Director, Patient Experience and Program Communications, Pain Programs and Patient Support

Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston seeks a Director of Patient Experience and Program Communications to lead patient-facing and stakeholder-facing communications that support access, fulfillment, and engagement.

You will translate operational complexity into clear messaging for patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and internal stakeholders, reporting to the Senior Director / Head of Pain Patient Support.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Advertising, Business, or related field.
• 10+ years of relevant experience in patient support, patient engagement, consumer/patient marketing, market access communications, or related commercial roles.
• Experience in biopharmaceutical or healthcare industry with cross-functional leadership and regulatory awareness.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategy for patient experience and program communications across Pain Patient Support.
• Translate complex access and reimbursement processes into clear messaging for patients and providers.
• Shape the long-term vision and annual plan for patient support communications and onboarding resources.
• Partner with HCP Marketing, Consumer Marketing, Market Access, and Trade Strategy to align messaging across touchpoints.
• Oversee development of communications, tools, and resources for education, access, reimbursement, and fulfillment.

Skills

Strategic communication

Leadership

Business acumen

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Job Description

General Summary:

The Director, Patient Experience and Program Communications will serve as a key leader within the Pain Patient Support Team, responsible for defining and driving the strategy for patient-facing and stakeholder-facing communications that support access, fulfillment, and engagement. This role will lead efforts to simplify the patient access experience by translating operational complexity into clear, compelling, and actionable messaging and resources for patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and internal stakeholders.

We are seeking a candidate with a strong track record of leadership in US commercial roles, and demonstrated success leading complex cross-functional initiatives in highly regulated environments. The ideal candidate brings strategic agility, strong organizational influence, ability to create clarity from complexity, and can effectively balance business goals and stakeholder needs. This role will report to the Senior Director / Head of Pain Patient Support .

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead the strategy for patient experience and program communications across Pain Patient Support, ensuring a patient-centered and stakeholder-informed approach
• Translate complex operational, access, reimbursement, and support processes into simple, clear, and effective messaging that improves understanding and reduces friction across the patient journey
• Shape the long-term vision and annual strategic plan for patient support communications, access messaging, onboarding resources, and related engagement initiatives
• Partner cross-functionally with HCP Marketing, Consumer Marketing, Market Access Strategy, and Trade Strategy to ensure aligned, consistent, and streamlined access experience messaging across stakeholder touchpoints
• Lead the development of integrated communications, tools, and resources that support patient education, access, reimbursement, financial assistance, and fulfillment
• Serve as a key leader in the creation and execution of patient-centric resources and digital assets across channels, including print, web, email, text, video, and virtual engagement platforms
• Build and evolve the communications capability for the Patient Support function, identifying opportunities to innovate and enhance the patient experience based on emerging needs and external market dynamics
• Lead complex cross-functional workstreams and drive alignment among internal stakeholders with differing priorities, ensuring progress against business objectives while maintaining patient centricity
• Cultivate strong partnerships with Medical, Legal, Regulatory, and the Communications Review Committee (CRC) to support timely, compliant review and execution of communications
• Provide strategic direction and oversight for agency partners and external vendors, ensuring high-quality deliverables, effective resource utilization, and adherence to timelines and budgets
• Collaborate with fulfillment and operational partners to ensure effective management of communications inventory, material deployment, and ordering processes
• Establish measurement frameworks and success metrics for owned communications and support materials; use performance insights to optimize strategy, improve execution, and inform future investment decisions
• Identify opportunities to improve how stakeholder feedback, performance data, and market insights are incorporated into communication planning and experience design
• Act as a strategic thought partner to leadership on patient experience, support communications, and access-related engagement strategy

Required Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Advertising, Business, or a related field

Required Experience

• 10+ years of relevant experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience, in patient support, patient engagement, consumer/patient marketing, market access communications, or other closely related commercial roles
• Significant experience in the biopharmaceutical or healthcare industry, with increasing scope of responsibility and demonstrated strategic leadership
• Proven success leading complex, cross-functional initiatives and influencing across matrixed organizations
• Experience developing and executing patient support or access-related communication strategies in a regulated commercial environment
• Demonstrated experience navigating Medical, Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance review processes
• Experience leading agency partners and external vendors to deliver high-quality, on-strategy work

Required Knowledge / Skills

• Exceptional strategic communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to distill complex operational and access-related processes into simple, effective messaging
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence and align cross-functional stakeholders at multiple levels of the organization
• Strong business acumen and understanding of the commercial ecosystem, including the intersection of pati