Director, Patient Support Strategy Lead, US Oncology, Marketing

Merck • North Wales, PA

1d • $190,800 - $300,300 • Hybrid

About The Position

The U.S. Oncology business within our company is a growing and dynamic organization committed to advancing innovative therapies for patients with cancer. We have an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic commercial team focused on Intismeran Autogene, an oncology mRNA-based individualized neoantigen therapy (INT) being developed through an alliance partnership. Intismeran Autogene represents a transformative approach to personalized cancer treatment and requires a highly coordinated operating model to support seamless therapy delivery across a complex treatment ecosystem.
Reporting to the Executive Director, U.S. Commercial Leader, the Director, Patient Experience Strategy will serve as the commercial lead for patient experience, patient navigation, and patient support capabilities for Intismeran Autogene. This leader will be responsible for defining the vision, strategy, and future-state operating model that enables patients to successfully navigate the complexities of an individualized therapy journey.
The Director will build, lead, and develop a high-performing team responsible for designing and delivering an integrated patient experience strategy across the treatment journey. The team will create patient-centered solutions that address patient, operational, and logistical barriers, including shaping the Patient Support Program (PSP), defining the patient navigator strategy and operating model, establishing the Field Reimbursement Manager (FRM) strategy, and developing innovative approaches to enhance care coordination, patient education, treatment adherence, and overall patient experience.

Requirements

• Minimum 8 years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, or related commercial functions, with experience in, patient support, patient access, and market access.
• Demonstrated success designing and implementing patient support programs, patient navigation models, hub services, or access support capabilities that improve patient experience and treatment journey outcomes.
• Experience building, leading, and developing high-performing teams, with a proven ability to influence across complex, matrixed organizations and drive alignment among diverse stakeholders.
• Strong strategic thinking, business acumen, and analytical capabilities, with the ability to translate insights into actionable strategies and measurable business outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience leveraging data, analytics, and performance metrics to identify opportunities, inform decisions, and optimize patient support programs and patient journey performance.
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and drive organizational change.
• Strong problem-solving, planning, and execution skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and lead through evolving business needs.
• Demonstrated learning agility, business agility, and a growth mindset with a passion for innovation and continuous improvement.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting the commercialization or launch of advanced therapies, including cell therapy, gene therapy, radioligand therapy, individualized therapies, or other complex treatment modalities.
• Experience designing or optimizing patient navigator, hub, field reimbursement manager (FRM), or patient support operating models.
• Deep understanding of oncology patient journeys, reimbursement pathways, specialty distribution models, and advanced therapy treatment ecosystems.
• Marketing experience with a focus on patient engagement, adherence strategy, patient services, customer experience, or support program innovation.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the end-to-end patient experience strategy for Intismeran Autogene, ensuring patients can successfully navigate a complex individualized therapy journey from treatment consideration through treatment completion.
• Establish the vision, strategy, and operating model for patient support capabilities, including the Patient Support Program (PSP), ensuring support services are designed to address patient, operational, and logistical barriers throughout the treatment journey.
• Define the patient navigator strategy, operating model, service offerings, and engagement approach to improve care coordination, facilitate progression through key treatment milestones, and enhance the overall patient experience.
• Develop the FRM strategy and field support framework to help providers and patients navigate reimbursement, access, and treatment initiation requirements while optimizing the overall treatment experience.
• Lead the continuous assessment and optimization of the patient journey by identifying barriers, evaluating critical patient touchpoints, and implementing solutions that improve treatment initiation, adherence, and completion.
• Partner across Marketing, Patient Support COE, Market Access, Field Commercial, Therapy Operations, Data Strategy, Customer Experience, Legal, Compliance, and other stakeholders to build an integrated patient support ecosystem that delivers a seamless and coordinated patient experience.
• Establish measurement frameworks, performance metrics, and analytical capabilities that generate actionable insights, evaluate program effectiveness, identify patient barriers, and drive continuous improvement across patient support programs and the treatment journey.
• Build and lead a high-performing team while overseeing external patient support vendors and strategic partners. Establish governance structures, performance expectations, operational processes, and compliant business practices to ensure high-quality service delivery and execution excellence.

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• retirement benefits, including 401(k)
• paid holidays
• vacation
• compassionate and sick days

What This Job Offers

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