Associate Director, Patient Access

HireLifeScience; North Wales (Montgomery County); Hybrid; USD 142,000 - 224,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Long-term incentive

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Merck & Co., Inc. in Rahway, NJ, seeks a senior program manager to lead US reimbursement hubs for patient access and affordability. You will oversee operations, vendor relationships, budgets, and regulatory compliance while shaping strategic hub development.

You will collaborate with Marketing Operations on coupon/cobay initiatives, ensure PAP referral rules with the Patient Assistance Foundation, and enable cross-functional education for US Commercial teams on program feasibility and features.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree required

Responsibilities

• Manage the daily operations of existing hubs including vendor relationships, budgets, SLAs, and business rules
• Develop project plans for hub initiatives including schedules, resources, and risk management
• Partner with Marketing Operations to develop Coupon/Copay programs and integrate them into US Hub programs
• Build and manage vendor relationships for benefits investigations and related support
• Ensure PAP referral rules with Patient Assistance Foundation
• Work with legal and regulatory to ensure compliance with internal and external rules
• Collaborate with Brand Team to develop annual strategies and tactics
• Educate US Commercial teams on program features and feasibility; coordinate with legal and other orgs as needed

Skills

Vendor management

Project management

Cross-functional leadership

Communication skills

Strategic thinking

Travel up to 20%

Consulting skills

Pharmaceutical market knowledge

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

Budgets

Contracting

Audits

Financial reporting

IT systems

SOPs

Job description

Job Description

US Hubs are patient support programs owned and managed by the Patient Access team within the broader Commercial Excellence & Innovation organization (CEI). Hubs provide reimbursement and access support to consumers and are managed by vendors that perform patient benefit investigations and other related support; their purpose is to help ensure that patients and physicians understand coverage and assist with navigating any access-related challenges. This position will support a Director within the Patient Access team in providing reimbursement expertise and performing project management related to patient access and affordability solutions. -

Most notably, this position is responsible for the development, deployment, and management of reimbursement support hubs - which includes working with brand teams and assigned agencies to ensure that our hub programs meet consumer needs and are aligned to the Patient Access COE objectives.

Reimbursement expertise may include providing in-house US reimbursement expert consultancy to assist key stakeholders in understanding the reimbursement environment for hospital, buy and bill, and Medicare Part B reimbursed pharmaceuticals and biologics.

Primary Responsibilities & Activities include and may not be limited to:

• Manage the daily operations of existing hubs, including vendor relationships, program staffing, budgets, SLAs, and maintaining current business rules
• Contribute to the strategic framework and guidance in the development and deployment of patient access and support hubs for specialty products, including for upcoming US launches of our company's products
• Develop comprehensive project plans for hub initiatives, including project schedules, resource plans, risk management plans, and communication plans
• Partner with Marketing Operations in development of Coupon/Copay programs - and integrate them into US Hub programs (when appropriate)
• Build and manage relationships with vendors who will perform benefits investigations and other related support to help ensure that patients and health care providers understand coverage and to assist patients with affordability options for our company's medications
• Work with our Company's Patient Assistance Foundation to ensure consistent PAP referral business rules
• Work closely with legal and regulatory departments to ensure compliance with internal and external rules for all programs
• Exhibit ownership and accountability for all projects and internal assignments
• Brand Team collaboration: Development of annual strategies and tactics plans; seeking continual input and guidance; providing ongoing strategic support
• Engage with US Commercial teams to educate them on the potential shape of such programs, determine what features are important and feasible; select, contract and set up programs with vendors, work with legal, and other parts of the organization as needed

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree required
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience
• Minimum of 3 years in Pharmaceutical Patient Access, Pricing,- Reimbursement, Legal, Finance or related fields supporting Pharmaceutical Marketing and Sales
• Vendor management experience, including budgeting, contracting, audits, financial reporting, general operations, IT, SOP/business rule auditing and strategic thinking
• Mastery of our company's internal processes and policies, particularly around compliance and Medical/Legal review of materials, reimbursement and related policies
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills, proven leadership and interpersonal skills, and proficient in leading cross-functional teams
• Experience with the US pharmaceutical market, including understanding of various types of customers, and products/therapeutic classes (i.e. both pharmacy and medical benefit)
• Strong consulting and collaboration skills
• Strong project management skills
• Ability to travel up to 20% for vendor site visits and/or conferences

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Experience with US Patient Support Programs for specialty medications
• Experience supporting both HCP-administered and oral therapies

Required Skills

Company Policies, Company Policies, Competency Management, Customer-Focused, Data Analysis, Developing Pricing Strategies, Direct Marketing, Healthcare Policies, Interpersonal Relationships, Market Access Strategies, Market Research, Medicare Part B, New Program Development, Operational Marketing, Patient Admissions, Patient Assistance, Patient Management, Patient Referrals, Patient Scheduling, People Leadership, Performance Plans, Pharmaceutical Sales, Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM), Policy Compliance, Pricing Processes {+ 10 more}

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

San Francisco Residents Only:

-We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only:

-We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully-

Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. -No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

10/8/2026

Requisition ID:

R420471

The salary range for this role is $142,400.00 - $224,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.- Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits .

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.--As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.- For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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