Job Summary: The Director / Senior Director, Payer National Accounts, will be a critical commercial leader responsible for developing and executing the company's national account strategy in preparation for and following the launch of the organization's first commercial product. This individual will lead relationships and negotiations with key healthcare stakeholders including Payer (GPOs), Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and National Health Plans across the Commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid books of business, as well as the Veteran's Administration (VA), Dept. of Defense and other federal/state agencies.
As a member of the Market Access leadership team, the Director / Senior Director will play a highly visible role in shaping pricing, contracting, reimbursement, and access strategies that support successful product adoption and patient access. This role requires both strategic vision and hands-on execution, thriving in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial biotech environment.
Primary Relationships:- Within Cristcot: Collaborates closely with Sales, Marketing, Finance, Medical and Legal.
- Outside Cristcot: Builds and maintains relationships with top Payer GPOs, PBMs, and National Health Plans.
The activities of the Director / Senior Director, National Accounts will include, but are not limited to:
National Account Strategy & Execution- Develop and implement a comprehensive national accounts strategy to support launch readiness and long-term commercial success.
- Establish and manage executive-level relationships with key stakeholders across PBMs, GPOs, national and regional payers, specialty pharmacies.
- Identify, prioritize, and secure formulary access opportunities that align with corporate objectives.
- Serve as the primary commercial lead for assigned national accounts, creating account-specific business plans and performance objectives.
Payer & GPO/PBM Contracting- Lead negotiations and management of rebate, formulary, and value-based agreements with PBMs and health plans.
- Collaborate with Pricing, Market Access, Finance, Legal, and Compliance teams to develop contract strategies and evaluate financial implications.
- Monitor payer coverage policies, competitive dynamics, and market trends to proactively adjust account strategies.
- Support pull-through initiatives to maximize access and utilization within contracted organizations.
Launch Readiness & Cross-Functional Leadership- Serve as a key contributor to launch planning and commercialization efforts.
- Provide account insights to support forecasting, pricing strategy, patient access programs, and brand planning.
- Collaborate closely with Commercial, Medical Affairs, Trade, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and Executive Leadership teams.
- Develop processes, tools, and analytics to support national account management in a growing organization.
Leadership- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, customer focus, and excellence.
- Contribute to broader commercial strategy and organizational development initiatives.
- Demonstrate the value of our products, services and the Cristcot organization. Manage the interactions of executive-to-executive meetings
- Facilitates communication with field personnel and leadership on customer strategies and market trends.
- Responsible for the development of the account plan and the overall account strategy to include all stakeholders while working collaboratively to match customer's needs and expectations.
- Participate in Business reviews as a subject matter expert on assigned accounts.
- Represent Cristcot at Key National Conferences and Congress
Skills and Qualifications:Level will be determined based on the candidate's education, experience, demonstrated leadership capabilities, and overall qualifications.- Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree (MBA, MPH, PharmD, or related field) preferred.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, specialty pharmaceutical, or healthcare organizations; 505(b)(2) experience and/or drug delivery device experience preferred
- Minimum 5+ years of direct national account management experience with responsibility for Payer GPOs, PBMs, National Health Plans (to include government payers VA, DoD, and Medicaid).
- Broad and deep relationship customer-facing experience with one or more key national accounts (Ascent (Cigna/ESI), Zinc (CVS), Emisar (UHC).
- Outstanding customer relationships, interpersonal, and verbal / written communication skills, with established ability to effectively work with diverse audiences and influence cross-functionally.
- Demonstrated success negotiating complex Payer GPO, PBM, and National Health Plan agreements.
- Experience supporting pharmaceutical product launches and commercialization efforts.
- Strong understanding of market access, payer, reimbursement, and healthcare contracting dynamics.
- Proven ability to influence senior executives and manage complex stakeholder relationships.
- Strong financial acumen and contract evaluation capabilities.
- Experience in a small or emerging biotechnology company environment preferred.
- Experience launching specialty, gastroenterology, rare disease, oncology, or other high-value therapeutic products preferred.
- Existing relationships with major Payer GPOs, Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBMs) and National Health Plans.
- Experience building infrastructure and processes within a growing commercial organization preferred.
- Approximately 40-60% travel, including customer meetings, industry conferences, and internal planning sessions.
