Senior Patient Engagement Specialist

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is hiring a Senior Patient Engagement Specialist based in the United States. This role sits within the Foundation’s patient research programs team, driving outreach and participation strategies that connect Parkinson’s patients and caregivers to clinical studies and research initiatives. It suits a research communications or patient advocacy professional who understands how to move people from awareness to action within a healthcare or nonprofit research context.

About the Role

The Senior Patient Engagement Specialist works across the Foundation’s research and communications departments, supporting programs that feed directly into one of the largest nonprofit Parkinson’s research funding pipelines in the world, with over two billion dollars deployed since 2000. Day to day, this person manages participant outreach campaigns, coordinates with research partners, and develops materials that help patients understand how to get involved in studies across academic and industry lab settings. The role requires someone comfortable operating at the intersection of science communication, community outreach, and program management.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute patient recruitment strategies for active research studies and clinical programs funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
• Build and maintain relationships with Parkinson’s patient communities, advocacy organizations, and clinical site coordinators to support study enrollment goals.
• Create clear, accessible communications that translate complex research protocols into participant-facing materials for diverse audiences.
• Track engagement metrics across outreach channels and report on participant pipeline progress to internal research teams.
• Collaborate with scientific staff to align patient engagement efforts with study timelines and enrollment benchmarks.
• Identify gaps in outreach reach among marginalized and underrepresented Parkinson’s communities and develop targeted strategies to address them.

What You Bring

• At least five years of experience in patient engagement, clinical research outreach, or health communications within a nonprofit or research institution.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multi-channel outreach campaigns across digital and community platforms.
• Experience working with patient advocacy groups or clinical trial networks in a neurology or chronic disease context.
• Strong written communication skills with a track record of producing materials for both scientific and general audiences.
• Comfort working with data tools to track and report on engagement outcomes.

Why This Role

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is the largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research globally, which means the Senior Patient Engagement Specialist here works on programs with real scale and direct impact on treatment development. The Foundation has a clear single-focus mission, which keeps the work grounded rather than spread thin across competing priorities. This is a staff role with visibility into both the scientific and communications sides of a well-resourced research organization.

Submit your resume and cover letter for the Senior Patient Engagement Specialist role at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research through the apply button on this listing.