Associate Director D&A Strategy

MSD•Rahway, NJ

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director, Specialty Pharmacy (SP) Data Strategy, Contracting & Enablement leads the strategy, acquisition, contracting, and enablement of Specialty Pharmacy and patient-level data assets that support commercial operations, reporting, analytics, and decision-making. The role connects business processes, patient journeys, reporting needs, and KPIs to the data required to support them, while ensuring requirements are incorporated into vendor agreements and successfully operationalized. The position reports to the Director, Commercial Data Solutions, within the Data Strategy, Products and Innovation organization. The role establishes the SP data strategy and roadmap; translates business and analytical needs into detailed data requirements and contractual deliverables; and works with Sourcing/Contracting, Legal, Privacy, Compliance, Technology, Analytics, vendors, and business teams. It oversees external data partnerships, aggregator engagements, FMV evaluations, data-feed implementation, data quality and delivery standards, vendor governance, and scalable data standards and frameworks. It also ensures patient-level data acquisition and enablement align with applicable HIPAA, PHI, privacy, tokenization, data usage, and enterprise governance requirements. The primary location is Rahway, New Jersey, and the work arrangement is hybrid. Travel requirements are 10%. The position is regular, with no relocation and no visa sponsorship. The posted base salary range for the primary location is $156,900 to $247,000, and the successful candidate may be eligible for an annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree with at least 10 years of relevant experience, or MBA/MS with at least 7 years of relevant experience, in pharmaceutical or biotechnology data, Specialty Pharmacy, Patient Support Services, Market Access, analytics, or related disciplines.
Deep understanding of the Specialty Pharmacy and patient data ecosystem, including dispense/inventory, patient status/referral, BI/BV, PA/ePA, copay, PAP/free goods, and adherence data.
Demonstrated ability to translate business processes, patient journeys, reporting requirements, and KPIs into data requirements and contractual deliverables.
Experience developing and managing data agreements and external data partnerships, including Specialty Pharmacies, data aggregators, Hub/PSS vendors, or other commercial data providers.
Experience partnering across Sourcing, Legal, Privacy, Compliance, Analytics, Technology, and business teams to acquire and operationalize external data.
Understanding of FMV assessments, data licensing, usage rights, SLAs, data quality, and vendor governance.
Strong understanding of patient-level data governance, PHI/HIPAA considerations, and data quality management.
Strong strategic thinking, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to influence internal and external stakeholders.
Advanced analytics, business analysis, data aggregation, data quality control, data science, demand management, HIPAA compliance, influencing, patient access, patient support programs, product rollouts, requirements management, sourcing and procurement, specialty pharmaceuticals, and stakeholder relationship management skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting specialty/rare disease or other patient-support-intensive therapeutic areas.
Working knowledge of data and analytics environments such as SQL, Databricks, Redshift, or equivalent platforms.
Familiarity with commercial and patient-level data sources such as IQVIA, Symphony Health, MMIT, Precision, or similar providers.
Experience supporting product launches, Specialty Pharmacy network changes, Hub/SP implementations, or major data/vendor transformations.

Responsibilities

Define the Specialty Pharmacy data strategy and roadmap to support patient journeys, operational processes, reporting, KPIs, and advanced analytics.
Translate business and analytical needs into detailed data requirements, including critical data elements, business rules, file specifications, delivery frequency, data quality expectations, and service-level agreements.
Partner with Sourcing/Contracting, Legal, Privacy, and Compliance to incorporate data requirements, usage rights, and delivery expectations into new agreements, renewals, and amendments.
Maintain traceability from business needs and KPIs through data requirements, vendor commitments, data delivery, reporting, and analytics.
Manage strategic relationships with Specialty Pharmacies, data aggregators, PSS providers, and other data partners, aligning on capabilities, deliverables, performance, and changing business needs.
Oversee data aggregator engagements, including data scope, licensing and usage rights, service levels, renewals, commercial considerations, and vendor governance.
Lead or support Fair Market Value evaluations for data and data-related services, aligning investments with business needs, data utility, and value.
Drive implementation and enablement of new or enhanced data feeds through design, testing, validation, production deployment, and stabilization.
Establish and monitor data quality and delivery standards, resolving gaps across contracted requirements, vendor delivery, downstream ingestion, and reporting.
Embed data strategy and requirements into product launches, Specialty Pharmacy onboarding, network changes, PSS transformations, and vendor transitions.
Develop scalable data standards, dictionaries, specifications, data maps, and governance frameworks for Specialty Pharmacy and patient-level data assets.
Identify opportunities to enhance, consolidate, or rationalize external data assets to improve business value and reduce duplication and complexity.
Ensure patient-level data acquisition and enablement comply with applicable HIPAA, PHI, privacy, tokenization, data usage, and enterprise governance requirements.