Associate Director, Patient Access

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

Job summary

Merck & Co., Inc. in Rahway, NJ, USA (also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC) seeks a senior role overseeing hub operations for patient access and support for specialty products.

You will manage vendor relationships, program staffing, and budgets while shaping strategic frameworks for US launches. The role requires a minimum of 7 years in relevant fields, with strong vendor management, compliance, and cross-functional leadership experience.

Qualifications

• 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

Responsibilities

• 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/Co-pay 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

Skills

Company Policies

Competency Management

Consultative Selling

Customer-Focused

Data Analysis

Pricing Strategies

Market Access

Market Research

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Job description

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/Co-pay 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

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 products
• Experience supporting both HCP-administered and oral therapies

Required Skills:

• Company Policies
• Company Policies
• Competency Management
• Consultative Selling
• Customer-Focused
• Data Analysis
• Developing Pricing Strategies
• Direct Marketing
• Healthcare Policies
• Interpersonal Relationships
• Legal Compliance
• Liaison Work
• Market Access
• Market Access Strategies
• Market Research
• Medicare Part B
• Operational Marketing
• Patient Assistance
• Patient Support
• People Leadership
• Performance Plans
• Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM)
• Policy Compliance
• Pricing Processes
• Product Management {+ 10 more}

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement®

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.

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:

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

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.

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: 25%

Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid

Shift: Not Indicated

Valid Driving License: Yes

Hazardous Material(s): N/A