Associate Director, Communications

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across five continents. While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of.

Join Lonza as an Associate Director, Communications in Vacaville, CA, and become part of an outstanding team dedicated to making a meaningful difference. This opportunity involves developing and managing site-wide communication strategies that drive understanding, alignment, engagement, and action among colleagues. As we continue our ambitious growth, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring the successful delivery of the site’s goals and strategy.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement the site-wide internal communication strategy, in accordance with divisional and global communications mentorship and policies.

• Serve as a communications consultant to the Vacaville site, driving business priorities and providing ghostwriting services as needed.

• Collaborate with cross-functional leadership to build communications strategies for various key initiatives.

• Coordinate and complete local town halls, ensuring alignment with divisional and global initiatives.

• Mentor leaders to improve their communications and engagement capabilities.

• Coordinate colleague communication campaigns across various channels to foster a sense of community and reinforce what we value.

• Plan and host site-wide events that promote engagement, recognition, and alignment with strategic goals.

• Develop talking points and messaging for site leadership to support consistent and impactful communication.

• Build and proactively maintain relationships with stakeholders outside of the Vacaville site to support broader organizational alignment and collaboration.

• Partner with Lonza’s Global Communications team and the global and U.S. site communications network for consistent messaging and best-practice sharing.

• Ensure coordinated and consistent communications and change management practices.

• Actively participate in the Extended Leadership team for the Vacaville site.

• Manage a variety of projects, many confidential and time-sensitive in nature.

• Support capability building of Vacaville’s workforce in communications.

Key Requirements:

• Education & Industry Experience: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required. Proven communications or public relations experience, ideally within biotech, pharmaceutical, CDMO, or other regulated environments.

• Strategic Communication Skills: Demonstrated ability to develop and implement employee engagement and communication strategies that address complex business challenges in dynamic environments.

• Multimedia & Content Creation: Skilled in creating strategic communication plans using written, audio, visual, and mixed media formats; capable of ghostwriting and developing talking points for leadership.

• Event & Campaign Management: Experience planning and supporting internal events, coordinating communication campaigns, and aligning messaging across multiple channels and audiences.

• Leadership Collaboration & Coaching: Ability to coach and mentor leaders in communication practices and collaborate effectively with senior management and cross-functional teams.

• Relationship Building & Influence: Proactive in building and maintaining relationships across sites and functions to support organizational alignment and engagement.

• Project Management & Creativity: Strong project management skills with attention to detail, creativity, and the ability to manage confidential, time-sensitive initiatives independently.

We recognize that attracting, developing, and retaining the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company.  As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure that we are able to attract the best candidates.  As required by law in this state, the quoted salary range for this position is $149,000-$253,000.   We use broad salary ranges that reflect the competitive market for similar jobs, provide sufficient opportunity for growth as you gain experience and expand responsibilities, while also allowing for differentiation on performance. Based on the breadth of our ranges, most new hires will start at the company between the lower and the middle part of the applicable range. We tailor our offers within the range based on job-related factors, including organizational needs, internal equity, market data, geographic area and the selected candidate’s experience, education, industry knowledge, location, technical and/or communication skills and other factors that may prove relevant during the selection process. This range is only inclusive of base salary, and base pay is just one component of Lonza’s total compensation package for employees. Full-time employees are eligible to receive a performance-related bonus, as well as a comprehensive benefits package including medical and dental coverage, 401k plan, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance, an employee assistance program, paid time off (PTO), and more.

Every day, Lonza’s products and services have a positive impact on millions of people. For us, this is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. How we achieve our business results is just as important as the achievements themselves. At Lonza, we respect and protect our people and our environment. Any success we achieve is no success at all if not achieved ethically.

People come to Lonza for the challenge and creativity of solving complex problems and developing new ideas in life sciences. In return, we offer the satisfaction that comes with improving lives all around the world. The satisfaction that comes with making a meaningful difference.

Lonza is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a qualified individual with disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.