Associate Director, Contract Development & Pricing Strategy

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.•,

88d•$175,000 - $195,000•Remote

About The Position

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is building and scaling its US commercial enterprise organization, and the US Market Access team is expanding capabilities to support current and future product launches within the US Pricing & Contracting department. The Associate Director, Contract Development & Pricing Strategy is a senior individual contributor and subject-matter expert in payer, channel, and government contracting across Ionis product lifecycles. The role applies broad expertise and independent judgment to complex contracting, pricing, and gross-to-net matters; develops analyses and recommendations for authorized decisionmakers; and translates approved pricing and contracting direction into consistent policies, operating standards, and execution. It leads high-priority cross-functional initiatives and is accountable for results within its assigned scope. Its work may affect Pricing & Contracting and the broader Market Access function and inform commercial decisions. The Associate Director exercises judgment within established policies, governance, and delegated authority. The role recommends options and escalates decisions or exceptions requiring approval. It is an individual contributor role and does not include formal people-management responsibility. The work location is remote.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related area of study such as finance, accounting, economics, STEM, pre-law, or pre-med, and 12 years of related experience; alternatively, a CPA, MBA, JD, or equivalent is preferred with 8 years of related experience.
Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgment on complex matters, develop sound recommendations, and explain advanced concepts clearly to varied audiences.
Strong knowledge of and experience implementing or administering systems and reporting mechanisms supporting pharmaceutical contract and rebate administration across payer, provider, government, and specialty pharmacy customers, such as Model N or Vistex.
Demonstrated experience reviewing, redlining, and negotiating contracts across commercial and government rebate structures, including GPO, PBM, and value-based arrangements.
Strong knowledge of government pricing, including AMP, ASP, Best Price, and FAMP, and understanding of related contracting implications.
Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage complex work independently, in multidisciplinary teams, and with external partners and vendors.

Nice To Haves

CPA, MBA, JD, or equivalent, with 8 years of related experience.

Responsibilities

Develop analysis and recommendations to inform pricing policy, contracting approaches, and governance; translate approved direction into operating standards, procedures, and controls for payer, channel, and government agreements; assess contract terms’ financial impact on pricing policy and gross-to-net.
Lead analysis and operational coordination of pricing updates, including list-price change scenarios and timing recommendations, competitive pricing benchmarks, and assessment of price-protection and CPI-cap terms’ effect on customer-level net price; coordinate implementation of approved changes.
Support customer negotiations by assessing proposed terms against approved pricing positions and guardrails, explaining net-price, strategic, financial, operational, regulatory, patient-access, and broader business implications, recommending options, and escalating proposals requiring exception or approval.
Serve as an internal subject-matter expert and advisor to senior leaders and cross-functional partners on complex pricing and reimbursement matters; provide evidence-based recommendations and influence stakeholders through analysis and communication while decision authority remains with designated leaders and governance bodies.
Lead high-priority cross-functional initiatives, including implementation of an approved roadmap for a rebate management platform that models and tracks pricing policy’s financial impact on net price and rebate liability; align stakeholders, manage workplans and dependencies, mitigate project risks, track milestones, and report business outcomes.
Oversee ongoing contract management, maintenance, and data ingestion; track amendments and renewals; report contract performance, rebate liability, and net-price trends to inform recommendations and policy refinements.
Maintain compliant contracting and pricing processes within the role’s scope; partner with Legal, Compliance, Government Pricing, Finance, and other relevant functions; identify potential issues and escalate questions or exceptions to appropriate decisionmakers.
Coordinate external partners’ and vendors’ work and lead cross-functional project contributors, as applicable; set expectations, monitor deliverables, and address or escalate performance risks.