Associate Director, Coverage & Access

This position will be located at the East Hanover, NJ site and will not have the ability to be located remotely. This position will require travel as defined by the business (domestic and/or international). Novartis is unable to offer relocation support for this role: please only apply if this location is accessible for you. The Associate Director, Coverage & Access will be responsible for overseeing a designated team of Coverage & Access Supervisors. The successful candidate will be responsible for monitoring the team's performance in accordance with enterprise Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and agent metrics. Additionally, the Associate Director will serve as a subject matter expert on enterprise Coverage & Access activities and will have a crucial role in ensuring the compliance of the designated Coverage & Access Specialists team with Novartis policies and procedures. Collaborating closely with other Associate Directors and teams such as Case Management, Central Operations, Performance Excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for the daily operations of all aspects of the Coverage & Access Specialist team under their realm of leadership including performance, engagement, people management (growth/coaching/motivation), adherence to agent/company policies/processes, and serves as a systems (Salesforce) and Coverage & Access SME for their direct and indirect reports.
• Demonstrates the ability to problem solve operational and customer services impacts to provide clear, concise direction for all associated Coverage and Access Specialists and Supervisors.
• Oversee Supervisors that directly manage and support a team of 10-14 Coverage & Access Specialists each, ensuring operational excellence and aligning with SLAs, KPIs, and agent-specific metrics. Team focus and responsibilities will be one of three areas: Benefits Investigation, Coverage Exceptions or Annual Reverification; however, this role will be expected to have the ability to lead any/all aspects.
• Serves as a Coverage & Access SME for the Learning & Development and Documentation teams on the design, documentation, and administration of role, process, and systems-based trainings, including simulations and certifications.
• Provides oversight of the Supervisor team to ensure coaching for the Coverage & Access Specialists addresses trends identified during audits and calibrations.
• Collaborates with the brand-specific Associate Director, Case Management and other PSC business leads to address reimbursement functions within the patient journey.
• Partners with Central Operations functions for Customer Relations Management (CRM) system operations, technical escalations, and optimization.
• Partners with Director, Coverage & Access to identify operational and technical areas of opportunity. Maintain knowledge of industry trends and best practices.
• Collaborates with Performance, Quality, and Excellence (PQE) to monitor call and system performance of Coverage & Access Specialists. Ensure monitoring outcomes are executed at the individual and team level. Schedule coaching, huddles and other sessions to positively impact overall performance and compliance of team.
• Responsible for identifying and reporting adverse events via the established Novartis systems as per applicable processes

Essential Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's Degree required; advanced business degree (MBA) preferred
• 5+ years of pharmaceutical industry or related consulting experience
• 2+ years of people management/leadership experience
• Comprehensive knowledge of patient support offerings including benefits verification (pharmacy and/or medical), and payer coverage exception strategies (Prior Auth/Appeal)
• Knowledge of HIPAA regulations, patient privacy, and other Novartis policies
• Strong analytical acumen and ability to apply data driven insights for operational improvements
• Thorough understanding and knowledge of US healthcare economics and the drivers of pharmaceutical demand
• Strategic thinker who can adapt and grow with the evolving Novartis Patient Support landscape
• Proficient in Microsoft Office tools (PowerPoint, Excel) and CRM systems (e.g. Salesforce)

Desirable Requirements

• Previous management of a Coverage & Access hub or manufacturer team
• Experience with obtaining benefits for rare/orphan, gene therapy, or radio ligand products

Salary Range: $126,000.00 - $234,000.00

Skills Desired: Calls Handling, Customer Retention, Customer Service, Data Analytics, Efficiency, Microsoft Access, Operations, Procurement, Promotion Marketing, Retail Loss Prevention, Sales, Sales Support, Sales Targets, Selling Skills, Technical Skills, Waterfall Model