Director, Field Access

PharmaEssentia U.S.A.

1d•$240,000 - $270,000

About The Position

The Director, Field Access is a senior leader responsible for driving patient access across a complex payer, specialty pharmacy, and provider landscape. This individual provides performance leadership, process optimization, and strategic guidance to the Field Access Manager team while serving as a critical connector between field execution and home office strategy. The Director partners deeply with Market Access, field sales, Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), Marketing, and internal operations to remove patient access barriers, align cross-functional priorities, and build scalable systems that support team effectiveness. This role is ideally suited for a seasoned access professional with deep expertise in pharmacy benefit management, oncology, and/or rare disease — someone who understands the nuances of prior authorization, specialty pharmacy channel management, and HCP office engagement at an advanced level.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree (MBA, PharmD, MPH, or equivalent) preferred
7–10+ years of experience in pharmaceutical/biotech Market Access, Reimbursement, or Field Access
Deep expertise in pharmacy benefit management, including specialty pharmacy operations, prior authorization processes, step therapy, and formulary management
Direct experience in oncology and/or rare disease therapeutic areas, with a strong understanding of the complex patient access and treatment initiation challenges inherent to these spaces
Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop field-based teams, formally or informally
Proven track record of identifying systemic access barriers and driving cross-functional solutions
Proficiency in CRM and field reporting platforms (Salesforce, Veeva, or similar)
Ability to travel approximately 75% of the time, including field rides, customer engagements, and internal meetings; must reside within 50 miles of a major hub airport to support national travel demands

Nice To Haves

Prior experience effectively leading and developing field-based reimbursement or access teams in a formal director or senior leadership capacity
Strong working knowledge of hub services, copay assistance programs, and patient support ecosystems in specialty/rare disease
Demonstrated experience working with specialty distributors and limited distribution drug (LDD) networks
Strong executive presence with the ability to communicate compellingly to both field teams and senior leadership

Responsibilities

Serve as a lead resource for Field Access Manager performance, partnering with the Senior Director to set KPIs, monitor metrics, and identify coaching opportunities
Conduct regular field rides and co-travels (~75% travel) to assess Field Access Manager effectiveness, provide real-time feedback, and model best-in-class HCP engagement
Support onboarding, ongoing development, and performance improvement initiatives for Field Access Managers
Analyze individual and team performance data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities; present findings with actionable recommendations to leadership
Contribute to performance review processes, including goal-setting frameworks and developmental planning for Field Access Managers
Identify inefficiencies in field access workflows and lead cross-functional efforts — in close partnership with internal operations teams — to design and implement scalable process improvements
Serve as a subject matter expert and champion for CRM platforms, access tracking tools, and reporting systems (e.g., Salesforce, Veeva, or equivalent)
Develop and refine standard operating procedures (SOPs), field tools, and training resources to ensure consistency and compliance across the team
Partner with operations and analytics teams to enhance data infrastructure supporting field activity reporting, account tiering, and pull-through tracking
Evaluate and pilot new tools, technologies, or workflows that improve team productivity and patient access outcomes
Proactively assess and integrate AI-enabled tools and technologies to optimize field team performance, including predictive account targeting, automated reporting, HCP engagement analytics, and workflow automation — serving as a champion for responsible and compliant AI adoption within the field access function
Anticipate and prepare the team for future product launches, market access landscape shifts, and evolving payer dynamics — including formulary changes, policy developments, and competitive access events — ensuring the Field Access Manager team is trained, equipped, and strategically positioned well in advance of market changes
Monitor the external market access environment on an ongoing basis, synthesizing payer, policy, and competitive intelligence to inform field readiness planning and proactively surface strategic implications to senior leadership
Maintains a ~75% field presence to conduct field rides, coach the Field Access Manager team through live account interactions, and model best-in-class HCP engagement
Serves as an escalation point for complex access challenges including prior authorization denials, specialty pharmacy delays, and coverage disputes across the team's portfolio of accounts
Engages with internal Patient Access and Payer teams as needed to support resolution of complex patient-specific access issues
Reinforces compliant, value-added HCP interactions consistent with company policy and industry standards
Represent the Field Access team in internal planning meetings, brand strategy sessions, and market access forums, serving as the voice of the field for access-related priorities
Build and sustain strong working partnerships with Market Access colleagues (Payer Relations and Patient Access) to ensure field execution is aligned with payer strategy, coverage wins, and formulary developments
Collaborate closely with field counterparts — including Sales, Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), and field Marketing — to coordinate account-level strategy, share access intelligence, and deliver a cohesive customer experience across functions
Prepare and deliver field intelligence, account-level insights, and access barrier analyses to internal stakeholders, ensuring home office teams have ground-level visibility to inform strategy
Partner with the Patient Access team within Market Access to align on patient support program execution, copay and financial assistance programs, and patient journey optimization
Collaborate with Trade & Distribution to align on channel strategy, specialty pharmacy network management, and product access execution
Serve as the primary liaison between the Field Access team and Marketing to ensure the field has the strategic assets, tools, and resources needed to effectively engage accounts, educate HCPs on the access process, and support patient initiation — providing ongoing field feedback to Marketing to inform content development and ensure materials reflect real-world access dynamics
Contribute to national and regional meeting planning, including agenda development, training content, and field communications for Field Access Managers
Act as a primary liaison between Field Access Managers and home office leadership, translating strategic priorities into actionable field execution and surfacing field feedback to senior leadership