ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

Executive Director, Consumer Marketing

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals$271K — $339K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Healthcare, or related field required; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred.
  • Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in pharmaceutical or biotech marketing, focusing on consumer marketing, digital strategy, and patient engagement.
  • Demonstrated leadership experience in managing senior leaders and driving cross-functional initiatives.
  • Deep expertise in consumer, digital, and omnichannel marketing strategy with a track record of end-to-end patient journey execution.
  • Strong financial acumen for budget management and compliance.

Responsibilities

  • Owns and leads the enterprise consumer marketing and patient engagement strategy, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives.
  • Develops and leads senior marketing leaders to enhance organizational performance.
  • Represents patient and caregiver perspectives in senior leadership discussions to shape strategy.
  • Implements consumer marketing strategies throughout the product lifecycle, preparing for future indications.
  • Drives cohesive strategic planning across Consumer Marketing and Patient Education for unified messaging and engagement.
  • Creates an integrated patient journey strategy that connects awareness, education, and adherence across various channels.
  • Ensures alignment between consumer and HCP marketing strategies and synergistic integration in marketing executions.

Benefits

  • Competitive base salary with discretionary bonuses and equity awards.
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
  • 401(k) Plan with a fully vested company match.
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a purchase price lock-in.
  • Paid parental leave and tuition assistance, supporting work-life balance and professional development.
Full Job Description


Please note that this position can be based in San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, or Princeton, NJ. Acadia's hybrid model requires this role to work in our office three days per week on average.

Position Summary:

The Executive Director, Consumer Marketing leads the enterprise consumer and patient marketing strategy to drive brand growth, deepen patient engagement, and support long-term franchise success. As a key member of the brand and commercial leadership team, this role shapes strategic direction, influences senior stakeholders, and ensures seamless integration across Consumer, HCP, Sales, Market Access, Advocacy, and Corporate Affairs.

This leader provides oversight of both Consumer Marketing and Patient Education, delivering a cohesive, end-to-end patient and caregiver experience-from disease awareness through treatment initiation and ongoing engagement. They own consumer and patient strategy across the brand and broader Neuroscience franchise, including lifecycle management of the inline brand and readiness for future indications and pipeline opportunities. Serving as a trusted strategic advisor, the Executive Director plays a critical role in shaping brand and franchise direction at the senior leadership level.

Primary Responsibilities:
  • Owns and leads enterprise consumer marketing and patient engagement strategy, aligning across brand, franchise, and corporate priorities
  • Leads and develops senior leaders, including the Sr. Director, Consumer Marketing and Director, Patient Education, driving organizational performance
  • Represents the voice of the patient and caregiver in senior leadership forums, shaping brand and franchise strategy
  • Leads consumer strategy across the full lifecycle, including optimization of the inline brand and readiness for future indications and pipeline assets
  • Drives integrated strategic planning across Consumer Marketing and Patient Education, ensuring aligned messaging, engagement models, and execution across all patient touchpoints
  • Delivers a cohesive, end-to-end patient journey strategy connecting awareness, education, engagement, and adherence across channels
  • Ensures alignment between consumer and HCP strategies and strong integration between field-based Patient Educators and home office marketing
  • Leads cross-functional collaboration with HCP Marketing, Sales, Market Access, Medical Affairs, Advocacy, Corporate Affairs, and Commercial Operations, including enterprise engagement with Advocacy and Corporate Affairs partners
  • Oversees omnichannel consumer strategy, insights, and performance-spanning digital ecosystem, media, segmentation, journey mapping, and market dynamics-to drive measurable outcomes
  • Owns budgets, campaigns, patient engagement programs, agency strategy, and vendor management, ensuring high-impact execution, compliance with MLR standards, and support for evolving franchise and pipeline needs
  • Other duties as assigned

Education/Experience/Skills:
  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Healthcare, or related field required. MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred. Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in pharmaceutical or biotech marketing, with deep expertise in consumer marketing, digital strategy, and patient engagement models.
  • Demonstrated leadership experience required, including:
    • Leading senior leaders and/or managing second-line leadership
    • Driving cross-functional enterprise initiatives
  • Deep expertise in consumer, digital, and omnichannel marketing strategy
  • Proven ability to lead and develop leaders, driving performance through multiple layers
  • Strong track record of shaping enterprise strategy and influencing senior stakeholders
  • Experience integrating field-based patient engagement models with corporate marketing strategy
  • Demonstrated success driving end-to-end patient journey strategy and execution
  • Advanced consumer insights and analytics capabilities
  • Strong financial and budget management acumen
  • Exceptional communication, executive presence, and decision-making skills
  • Ability to operate effectively in a highly matrixed, fast-paced environment
  • Ability to travel up to ~40%

Physical Requirements:

This role involves regular standing, walking, sitting, and the use of hands for handling or operating equipment. The employee may also need to reach, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and maintain visual, verbal, and auditory communication both in a standard office environment and while working independently from remote locations. Employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. This position requires the ability to travel independently overnight and/or work after hours as required by travel schedule or business needs.

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In addition to a competitive base salary, this position is also eligible for discretionary bonus and equity awards based on factors such as individual and organizational performance. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance, and location.

Salary Range

$271,000-$339,300 USD

What we offer US-based Employees:
  • Competitive base, bonus, new hire and ongoing equity packages
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • Employer-paid life, disability, business travel and EAP coverage
  • 401(k) Plan with a fully vested company match 1:1 up to 5%
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a 2-year purchase price lock-in
  • 15+ vacation days
  • 13 -15 paid holidays, including office closure between December 24th and January 1st
  • 10 days of paid sick time
  • Paid parental leave benefit
  • Tuition assistance

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needs in central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The company's lead product, Nuplazid (pimavanserin), is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis. ACADIA's pipeline includes product candidates for the treatment of schizophrenia, dementia-related psychosis, and major depressive disorder. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
Learn more about ACADIA Pharmaceuticals
Size
500 employees
Market Cap
$2.5 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$281.5 million
Founded
1993
5 Year Trend
+94.6%
Revenue
$441.7 million
NASDAQ

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