Director, Government Accounts (DGA)

Role Summary

The Director, Government Accounts (DGA) is a US field-based position and is responsible for developing and leveraging strategic relationships with executives and clinical teams at Veterans Administration (VA), Department of Defense (DoD), TriCare, Prime Medicaid, Centene and targeted IDNs to secure and maintain access for Ionis’ products. The DGA is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic business plans that will optimize appropriate engagement, coverage, reimbursement of and patient access to Ionis’s Olezarsen, Dawnzera and future products. This position reports to the Head, Strategic Accounts.

Responsibilities

• Assess strategic engagement and sales implications of short- and long-term actions with each payer customer and take action to move payer decisions in a direction that continue to open patient access to care with IONIS products.
• Provides and represents the IONIS enterprise view of our pipeline with key decision makers at VHA and DoD
• Collaborate with Patient Services and Chanel/Distribution to ensure reimbursement confidence and unimpeded access to all in-line brands to FDA label.
• Works closely with Value & Access, Marketing, Field Access Managers, Field Medical Directors, Government Affairs and Field Sales Leadership, to ensure consistent exchange of important payer information and messages that should be communicated.
• Provides periodic market updates to Sales Management that link important provider, payer and health care reform trends and issues as well as documents initiatives and their outcomes.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor's degree required; Master’s/advanced degree preferred.
• Required: At least 15 years of field-based pharmaceutical/biotech Sales and/or Marketing experience with at least 8 years of direct managed care experience; VA and DoD experience preferred.
• Required: Rare, orphan, specialty injectable, infused and oral therapy launch experience.
• Required: Extensive understanding of VA, DoD and market access organizational structures and processes.
• Required: Experience working compliantly with VA and DoD clinical teams in development of appropriate policy for Ionis products.
• Required: Solid history of building strong relationships with payer Medical and Pharmacy Directors (clinical and administrative), case managers, and other medical benefit managers.
• Required: Previous experience includes working with Hines PBM, VA Health Care, DoD, and TriCare and executing pull/push-through and any approved contracting tactics to local offices of the national organizations, as well as initiatives with other large and local managed care organizations.
• Required: Must be able to work with minimal supervision and strategic independent thought.
• Required: Field-based. Requires greater than 50% travel.
• Preferred: Establishes relationships with Pharmacy Directors and Medical Directors within key assigned accounts.
• Preferred: Therapeutic experience in rare disease strongly preferred.
• Preferred: Demonstrates knowledge of payer decision-making for formulary processes, coverage, coding, billing, and patient access to drugs, biologicals, medical devices.
• Preferred: Experience providing appropriate insights and input within development of payer PAs and, or Medical Policy.
• Preferred: Exceptional communication skills that include verbal, written and presentation abilities.
• Preferred: Demonstrates problem-solving capabilities.
• Preferred: Experience negotiating contracts and agreements.
• Preferred: Outstanding consultative and networking capabilities.
• Preferred: Excellent project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple tasks at one time.
• Preferred: Ability to skillfully negotiate in tough situations with both internal and external groups.
• Preferred: Understanding of organizational behavior, corporate culture, and be able to flourish in a complex and rapidly evolving workplace.
• Preferred: Skill to successfully lead account teams through collaboration with other members within and across sales, marketing, reimbursement and other business groups to improve overall effectiveness.