Associate Director, Patient Support Communications

Vertex Pharmaceuticals • Boston, MA

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director, Patient Support Communications will be part of the Patient Support Communications team within the US, Patient Support Business Unit and supporting the US, Heme Business Unit dedicated to commercializing CASGEVY® (exagamglogene autotemcel), a gene therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD) and transfusion dependent thalassemia (TDT). This individual will be accountable for understanding the CASGEVY end-to-end treatment journey, associated needs of key healthcare provider (HCP) and patient communities, and develop materials and processes to execute a suite of patient support programs. This individual will also help expand and evolve the strategy for customer engagement along the treatment journey and oversee development of core patient engagement materials for patient audiences.

Requirements

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in pharmaceutical marketing, patient experience communications, or closely related fields
• Minimum of 3 years of experience managing agency partners and vendors to develop program frameworks, communication strategies, and execution of materials
• Patient support experience for a cell or gene therapy product (commercial or clinical trial)
• Familiarity/experience working with the SCD and/or TDT communities
• Experience launching a product for a rare disease/underserved patient population
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, or scientific degree or equivalent
• Demonstrated ability to effectively collaborate across cross-functional teams internally & externally
• Strong analytical skills, ability to derive insights from customer engagements and apply them to tactical creation
• Ability to manage up and across an organization; can adeptly identify when/what information to share with leadership and/or cross-functional stakeholders at critical timepoints
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal; comfortable engaging with diverse audiences ranging from cross-functional colleagues & senior leaders to HCP customers & patient communities
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, solutions-oriented business environment
• Strong budget management and program management experience
• Experience collaborating offline and managing formal reviews with legal, medical and regulatory partners

Responsibilities

• Oversee the design, evolution, and implementation of patient support program materials to communicate program eligibility, enrollment, and offerings
• Partner closely with the Patient Services Operations Team to map out end-to-end program processes, identify communication touchpoints, and work with key vendors to develop materials regarding support program offerings
• Collaborate with systems/technology teams and compliance teams to maintain knowledge management tools, communication manuals, and approved resources
• Support annual brand planning efforts to maintain forward movement and appropriate customer engagement throughout the CASGEVY treatment journey
• Define metrics along with tactical development; implement measurement plans & optimize as needed
• Clearly understand and compliantly support the evolving needs of healthcare providers and patients undergoing treatment with CASGEVY
• Develop and execute research and insight gathering plans to understand knowledge and access gaps throughout the treatment journey, including attending patient and HCP congresses and executing focus groups in collaboration with patient advocacy and marketing colleagues
• Build relationships & partner with Authorized Treatment Center teams to gather feedback on communications plans & tactics
• Partner with Care Managers to develop, refine, and optimize conversation guides, FAQs, and patient support program materials
• Work with agency partners to develop corresponding tactics and bring through legal/medical/regulatory review (i.e., Promotional Review Committees)
• Foster cross-functional collaboration and decision-making within a fast-paced, dynamic environment to deliver consistent, high-quality materials and deliverables for patient and HCP audiences
• Partner with brand marketing teams to ensure consistency in messaging, patient and HCP engagement strategies, and tactics
• Build and sustain strong cross-functional working relationships with key internal stakeholders, including patient support operations, market access, patient advocacy, Global and US marketing, corporate communications, legal, compliance, and finance
• Communicate and share best practices amongst internal teams regarding patient support communications across therapeutic areas

Benefits

• This role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards.
• Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay, in accordance with federal and state requirements.
• At Vertex, our Total Rewards offerings also include inclusive market-leading benefits to meet our employees wherever they are in their career, financial, family and wellbeing journey while providing flexibility and resources to support their growth and aspirations.
• From medical, dental and vision benefits to generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), educational assistance programs including student loan repayment, a generous commuting subsidy, matching charitable donations, 401(k) and so much more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees