communications strategy.
• Strong background in drafting executive messages, presentations, and company-wide communications.
• Solid experience in change communications and helping leaders communicate through ambiguity and transformation.
• Experience working with external communications, media engagement, or reputation management activities.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving, and stakeholder management abilities.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills with the ability to simplify complex topics into clear messages.
• Ability to manage vendors and external partners effectively.
• Experience in a highly matrixed, multinational work environment.

Preferred Experience

• Background supporting C-suite or enterprise-level leadership communications.
• Exposure to regulated, research-driven, or life sciences settings.
• Experience contributing to corporate reporting, thought leadership, or integrated storytelling.
• Exposure to issue and crisis communications in high-visibility environments.
• Good understanding of internal communication channels and digital engagement methods.

Working Environment

Astellas supports work-life balance through a hybrid working model, giving employees the flexibility to work from home while also spending time with colleagues in the office. Hybrid arrangements may be available from certain locations in line with the company’s Responsible Flexibility Guidelines.

This is a global role and may require collaboration across time zones as well as flexibility to support executive needs outside standard business hours.

Recruitment Notice

Applicants should remain alert to recruitment scams and only trust genuine communication from official company channels or verified company email addresses. Any suspicious profile or message should be reported through the relevant platform’s support process.