Market Access Associate Consultant

Zs Associates; South San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Travel opportunities

Total rewards package

Job summary

ZS Associates in the San Francisco Bay Area seeks a Strategy Insights and Planning Associate Consultant to help clients navigate payer dynamics and market access. You will combine strategic thinking, analytics, and communication to deliver actionable recommendations across life sciences engagements.

You’ll work on market access strategy, payer research, and product launch readiness, mentoring junior colleagues while growing your consulting toolkit in a collaborative, fast-paced environment that

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of relevant consulting experience.
• Master’s or PhD is a plus but not required.
• Interest in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, market access, pricing, or payer strategy.
• Strong analytical and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Partner with clients to address market access and pricing challenges.
• Conduct primary and secondary research on payer dynamics and demographics.
• Support access and commercialization strategy projects with market analysis.
• Prepare executive-ready presentations and synthesize findings.
• Mentor junior team members and manage project workstreams.
• Travel as needed to client sites.

Skills

Analytics & problem-solving

English fluency

Client communication

Team collaboration

Storytelling with data

Healthcare consulting interest

Education

Master’s or PhD in life sciences, public health, health economics, business, economics, psychology, marketing, social sciences, or quantitative discipline

Job description

ZS is a place where passion changes lives. As a management consulting and technology firm focused on improving life and how we live it, we transform ideas into impact by bringing together data, science, technology and human ingenuity to deliver better outcomes for all. Here you’ll work side-by-side with a powerful collective of thinkers and experts shaping life-changing solutions for patients, caregivers and consumers, worldwide. ZSers drive impact by bringing a client-first mentality to each and every engagement. We partner collaboratively with our clients to develop custom solutions and technology products that create value and deliver company results across critical areas of their business. Bring your curiosity for learning, bold ideas, courage and passion to drive life-changing impact to ZS.

Offering Relocation Assistance to the San Francisco area

ZS's B2B Access & Value Realization team partners with leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare organizations to solve some of their most critical commercial and access challenges. Our teams help clients navigate market access, pricing, reimbursement, customer engagement, product launch, and growth strategy decisions through a combination of strategic thinking, advanced analytics, primary research, and deep industry expertise.

As a Strategy Insights and Planning Associate Consultant, you'll work at the intersection of healthcare strategy and market access, helping clients understand evolving payer dynamics, stakeholder needs, access barriers, and commercialization opportunities that ultimately improve patient access to innovative therapies.

What you’ll do

• Partner with clients to address complex business challenges related to market access, payer strategy, reimbursement, pricing, commercialization, and growth.
• Conduct primary and secondary research to understand payer, provider, patient, and customer perspectives and identify key market trends.
• Support access and commercialization strategy projects by analyzing market dynamics, stakeholder behavior, competitive landscapes, and access barriers.
• Perform quantitative and qualitative analyses to generate actionable insights and strategic recommendations.
• Develop executive-ready presentations and communicate findings to client stakeholders and senior leadership teams.
• Contribute to projects focused on areas such as:
  • Market Access Strategy
  • Payer Research and Insights
  • Customer and Stakeholder Engagement
  • Pricing and Value Strategy
  • Product Launch and Commercial Readiness
  • Competitive Intelligence
  • Growth and Portfolio Strategy
• Manage project workstreams, monitor timelines, and proactively identify risks to ensure successful delivery.
• Build trusted client relationships and become a key contributor across multiple engagements.
• Mentor junior team members while developing leadership and consulting skills.

What you’ll bring

• 2-5 years of relevant industry or consulting experience.
• Additional qualifications such as Master’s or PhD degree in life sciences, public health, health economics, business, economics, psychology, marketing, social sciences, or another quantitative discipline are a plus but not required.
• Experience or interest in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, market access, commercialization, pricing, payer strategy, customer insights, or healthcare consulting.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to structure ambiguous business questions.
• Experience conducting research and synthesizing findings into strategic recommendations.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills with the ability to influence decision-making through data and insights.
• Curiosity about healthcare systems, stakeholder decision-making, market dynamics, and patient access challenges.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.
• Strong relationship-building skills
• Fluency in English
• Client-first mentality
• Intense work ethic
• Collaborative spirit and problem-solving approach

How you’ll grow

• Cross-functional skills development & custom learning pathways
• Milestone training programs aligned to career progression opportunities
• Internal mobility paths that empower growth via s-curves, individual contribution and role expansions

Perks & Benefits:

At ZS, your growth matters. We offer a comprehensive total rewards package that supports your health and well-being, financial future, time away, and professional development. With robust skills-building programs, multiple career progression paths, internal mobility, and a deeply collaborative culture, you’ll have the opportunity to do meaningful work, expand your capabilities, and thrive as part of a global community. For details on total rewards in United States, visit ZS US office locations | Where we work | ZS.

Hybrid working model:

We are committed to giving our employees a flexible and connected way of working. A flexible and connected ZS allows us to combine work from home and on-site presence at clients/ZS offices for the majority of our week. The magic of ZS culture and innovation thrives in both planned and spontaneous face-to-face connections.

Travel:

Travel is a requirement at ZS for client facing ZSers; business needs of your project and client are the priority. While some projects may be local, all client-facing ZSers should be prepared to travel as needed. Travel provides opportunities to strengthen client relationships, gain diverse experiences, and enhance professional growth by working in different environments and cultures.

Considering applying?

At ZS, we honor the visible and invisible elements of our identities, personal experiences, and belief systems—the ones that comprise us as individuals, shape who we are, and make us unique. We believe your personal interests, identities, and desire to learn are integral to your success here. We are committed to building a team that reflects a broad variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Learn more about our inclusion and belonging efforts and the networks ZS supports to assist our ZSers in cultivating community spaces and obtaining the resources they need to thrive.

ZS is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment and advancement opportunities without regard to any class protected by applicable law.

Work Authorization:

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Candidates must have authorization to work in the United States that does not now or in the future require employer sponsorship.