Director, Patient Strategy & Marketing, Alixorexton

Alkermes

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Patient Strategy & Marketing is a key member of the Alixorexton Brand Team, leading patient strategy, disease education, and patient marketing initiatives across narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. Reporting to the Senior Director, Alixorexton Brand Lead, this role develops and executes patient-focused strategies to increase disease awareness, support diagnosis and treatment readiness, enhance the patient experience, shape market readiness, and support successful launch execution. The Director leads a patient marketing team and partners with Market Access, Patient Services, Patient Advocacy, Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Legal, Corporate Communications, Commercial Operations, and other functions to deliver integrated programs aligned with brand objectives. The position operates in Alkermes’ flexible hybrid environment, with 60% of time in the office and 40% from home. Travel is approximately 20–30%. The annual base salary ranges from $200,000 to $240,000, and the position is eligible for an annual performance pay bonus. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, training, knowledge, and experience. Alkermes offers a competitive benefits package; additional details are available on its careers website.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
At least 12 years of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or related commercial experience.
Strong strategic thinking and business acumen.
Deep understanding of patient engagement, disease education, customer experience, and omnichannel marketing.
Excellent communication, presentation, and influencing skills.
Ability to translate insights into actionable business recommendations.
Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
Ability to balance strategic planning with operational execution.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Ability to drive results through collaboration and influence.

Nice To Haves

MBA or other advanced degree.
At least 5 years of progressive marketing experience, including patient, consumer, customer, or brand marketing responsibilities.
Demonstrated success leading patient, customer, consumer, or brand marketing initiatives in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
Demonstrated success developing and executing commercial strategies that drive business results.
Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives within a matrixed organization.
Prior people leadership experience, with a track record of developing, coaching, and leading high-performing teams.
Ability to influence stakeholders and senior leaders across functions.
Experience managing agencies, vendors, and external partners.
Launch experience.
Experience in neuroscience, neurology, sleep medicine, rare disease, or other complex therapeutic categories.
Experience developing disease education, patient engagement, or customer experience strategies.
Experience leveraging customer insights and analytics to inform commercial decision-making.
Experience operating effectively in a pre-launch or launch environment.

Responsibilities

Lead development and execution of patient strategy aligned with Alixorexton brand objectives.
Serve as the brand team's expert on patient insights, barriers, motivators, and unmet needs.
Translate patient and market insights into actionable strategies, programs, and investment decisions.
Contribute to annual brand planning, launch planning, and lifecycle management activities.
Ensure the patient perspective is incorporated into key commercial decisions and brand strategies.
Lead disease education strategies to improve awareness and understanding of narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia.
Develop initiatives addressing barriers to diagnosis, treatment initiation, and disease management.
Partner with Medical Affairs and Patient Advocacy to reflect patient needs and clinical insights in engagement strategies.
Support market development initiatives that improve disease awareness, diagnosis, and patient activation.
Lead development and execution of patient and caregiver marketing initiatives across branded and unbranded channels.
Oversee patient messaging, content strategy, and omnichannel engagement programs.
Lead patient support and engagement initiatives across the treatment journey.
Monitor performance and apply customer insights and analytics to optimize program effectiveness.
Partner across functions to drive aligned execution.
Lead agency and vendor relationships, ensuring high-quality work is delivered on time and within budget.
Support organizational launch readiness planning and execution.
Influence stakeholders across functions to drive decision-making and business results.
Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing patient marketing team.
Coach, mentor, and manage the performance of direct reports.
Build capabilities, processes, and ways of working to support launch and future brand growth.
Foster a collaborative, patient-centric, and results-oriented culture.