Patient Access Manager Lead - Northeast

Acadia Pharmaceuticals; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary

Discretionary bonus and equity awards

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) Plan with company match

Job summary

Acadia Pharmaceuticals is seeking a Patient Access Manager Lead to guide a geographically aligned team of PAMs, delivering high-quality access and reimbursement support across brands.

The role emphasizes coaching, strategic thinking, and cross-functional collaboration with Sales, National Accounts, Hub/Case Management, and Market Access, alongside a travel requirement up to 60%.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA, RN or MSN preferred.
• 8+ years in pharmaceutical access, reimbursement, or related fields.
• Minimum 2–3 years of leadership experience in Access, Market Access, or Sales leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead execution of PAM team initiatives and ensure consistent delivery across brands.
• Coach PAMs to build product, reimbursement, and payer expertise.
• Serve as escalation point for complex access issues and drive cross-functional resolution.
• Report performance metrics and manage territory alignment and resources.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Coaching & mentoring

Payer policy knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA / RN / MSN preferred

Job description

About Acadia Pharmaceuticals

Acadia is committed to turning scientific promise into meaningful innovation that makes the difference for underserved neurological and rare disease communities around the world. Our commercial portfolio includes the first and only FDA-approved treatments for Parkinson’s disease psychosis and Rett syndrome. We are developing the next wave of therapeutic advancements with a robust and diverse pipeline that includes mid- to late-stage programs in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and Lewy body dementia psychosis, along with earlier-stage programs that address other underserved patient needs. At Acadia, we’re here to be their difference.

Seeking talent near: Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Portland, ME; New Brunswick, NJ; New York, NY

The Patient Access Manager (PAM) Lead provides expert field-based leadership to a geographically aligned team of Patient Access Managers supporting an integrated access portfolio. This role ensures consistent execution of Acadia’s patient access strategy across all brands by coaching, developing, and aligning PAMs to deliver high-quality access and reimbursement support. The PAM Lead serves as a primary escalation point for complex patient access issues, partners closely with cross‑functional stakeholders (Sales, National Accounts, Hub/Case Management, Trade & Distribution, Medical, and Market Access), and ensures that customers receive seamless, compliant, and patient‑centered service. This is a non‑promotional, field-based leadership role that requires strong operational excellence, strategic thinking, and the ability to lead through influence in a dynamic and evolving access landscape. This position requires up to 60% travel.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead execution of strategic and tactical initiatives across the PAM team, ensuring consistent delivery regardless of brand or therapeutic area
• Coach, mentor, and develop PAMs to build deep product, reimbursement, and payer expertise across both franchises, including Medicare, Medicaid, commercial access, and specialty pharmacy pathways.
• Conduct routine field coaching visits to evaluate PAM execution, provide real‑time feedback, and support continuous performance improvement.
• Oversee personnel actions including hiring, performance management, corrective action, recognition, and promotions.
• Support onboarding and ongoing training of new PAMs in partnership with Training, Patient Support, and Market Access leadership.

Operational Execution & Issue Resolution

• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex access challenges from PAMs, Sales, Case Management/Hub, and external customers.
• Identify coverage, reimbursement, distribution, or HUB-related issues and lead cross-functional teams to timely resolution.
• Ensure alignment and flawless execution across operational partners (Hub, SPs, Trade, Distribution, National Accounts).
• Translate corporate access strategy into actionable execution plans tailored for field operations and customer environments.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Sales Leadership (RBLs/RSMs), National Accounts, Market Access, Training, and HUB leadership to ensure coordinated access support.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders to improve communication, insight sharing, and customer experience.
• Represent the PAM team in cross‑functional forums, business reviews, strategic planning sessions, and launch readiness activities.

Insights & Performance Management

• Track, analyze, and communicate field insights around payer trends, workflow barriers, referral challenges, and customer needs; recommend solutions and improvements.
• Develop, refine, and report performance metrics to measure team execution, quality, and impact.
• Manage territory alignment, operational workflows, and resource allocation to optimize patient access support.

Compliance & Culture

• Ensure all team actions align with Acadia’s compliance standards, policies, and role‑specific Rules of Engagement.
• Foster a culture of inclusion, collaboration, accountability, and coaching within the PAM team.
• Model patient‑centric professionalism and maintain high ethical standards in all interactions.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, RN, MSN) preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in pharmaceutical access, reimbursement, patient support services, national accounts, specialty pharmacy, or related fields.
• Minimum 2–3 years of leadership experience in Access, Market Access, Patient Support, National Accounts, or Sales leadership.
• Deep knowledge of reimbursement processes including Medicare, Medicaid, commercial payers, specialty distribution, HUB operations, and payer policy.
• Demonstrated success in cross-functional leadership and leading without authority.
• Strong communication, presentation, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Ability to travel up to 60%.

In addition to a competitive base salary, this position is also eligible for discretionary bonus and equity awards based on factors such as individual and organizational performance. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance, and location.

Salary Range

$160,000—$200,000 USD

What we offer US-based Employees:

• Competitive base, bonus, new hire and ongoing equity packages
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Employer-paid life, disability, business travel and EAP coverage
• 401(k) Plan with a fully vested company match 1:1 up to 5%
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a 2-year purchase price lock-in
• 15+ vacation days
• 13 -15 paid holidays, including office closure between December 24th and January 1st
• 10 days of paid sick time
• Paid parental leave benefit
• Tuition assistance

EEO Statement (US-based Employees):

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications in the exact way they are described in job postings. We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and innovative company, and we are looking for the BEST candidate for the job. That candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background or may meet the qualifications in a different way. We strongly encourage you to apply, especially if the reason you are the best candidate isn’t exactly what we describe here.

It is the policy of Acadia to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to considerations of race, including related to hairstyle, color, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, gender transition, country of origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, legally-protected medical condition or information, marital status, domestic partner status, family care status, military caregiver status, veteran or military status (including reserve status, National Guard status, and military service or obligation), status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, enrollment in a public assistance program, or any basis protected under federal, state or local law.

As an equal opportunity employer, Acadia is committed to a diverse workforce. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. Furthermore, you may request additional support if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access Acadia’s career website due to your disability, along with any accommodations throughout the interview process. To request or inquire about your reasonable accommodation, please complete our Reasonable Accommodation Request Form or contact us at [e-mail] or 858-261-2923.

Please note that reasonable accommodations granted throughout the recruiting process are not guaranteed to be the same accommodations given if hired. A new request will need to be submitted for any ADA accommodations after starting employment.

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