Academic Affairs Senior Advisor

At CooperVision, a business unit of CooperCompanies (Nasdaq: COO), we're driven by a unified purpose of helping people experience life's beautiful moments. We are connected through our shared values - dedicated, innovative, friendly, partners, and do the right thing. As a leading global manufacturer of contact lenses, we are committed to helping improve the way people see each day. Through our diverse lens portfolio, we tackle the toughest vision challenges - including astigmatism, presbyopia, and childhood myopia. We offer the most complete collection of spherical, toric, and multifocal products available, enabling us to fit 99% of all contact wearers. Learn more at www.coopervision.com.

Job Summary:

As a senior individual contributor within Professional Affairs, this role serves as a key driver of long-term growth-advancing early adoption, prescriber pipeline development, and sustained portfolio preference-and acts as a clinical and technical expert supporting field sales teams and customer needs.

Experience

• Significant experience in:

• vision care / contact lens industry or related healthcare field

• academic engagement, professional education, or medical affairs

• Demonstrated success influencing U.S. optometric schools, residency programs, and provider networks

• Deep understanding of:

• U.S. optometric education and residency landscape

• clinical practice patterns and care pathways

• Experience providing clinical and technical support to field sales teams and customers

• Proven ability to influence without direct authority and operate cross-functionally

Education:

• Doctor of Optometry (OD) required

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong clinical credibility and technical expertise in contact lenses and vision care
• Strategic thinking with clear linkage to commercial outcomes
• Executive presence with academic and provider stakeholders
• Ability to translate engagement into measurable business impact
• Highly collaborative with strong communication and influencing skills

Work Environment:

• Prolonged sitting in front of a computer

For U.S. locations that require disclosure of compensation, the starting base pay for this role is between $141,399.00 and $201,999.00 per year and may include cost of living adjustments. The actual base pay includes many factors and is subject to change and modification in the future. This position may also be eligible for other types of compensation and benefits.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

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Essential Functions & Accountabilities:

Academic Strategy & Market Development

• Develop and execute a comprehensive U.S. academic and provider engagement strategy aligned with CVI's commercial priorities and portfolio growth objectives
• Identify and prioritize target institutions, residency programs, and provider networks based on influence, graduate output, and clinical alignment
• Position academic institutions as "Tier 0" strategic accounts within the U.S. commercial ecosystem
• Advise internal leadership on academic trends, competitive dynamics, and future prescriber pipeline risks/opportunities

Curriculum & Clinical Training Integration

• Partner with key stakeholders to expose optometry students to CVI products and technologies (curricula, labs, and clinical training environments)
• Ensure CVI products are shared for hands-on training and patient care at student events

Faculty, KOL & Provider Engagement

• Build and maintain relationships with:

• faculty leaders and residency directors

• community-based clinical preceptors and provider networks

• Serve as a trusted clinical advisor to key academic and provider stakeholders

• Establish and participate in:

• faculty advisory boards

• provider forums

• academic collaborations

• Leverage these relationships to influence:

• Understanding of CVI portfolio

• clinical protocols

• broader prescribing behavior across networks

Student & Residency Pipeline Development

• Advance student and resident engagement initiatives, including:

• ambassador programs

• externships and rotations

• experiential training opportunities

• Partner with residency programs and clinical sites to integrate CVI into specialty and advanced care pathways

• Support development of Centers of Excellence and high-impact training sites

Commercial Integration & Prescriber Conversion

• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Professional Affairs to align academic initiatives with U.S. commercial strategies and territory priorities

• Enable structured pathways to convert:

• students and residents new prescribers active CVI customers

• Support transition strategies that reinforce early-career adoption and sustained portfolio utilization

Field Sales Technical & Clinical Support

• Serve as a clinical and technical subject matter expert to the U.S. field sales organization

• Provide support for:

• complex product and application questions

• advanced fitting and troubleshooting

• clinical objections and competitive positioning

• Deliver in-field education, customer consultations, and case support alongside sales teams

• Contribute to tools and training that enhance sales team clinical capability and effectiveness

Product Strategy & Insight Generation

• Establish feedback loops from:

• students

• faculty

• residents

• community providers

• Translate insights into recommendations for:

• product development

• clinical strategy

• portfolio positioning

• Provide perspective on emerging clinical trends and evolving educational needs

Brand & Market Leadership

• Drive CVI's reputation as the preferred manufacturer across U.S. academic and provider environments

• Ensure consistent, high-impact representation of CVI in:

• academic institutions

• clinical training settings

• conferences and professional forums

• Represent CVI as a clinical thought leader within optometric education and practice communities

Travel Requirements:

20-30% for internal meetings and academic events

Essential Functions & Accountabilities:

Academic Strategy & Market Development

• Develop and execute a comprehensive U.S. academic and provider engagement strategy aligned with CVI's commercial priorities and portfolio growth objectives
• Identify and prioritize target institutions, residency programs, and provider networks based on influence, graduate output, and clinical alignment
• Position academic institutions as "Tier 0" strategic accounts within the U.S. commercial ecosystem
• Advise internal leadership on academic trends, competitive dynamics, and future prescriber pipeline risks/opportunities

Curriculum & Clinical Training Integration

• Partner with key stakeholders to expose optometry students to CVI products and technologies (curricula, labs, and clinical training environments)
• Ensure CVI products are shared for hands-on training and patient care at student events

Faculty, KOL & Provider Engagement

• Build and maintain relationships with:

• faculty leaders and residency directors

• community-based clinical preceptors and provider networks

• Serve as a trusted clinical advisor to key academic and provider stakeholders

• Establish and participate in:

• faculty advisory boards

• provider forums

• academic collaborations

• Leverage these relationships to influence:

• Understanding of CVI portfolio

• clinical protocols

• broader prescribing behavior across networks

Student & Residency Pipeline Development

• Advance student and resident engagement initiatives, including:

• ambassador programs

• externships and rotations

• experiential training opportunities

• Partner with residency programs and clinical sites to integrate CVI into specialty and advanced care pathways

• Support development of Centers of Excellence and high-impact training sites

Commercial Integration & Prescriber Conversion

• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Professional Affairs to align academic initiatives with U.S. commercial strategies and territory priorities

• Enable structured pathways to convert:

• students and residents new prescribers active CVI customers

• Support transition strategies that reinforce early-career adoption and sustained portfolio utilization

Field Sales Technical & Clinical Support

• Serve as a clinical and technical subject matter expert to the U.S. field sales organization

• Provide support for:

• complex product and application questions

• advanced fitting and troubleshooting

• clinical objections and competitive positioning

• Deliver in-field education, customer consultations, and case support alongside sales teams

• Contribute to tools and training that enhance sales team clinical capability and effectiveness

Product Strategy & Insight Generation

• Establish feedback loops from:

• students

• faculty

• residents

• community providers

• Translate insights into recommendations for:

• product development

• clinical strategy

• portfolio positioning

• Provide perspective on emerging clinical trends and evolving educational needs

Brand & Market Leadership

• Drive CVI's reputation as the preferred manufacturer across U.S. academic and provider environments

• Ensure consistent, high-impact representation of CVI in:

• academic institutions

• clinical training settings

• conferences and professional forums

• Represent CVI as a clinical thought leader within optometric education and practice communities

Travel Requirements:

20-30% for internal meetings and academic events