Associate Director, US Marketing Ophthalmology, Patient Support Program Access and Affordability Lead

Merck • North Wales, PA

8h • $142,400 - $224,100 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director, Access & Affordability Programming is responsible for the strategic design, implementation, optimization, and ongoing management of access, reimbursement, and affordability programs supporting patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and retina practices across the US Ophthalmology portfolio. The role translates ophthalmology-specific patient, provider, and business needs into differentiated solutions that reduce barriers to therapy initiation and continuity, including hub services, reimbursement support, benefit verification, prior authorization support, copay programs, and other financial assistance solutions.

The position provides strategic direction and oversight for access and affordability initiatives, partnering with internal teams and external vendors to deliver an integrated patient support experience. It serves as a primary brand representative for access and affordability strategy and an ophthalmology subject matter expert in support program development. The position reports to the US Ophthalmology Patient Support Strategy lead.

This is a hybrid role based in Upper Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, with an expectation of working on-site three days per week. Travel requirements are 10%.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent (BA/BS).
• At least 5 years designing, scaling, or optimizing patient affordability and/or access programs, or high-volume buy-and-bill patient support models, with measurable outcomes.
• Knowledge of buy-and-bill access dynamics, medical benefit reimbursement pathways, and the distribution ecosystem.
• Strong understanding of patient support program models and hub services.
• Awareness and understanding of US commercial and regulatory requirements.
• Strategic thinking, problem-solving, analytical, and planning skills.
• Experience creating and maintaining program documentation, playbooks, and implementation plans.
• Ability to plan, prioritize, execute, anticipate challenges, and iterate with a growth mindset.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and ability to influence without direct authority across complex or matrixed enterprise teams.
• Strong collaboration skills, business agility, adaptability, and comfort with change.
• Ability to use data analytics, customer insights, and market intelligence to guide decisions and measure program outcomes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including strategy communications, direct customer engagement, and executive presentations.
• High degree of integrity and ethics.
• Strong attention to detail and documentation discipline.
• Resilience, adaptability, and a growth mindset.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or equivalent.
• Ophthalmology, retina, specialty biologic, or specialty care experience.
• Product launch experience.
• Experience working with Field Reimbursement Managers (FRMs), reimbursement support vendors, or related provider-facing support capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of the access and affordability vision and strategy for the US Ophthalmology portfolio.
• Identify patient, caregiver, provider, and account-level barriers affecting treatment access, initiation, adherence, and persistence.
• Translate ophthalmology market insights into patient support strategies that support brand objectives and improve the treatment experience.
• Represent the brand's access and affordability strategy in cross-functional planning and launch teams, and integrate patient support priorities into annual brand planning and long-range portfolio strategy.
• Lead end-to-end process mapping and cross-functional coordination for affordability- and adherence-related strategic decisions, including go-to-market implementation, post-launch follow-through, and ongoing optimization.
• Translate brand priorities into program requirements, business rules, patient experience objectives, and success metrics.
• Collaborate with the Patient Engagement CoE to enhance patient support capabilities and incorporate industry best practices; serve as an ophthalmology subject matter expert in program development.
• Partner with stakeholders to establish measurement frameworks, KPIs, data requirements, dashboards, and consistent performance reporting.
• Integrate and interpret patient experience, operational, and vendor performance data to identify drivers, risks, barriers, and opportunities for improvement.
• Use data-driven insights to optimize customer experience strategy, patient touchpoints and channels, launch readiness, and patient support program evolution.
• Lead patient support strategy development for new product launches and major indication expansions.
• Align access and affordability strategies with payer, provider, contracting, reimbursement, and field engagement strategies; partner with Marketing, Market Access, Field Reimbursement, Provider Strategy, and the CoE on launch readiness.
• Support development of patient support positioning, messaging, training, and field-facing materials.
• Ensure program strategy and execution comply with applicable promotional, privacy, regulatory, and other requirements; partner with Legal and Compliance on approvals and monitoring.
• Embed governance and guardrails into program operations while enabling timely execution.
• Maintain understanding of retina practice workflows, patient journeys, reimbursement challenges, and access barriers; identify friction affecting therapy initiation and continuity.
• Champion customer-centric program enhancements and design support solutions that help practices navigate buy-and-bill reimbursement environments.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision healthcare, and other insurance benefits for employees and family.
• Retirement benefits, including 401(k).
• Paid holidays, vacation, compassionate days, and sick days.
• Eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior