Director, Cell Therapy Field Reimbursement Lead

Kite Pharma • Minneapolis, MN

1d • $205,615 - $266,090 • Remote

About The Position

We’re here for one reason and one reason only – to cure cancer. Every moment is dedicated to developing treatments and every action moves us one step closer to our goal. We’ve made incredible scientific breakthroughs and our pioneering personalized CAR T-cell therapies have changed the paradigm. But we're not finished yet. Join Kite, as we make even bigger advances in cancer therapies, and help shape where our business and medical science goes next. We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Kite and help create more tomorrows. Job Description We are seeking a highly motivated and knowledgeable individual to join our team as a Director, Cell Therapy Field Reimbursement Lead, supporting our CAR-T therapy portfolio. This field-based, customer-facing leadership role is focused on ensuring timely and seamless patient access to therapy by guiding a team of Field Reimbursement Managers (FRMs) and providing expert oversight on reimbursement and payer-related processes. The Team Lead will serve as both a strategic partner and hands-on resource, working directly with Authorized Treatment Centers (ATCs), payers, and internal stakeholders. This role requires deep expertise in access and reimbursement—including billing and coding, payer policy navigation, and issue resolution—along with strong leadership and cross-functional collaboration skills. Reporting to the US Head of Patient Access, this position can be remotely based within the U.S, with expected travel of 25% or more.

Requirements

• Advanced scientific degree (i.e., MD, PharmD, PhD) and 8+ years of relevant experience
• Master’s Degree and 10+ years of relevant experience
• Bachelor’s Degree and 12+ years of relevant experience

Nice To Haves

• 7+ years of experience in reimbursement, patient access, or provider support, ideally in oncology, rare disease, or cell/gene therapy
• Deep expertise in buy-and-bill, institutional billing, and payer coverage policy
• Proven ability to address and escalate complex payer issues including prior auth delays and denials
• Prior support of autologous or CAR-T therapies
• Familiarity with workflows from leukapheresis to infusion
• Experience supporting academic or hospital-based treatment centers
• Experience navigating and educating providers on HUB services
• Strong interpersonal, presentation, and problem-solving skills
• Create Inclusion - knowing the business value of diverse teams, modeling inclusion, and embedding the value of diversity in the way they manage their teams.
• Develop Talent - understand the skills, experience, aspirations and potential of their employees and coach them on current performance and future potential. They ensure employees are receiving the feedback and insight needed to grow, develop and realize their purpose.
• Empower Teams - connect the team to the organization by aligning goals, purpose, and organizational objectives, and holding them to account. They provide the support needed to remove barriers and connect their team to the broader ecosystem

Responsibilities

• Function Build-Out & Infrastructure Development
• Design and implement SOPs, workflows, and policies for the Field Reimbursement team.
• Develop scalable training programs and onboarding materials for new FRMs.
• Establish documentation standards and operational playbooks to ensure consistency across regions.
• Create performance metrics and reporting tools to monitor team effectiveness and impact.
• Team Leadership & Development
• Recruit, train, and manage a high-performing team of FRMs.
• Provide ongoing coaching, performance feedback, and career development support.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Strategic Oversight
• Align team activities with broader Market Access and Patient Services strategies.
• Monitor regional performance metrics and ensure consistent execution of access initiatives.
• Identify trends and proactively address systemic reimbursement barriers.
• Operational Excellence
• Ensure FRMs deliver expert guidance on benefit verification, prior authorization, site-of-care authorization (SCA), claims submission, and appeals.
• Oversee escalation pathways for payer delays and denials, ensuring timely resolution through internal and HUB channels.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner with Case Management, HUB Services, Payer National Account Directors, Sales and Market Access to ensure coordinated support for ATCs.
• Serve as a key conduit for field insights, informing policy, strategy, and payer engagement efforts.
• Compliance & Training
• Ensure all team activities are conducted in a compliant, non-promotional manner.
• Lead training initiatives to enhance FRM knowledge of billing, coding, payer policy, and institutional reimbursement models.

Benefits

• This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package.
• Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans.
• For additional benefits information, visit: https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing
• Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees