Associate Director, Copay and Affordability

Role Summary

The Associate Director, Copay and Affordability is responsible for supporting the execution and optimization of copay and affordability programs across multiple therapeutic areas. This role partners with Program Managers, vendors, and cross-functional teams to ensure operational excellence, compliance, and improve patient access. The Associate Director will contribute to strategic initiatives, help manage day-to-day program operational needs of program leaders, and support data-driven decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design, development, and launch of new and/or transitioning copay programs
• Support daily internal management needs and escalations for quick resolution
• Monitor overall program performance and identify operational issues or trends impacting patient access
• Provide vendor management to ensure program performance and responsiveness to requests
• Identify ways to proactively address maximizer/accumulator/AFP/cash-pay discount cards negatively impacting GTN
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and company policies related to all patient affordability programs
• Research and identify various Payer/PBM-related strategies that shift costs to patients
• Develop and maintain relationships across patient support vendors for ongoing communication
• Assist in developing and executing initiatives that improve patient affordability and access to prescribed therapy
• Analyze program data to support enhancements and informed decision making
• Partner with Market Access, Patient Support, and other stakeholders to align affordability efforts with brand goals
• Share data, updates, knowledge, and key findings with appropriate internal stakeholders
• Work with Program Managers to support strategy development and tactical planning on a quarterly and annual basis
• Participate in vendor capability assessments, help develop and/or review the creation of RFPs and responses
• Coordinate with Procurement on updates to vendor SOWs/MSAs for new product launches or services
• Identify opportunities to streamline operations and improve efficiencies
• Support benchmarking efforts to ensure program offerings are comparative to competitor therapies
• Assist in implementing standard operating procedures to enhance program efficiencies and best practices
• Focus on process that help streamline support and provide a more 'frictionless' patient journey
• Help improve the quality of data being collected through data feeds, APIs, dashboards, etc.
• Ensure accurate data collection and reporting for copay programs
• Use data insights to support continuous improvement and stakeholder reporting
• Prepare summaries of program performance and share findings with leadership
• Able to translate key data points across a variety of audiences
• Support compliance monitoring and risk mitigation efforts
• Maintain awareness of regulatory changes and ensure program alignment
• Identify ways to help increase awareness and availability of existing copay programs based on each patient journey
• Build collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Communicate program updates and insights to relevant teams and leadership
• Create trainings and provide insights on the impact of copay programs to patients

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor's degree in Business, Healthcare Management, or related field
• Required: 8 - 10 years of experience in copay program operations, patient affordability, Hub, PAP, or related areas
• Required: Strong understanding of healthcare access and reimbursement landscape
• Required: Experience managing vendor relationships and cross-functional projects
• Required: Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools (e.g., Excel, Tableau)
• Required: Excellent communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Healthcare Management, or related field; advanced degree a plus

Preferred Qualifications

• Preferred: Experience in pharmaceutical or healthcare industry focused on patient access
• Preferred: Previous vendor experience (Hub, PAP, Copay, Voucher, Specialty Pharmacy) a plus
• Preferred: Understanding of inter-connections across a patient journey from enrollment to shipment
• Preferred: Familiarity with market access and patient support programs, strategies, tactics