Associate Director, Oncology Contract Strategy

AstraZeneca•Gaithersburg, MD

About The Position

The Associate Director, Oncology Contract Strategy supports the development and implementation of contract strategies for brands in AstraZeneca’s U.S. Oncology product portfolio. The role uses financial analytics and business platforms to align contracting with Market Access customer and business-segment needs, brand and therapeutic-area strategies, and launch and in-line product objectives. It helps optimize net price and access while supporting AstraZeneca’s leadership in innovative contracting. The position partners with customer-facing account teams, including the U.S. Payer Team, National Channel Account Team, and National Oncology Account Team. It may support direct customer engagement on prioritized initiatives and the development and execution of negotiation strategies. The role also collaborates with internal stakeholders across Access Strategy, Brand Leadership, Value Strategy and Evidence, Brand and Market Access Finance, Contract Operations, and Legal. A key focus is ensuring contract strategies and offerings are financially justified through ROI analysis and sound business judgment, and assessing their performance. The role regularly reevaluates existing strategies, develops segment strategies for its therapeutic areas, and monitors market and competitive conditions that may affect pricing and contracting. The position is based in Gaithersburg.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree; preferably in Marketing, Science, Economics, Finance, or a relevant field.
At least 4 years of experience in the pharmaceutical or healthcare industry.
Understanding of Market Access and healthcare delivery systems, including the impact of government policies and proposals.
Analytical skills, including problem solving, forecasting, contract development, and financial modeling.
Demonstrated negotiation and relationship-building skills.
Solution- and innovation-oriented mindset.

Nice To Haves

MBA or JD.
Understanding of healthcare marketing and sales practices.
Thorough understanding of pharmaceutical manufacturing business models, including brand-team operations, brand planning, and sales.
Finance and/or analytics background.
Contract development and negotiation experience.
Clinical acumen or health economics knowledge.

Responsibilities

Assist in developing contract strategies and guiding them through the approval and governance process.
Partner directly with customer-facing teams on prioritized key initiatives.
Co-develop and execute negotiation strategies with customer-facing teams.
Drive business analytics to support contract strategy activities and bring marketplace perspective and pragmatic solutions to optimize net price and access objectives.
Ensure contract strategies and offerings have financial justification based on ROI and sound business judgment.
Assess the performance of existing contract strategies and offerings and regularly reevaluate current strategies.
Develop segment strategies for assigned therapeutic areas.
Coordinate with analysts and specialists on operational activities, including rebates, chargebacks, government reporting, contract writing, and process approvals.
Monitor market trends and behaviors, interpret their likely impact, and recommend actions related to life-cycle contracting and pricing.
Develop a deep understanding of competitive market conditions affecting brand, therapeutic-area, and industry pricing.
Serve as a resource for Licensing and Business Development in assessing pricing for potential opportunities.
Collaborate with internal stakeholders, including Access Strategy, Brand Leadership, Value Strategy and Evidence, Brand and Market Access Finance, Contract Operations, and Legal.