Value & Access Contracting Lead - Trade, GPO, Specialty Pharmacy

UCB•N/A, N/A

2d•$175,000 - $215,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Value & Access Lead is a people leader accountable for leading the multi-channel Market Access & Pricing contracting language strategy and execution across 3 channels (trade, gpo, and/or specialty pharmacy), leading a team of 2 Contracting Partners to deliver compliant, timely, and commercially optimized agreements for enterprise-critical books of business. This position will not only manage the team but will also have contracting deliverable requirements. In a demanding, fast-paced environment, this role serves as the senior cross-functional contracting liaison with Account Management, Analytics, Legal, Finance, Pricing Committee, and Operations—leading high-stakes negotiations and continuously reprioritizing to identify risk, quantify financial impacts, and manage high-value, high-complexity agreements with strong controls, documentation discipline, and a focus on scalable execution and compliance.

Requirements

Bachelors Degree
10+ years of experience in Market Access/Value & Access Contracting, Pricing, Reimbursement, Market Access Strategy, Payer/Account Management, or related areas within pharmaceuticals/biotech.
Minimum of (1) 3+ years direct people leadership experience; (2) 1–2 years direct people leadership AND 3+ years leading on cross-functional teams and/or major negotiations with clear accountability for outcomes; (3) 8-10+ years account leadership (deal strategy ownership, governance leadership, delivery against timelines and financial targets); OR (4) 8-10+ years of experience in market access/trade contract redlining and negotiations.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated experience developing and delivering training and onboarding for contracting and/or market access teams (e.g., negotiating principles, contracting SOPs, governance pathways, and contracting tools/templates) to drive consistent execution and compliance.
Demonstrated expertise negotiating, drafting, redlining, and operationalizing complex agreements (e.g., rebates/fees, price protection, admin/service fees, dispute terms) with success balancing access, economics, and risk.
Strong working knowledge and commitment to pricing/contracting governance and compliance requirements, including required approval pathways, documentation standards, peer reviews, and partnering effectively with Legal/Compliance.
Advanced financial and analytical acumen to interpret deal models, identify risks, identify and understand financial impacts/exposure, evaluate scenarios, and make clear recommendations to stakeholders and leadership.
Advanced communication and influencing skills with a track record of aligning cross-functional stakeholders.
Experience contracting across multiple US market access channels (e.g., Trade/Distribution, GPO/IDN, Specialty Pharmacy, and/or 340B).
Prior ownership of contracting strategy for a brand launch, major indication expansion, or significant access shift (e.g., formulary wins/losses, channel re-architecture).
Exposure to advanced contracting constructs such as outcomes-based/value-based arrangements, performance guarantees, innovative pull-through programs, and complex dispute/true-up mechanisms.
Experience in specialty and/or rare disease market access dynamics strongly preferred.
Strong understanding of contracting operations and financial flows (rebate processing, chargebacks, fees/admin, eligibility, and audit/dispute management) and ability to partner effectively with internal operations teams.

Responsibilities

Set multi-channel value & access contracting language strategy across 3 channels (GPOs, Trade, and Specialty Pharmacy); translate brand/access objectives into contracting priorities, negotiation stances, and execution roadmaps.
Own end-to-end contract lifecycle accountability for assigned portfolio(s), including providing inputs and feedback into the Analytics-led modeling deal(s) process, term sheets, and conditions to rebate. In addition, providing negotiation oversight, approvals routing, execution, amendments, and renewals—ensuring timelines, quality, and audit-ready documentation.
Lead and develop a team of 2 Contracting Partners through clear performance expectations, coaching, training and onboarding, workload prioritization, review of work, and capability building; ensure consistent application of negotiating principles, processes, and contract standards.
Manage a high-volume, fast-paced portfolio by continuously triaging and reprioritizing workstreams across channels; align stakeholders on priorities, timelines, and trade-offs; and communicate proactive updates/escalations to ensure timely decisions and execution.
Serve as the senior contracting voice in cross-functional governance with Account Management, Pricing, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and Operations; own the contracting position and recommendation (informed by Analytics-led modeling and approvals) and align on deal economics, access trade-offs, and operational feasibility prior to execution.
Drive contract economics and risk trade-offs by identifying contractual and operational risks, understanding and communicating financial impact/exposure, evaluating financial terms, developing scenario-based recommendations, and escalating decisions that impact P&L, exposure, or channel strategy.
Ensure compliance, controls, and appropriate risk mitigation across all agreements.
Oversee operational readiness and issue resolution for executed agreements (implementation requirements, eligibility, adjudication, chargeback/rebate implications); lead timely negotiation and resolution of disputes and contract performance exceptions.
Establish performance management and reporting for the contracting portfolio workflow; communicate clear insights and recommendations to the Head and leadership stakeholders.
Standardize contracting ways of working by implementing templates, playbooks, clause libraries, and training/enablement materials (e.g., onboarding guides, negotiation toolkits) and driving continuous improvement initiatives that reduce variability, improve speed, and increase negotiation leverage.
Represent the function with executive-level presence in internal and external discussions; anticipate channel and payer dynamics, proactively surface risks/opportunities, and influence decisions to protect access, compliance, and enterprise value.