Director, Patient Services

Aquestive Therapeutics; Warren Township (NJ); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus eligibility

Health insurance

Retirement benefits

Paid holidays

Vacation and sick days

Job summary

Aquestive Therapeutics seeks a Director of Patient Services to lead the patient journey from prescription to therapy initiation and persistence. This role designs and executes patient support and affordability programs, drives conversion from coverage to demand, and partners with Legal and Compliance to stay aligned with HIPAA and CMS rules.

The position is home-office based with in‑office presence 3× per week, travels ~15‑20% as needed, and reports to the VP, Pricing and Market Access.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, PharmD, MPH) strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in pharmaceutical patient access and services.
• Proven track record of leading patient services at launch, with demonstrated impact on patient conversion and therapy initiation.
• Demonstrated success in leading patient support program design, implementation, and optimization in a commercial‑stage company.
• Expertise with specialty pharmacy models, reimbursement and affordability programs, with ability to navigate complex access pathways.
• Strong leadership and vendor management skills, with demonstrated ability to influence cross‑functional stakeholders and hold partners accountable for performance.
• Strong analytical mindset with ability to translate data into actions that improve patient access and conversion.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and resolve real‑world patient access barriers in ambiguous, fast‑paced environments.
• Understanding of legal, compliance and regulatory frameworks including HIPAA, OIG guidance, and CMS regulations.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross‑functional alignment to ensure patient support programs deliver measurable improvement in therapy initiation, speed to fill, and adherence.
• Design and optimize patient support and affordability programs to improve speed to therapy start, reduce abandonment, and increase conversion from prescription to fill.
• Define and track key patient journey metrics and use insights to remove access barriers.
• Own patient services budget and ensure investment decisions drive measurable improvements.
• Monitor and drive KPI performance, holding vendors accountable to continuous improvement of services.
• Monitor payer trends, policy changes, competitive patient support trends, and innovative programs to inform strategy and adjust programs.
• Partner with Trade and Contracting to align patient programs with channel strategy and payer access.
• Own vendor strategy and performance, ensuring hub and affordability partners deliver against defined metrics.
• Serve as escalation point for field teams and implement solutions.
• Ensure patient access programs translate into field execution with Sales/Marketing.
• Champion compliance with Legal, Regulatory and Compliance requirements.
• Provide actionable insights to senior leadership on KPIs, program outcomes, and actions.

Skills

Leadership

Vendor management

Analytics

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory/compliance knowledge

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA

PharmD

MPH

Job description

JOB SUMMARY

The Director of Patient Services is a strategic leadership role that owns the patient journey from prescription to therapy initiation and persistence, ensuring access translates into demand for Aquestive’s current and future portfolio, including new product launches such as Anaphylm®. This role is responsible for designing and executing patient support programs that reduce time to therapy, minimize abandonment, and improve the provider and patient experience. The Director leads hub and affordability strategy, holds vendors accountable to performance, and identifies and resolves real‑world access barriers. This role operates as the primary owner of patient‑level conversion performance and reports to the VP, Pricing and Market Access.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead cross‑functional alignment to ensure patient support programs deliver measurable improvement in therapy initiation, speed to fill, and adherence.
• Design and optimize patient support and affordability programs to improve speed to therapy start, reduce abandonment, and increase conversion from prescription to fill.
• Define and track key patient journey metrics (e.g., time to fill, abandonment, approval rates, etc.) and use insights to continuously remove access barriers.
• Own patient services budget and ensure investment decisions drive measurable improvements in patient conversion and experience.
• Monitor and drive KPI performance, holding vendors accountable to continuous improvement of services over the product’s lifecycle.
• Monitor payer trends, policy changes, competitive patient support trends, and innovative programs to inform strategy and proactively adjust programs to reduce emerging access barriers.
• Partner with Trade and Contracting to ensure alignment between patient programs, channel strategy, and payer access.
• Own vendor strategy and performance, ensuring hub and affordability partners deliver against defined patient access and conversion metrics.
• Serve as escalation point for field teams, identifying root causes of access barriers and implementing solutions.
• Ensure patient access programs are effectively translated into field execution through partnership with Sales and Marketing.
• Champion a culture of compliance by working closely with Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance to ensure all activities meet applicable laws and industry standards.
• Provide clear, actionable insights to senior leadership on key performance indicators, program outcomes, and recommended actions.

What success looks like

• Reduced time from prescription to therapy start.
• Low patient abandonment rates.
• High provider confidence in patient access experience.
• Predictable conversion from coverage to demand.
• Clear visibility into patient‑level barriers and resolution strategies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, PharmD, MPH) strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in pharmaceutical patient access and services.
• Proven track record of leading patient services at launch, with demonstrated impact on patient conversion and therapy initiation.
• Demonstrated success in leading patient support program design, implementation, and optimization in a commercial‑stage company.
• Expertise with specialty pharmacy models, reimbursement and affordability programs, with ability to navigate complex access pathways.
• Strong leadership and vendor management skills, with demonstrated ability to influence cross‑functional stakeholders and hold partners accountable for performance.
• Strong analytical mindset with ability to translate data into actions that improve patient access and conversion.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and resolve real‑world patient access barriers in ambiguous, fast‑paced environments.
• Understanding of legal, compliance and regulatory frameworks including HIPAA, OIG guidance, and CMS regulations.
• Willingness to travel as needed (approximately 15‑20%).
• This is a home office based position, with expectations of being in office 3× week.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by employees assigned to this position. This is not intended as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Aquestive reserves the right to make changes to the job description whenever necessary.

As part of Aquestive’s employment process, final candidate will be required to complete a drug test and background check prior to employment commencing.

Aquestive provides equal employment opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

The Company is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the salary range for this job in certain states and cities within the United States. Final determinations with respect to salary will take into account a number of factors, which may include, but not be limited to the primary work location and the chosen candidate’s relevant skills, experience, and education.

Expected salary range: $175,000.00 to $200,000.00/year

Available benefits include bonus eligibility, health care and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, paid holidays, vacation, and sick days.