Regional Access Director - West

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Carlsbad (CA); On-site; USD 215,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent benefits package

Job summary

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is seeking a Regional Access Director to lead a team of Field Access Managers across geographies, ensuring access for patients and providers.

This role requires deep reimbursement expertise, leadership in a matrix environment, and travel to sites as needed. The successful candidate will develop payer strategies, coordinate with regional executives, and drive programs that improve patient affordability while maintaining compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 15 years in healthcare/pharmaceutical industry.
• Leadership experience managing field access managers.
• Experience with pharmacy benefit reimbursement/access.
• Willingness to travel ~50% and live within assigned geography.

Responsibilities

• Identify, recruit, onboard, and develop a high-performing team of Field Access Managers (FAMs).
• Support FAMs in payer requirements, patient support offerings, and SP processes.
• Act as liaison between internal stakeholders, Regional Exec Directors and FAMs to ensure patient/provider experience.
• Collaborate with Regional Exec Directors to align sales and access responsibilities regionally.
• Provide field-based insights to inform payer strategy and patient affordability programs.
• Analyze access barriers and address them with available tools and resources.
• Develop metrics and reporting tools to evaluate field access performance.
• Drive continuous improvement to ensure patient access and compliance.
• Monitor reimbursement trends and payer coverage.

Skills

Healthcare leadership

Reimbursement experience

Field access management

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Advanced degree preferred

CPC certification

Job description

Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and with offices in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland, Ionis has been at work for more than three decades discovering medical breakthroughs that have redefined life for people with serious diseases. We’re pioneers in RNA-targeted medicines, and our platform continues to revolutionize drug discovery and transform lives for patients with unmet needs. With multiple marketed medicines and a leading pipeline in neurology, cardiology and select areas of high patient needs, we continue to drive innovation in RNA therapies in addition to advancing new approaches in gene editing to provide greater value to patients and are well positioned financially to deliver on our strategic goals.

At Ionis, we pride ourselves on cultivating a challenging, motivating and rewarding environment that fosters innovation and scientific excellence. We know that our success is a direct result of the exceptional talents and dedication of our employees.

With an unprecedented opportunity to change the course of human health, we look to add diverse individuals, skill sets and perspectives to our exceptional team. We continue to invest time, money and energy into making our onsite, hybrid and remote work environments a place where solid and lasting relationships are built and where our culture and employees can thrive.

The Regional Access Director (RAD) will play a critical role in ensuring appropriate patient access by leading a team of Field Access Managers within a region, who will be responsible for supporting providers and key office staff with access needs. This position will serve as subject matter expert on payer/reimbursement matters, patient services and pharmacy processes and requirements. The individual must have deep experience in reimbursement, patient access, and healthcare provider support services, and leadership experience that includes driving the execution of complex operations while developing a high performing team of Field Access Managers.

SUMMARY:

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Identify, recruit, onboard, and develop a high-performing team of Field Access Managers (FAMs) in various geographies.
• Support FAMs in their efforts to enhance customer awareness and understanding of payer requirements, patient support offerings and specialty pharmacy (SP) processes
• Serve as a strategic liaison between internal stakeholders, Regional Executive Directors and Field Access Managers to provide insights and ensure excellent patient and provider experience throughout the patient journey
• Collaborate with Regional Executive Directors to ensure aligned customer engagement, compliant delineation of Sales and Access responsibilities, and joint problem solving at the regional level.
• Provide field-based insights to inform leadership decisions on payer strategy, patient affordability programs, and other access-related initiatives.
• Analyze access barriers and help team address them with available tools and resources.
• Assist in development of metrics and reporting tools to evaluate and optimize the effectiveness of the Field Access Managers.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to ensure the highest standards of patient access and compliance.
• Monitor and assess reimbursement trends, payer coverage, and changes in access environment

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Valid U.S. driver's license and driving record in compliance with company standards
• Minimum 15 years in the healthcare/pharmaceutical industry.
• Prior leadership experience managing field access managers.
• Prior reimbursement or case management experience required (prior field access/reimbursement experience preferred).
• Proven ability to build collaborative partnerships with commercial field leaders and compliantly drive joint execution in a matrix environment.
• Experience with pharmacy benefit reimbursement/access and specialty pharmacy required
• Strong prioritization skills aligned with good decision-making capabilities
• CPC or similar coding certification preferred
• Experience working in the cardiometabolic area preferred
• Knowledge of key Medicare policies such as Part D design and IRA
• Proven teamwork and collaboration skills with a demonstrated track record of working in highly matrixed and cross-functional work teams.
• Ability to travel to meetings/trainings/programs as necessary - additional travel will be required within the assigned geography (~50% travel required depending on territory)
• Must live within assigned geography.
• Valid driver’s license required as driving is fundamental to the purpose of this job and cannot be eliminated.

EDUCATION

Bachelor’s Degree required. Advanced degree preferred.

TRAVEL

Ionis offers an excellent benefits package! Follow this link for more details: Ionis Benefits

The pay scale for this position is $215,000 to $235,000

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and all its subsidiaries are proud to be EEO employers.