Senior Director, Access Strategy, Rheumatology

Job Title: Senior Director, Access Strategy, Rheumatology

Location: Cambridge or Morristown

Reports To: General Manager, Rheumatology

About the job: Join the team transforming care for people with immune challenges, rare diseases, cancers, and neurological conditions. In Specialty Care, you’ll help deliver breakthrough treatments that bring hope to patients with some of the highest unmet needs.

Overview

The Sr. Director of Access Strategy is responsible for leading access strategy and execution of pricing/contracting strategy and GTN management, channel strategy, patient copay and other patient services related to coverage, reimbursement and patient access.

Main Responsibilities

• Collaborate with General Manager & senior leadership to **set** strategic direction for market access, pricing, channel strategy, and reimbursement.
• Develop and execute a robust, evidence-based market access strategy that maximizes payer adoption and patient access to critical therapies.
• Lead the creation of value propositions that demonstrate the economic and clinical benefits of products to payers, healthcare providers, and stakeholders.
• Develop and communicate robust market access strategies and plans, including clear articulation of the brands’ value story, and help integrate them into the overall brand plan.
• Lead preparations for brand lifecycle management strategies, including evidence generation and pricing to maximize IRA negotiations with CMS.
• Assess ongoing indication development strategies within Sanofi and with alliance partner; provide market access input into risks and opportunities, valuations and forecasts.
• Apply policy and payer policy trends to inform contracting strategy evolution.
• Partner with HEVA business partners to inform real world evidence generation and ensure health economic activities are in place to meet the needs of payers.
• Lead efforts to anticipate and adapt to changes in the regulatory and reimbursement landscape, ensuring compliance and sustained market access.
• Identify gaps in current market access understanding and develop plans to gain direct payer insights through primary research, advisory boards, etc., and work with vendors to implement projects in a timely, impactful manner.
• Lead pull through opportunities and execution of pull through strategy for all channels and geographies based upon formulary position and opportunity.
• Provide strategic and executional support for product launches, including market research, pricing strategy, contracting, and messaging to ensure successful market entry and adoption.
• Oversee and optimize the GTN for the therapeutic area, ensuring that pricing, rebates, and discounts are managed efficiently to optimize net sales / BOI.
• Monitor and analyze GTN performance, providing recommendations to senior leadership to mitigate risks and maximize profitability.
• Work closely with Market Access Shared Services, Finance, Forecasting, Patient Support Services, Trade, Legal, and other cross functional stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve the brand gross-to-net while ensuring ease of access for patients at dispense.
• As part of GTN management, ensuring success at all payers as well as the deployment of thoughtful copay programs will be a key focus.
• Partner with key functions (Trade, Patient Support Services) to achieve success across the therapeutic area.
• Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) and track progress against access and financial goals.
• Lead coordination of all access strategy elements via collaboration with cross‑functional teams, including Market Access Shared Services, Brand Strategy, Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Patient Support Services, distribution and Finance, to integrate access considerations into product development, launch, and lifecycle management.
• Ensure alignment of access strategies with overall business objectives, providing guidance to senior leadership on access‑related decisions.
• Serve as the TA subject matter expert for market access and GTN, providing strategic insights to influence key decisions at the leadership level.
• Work closely with Business Insights & Solutions (BIS) to monitor the competitive landscape & intelligence, track payer behavior, market trends, and industry developments to inform access and pricing strategies.
• Collaborate with Market Access Account Management team to ensure access strategies are executed with customers.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the Access Strategy team, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation; provide guidance, coaching, and professional development opportunities.
• Ensure alignment between team activities and broader therapeutic area and organizational goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, M.S., PharmD, PhD) preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in commercial roles, including significant direct experience in US market access (account management, payer marketing, contracting, pricing).
• Experience working in highly competitive and contracted therapeutic areas, such as rheumatology or other immunology categories.
• Proven track record of managing teams and **leading** strategic initiatives across complex therapeutic areas.
• Solid understanding of strategic pricing and commercial contracting strategy, process and rules.
• Experience developing and executing lifecycle management strategies and within dynamic policy and legislative environment.
• Experience launching new indications, including strong understanding of launching new formulations across medical and pharmacy benefit.
• Strong strategic thinking and analytical mindset, with a focus on financial optimization, and risk management.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to build, motivate, and develop high‑performing teams.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and negotiate with senior executives, payers, and external stakeholders.
• High degree of business acumen, with the ability to balance strategic objectives with financial imperatives.
• Ability to navigate complex, highly regulated environments and manage multiple priorities effectively.
• Demonstrated analytical and financial skillsets.
• Ability to balance brand and access objectives when they may be in conflict.
• Travel anticipated to be approximately 30% between field, Sanofi Specialty Care HQ, and other meetings as appropriate.

Benefits

• Thoughtful, well‑crafted rewards package that recognizes your contribution and amplifies your impact.
• Wide range of health and wellbeing benefits including high‑quality healthcare, prevention and wellness programs and at least 14 weeks’ gender‑neutral parental leave.
• Equal Opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to a culturally inclusive and diverse workforce; all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to a wide range of protected characteristics.
• Salary range for this position is: $206,250.00 - $297,916.66.

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only – this position is limited to US residents. Salary will be commensurate with demonstrated experience. Employees may be eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs.