National Account Director - Job ID: 1917

Ascendis Pharma is a dynamic, fast-growing global biopharmaceutical company with locations in Denmark, Europe, and the United States. Today, we're advancing programs in Endocrinology Rare Disease and Oncology.

Here at Ascendis, we pride ourselves on exceptional science, visionary leadership, and skilled and passionate colleagues.

Guided by our core values of Patients, Science, and Passion, we use our TransCon® drug development platform to fulfill our mission of developing new and potentially best-in-class therapies to address unmet medical needs.

Our culture fosters a place where skilled, adaptable, and highly resourceful professionals can truly make their mark. We offer a dynamic workplace for employees to grow and develop their skills.

The National Account Director, Commercial position reports to the Senior Director, National Accounts and Payor Strategy and is responsible for developing and leveraging relationships within the Commercial (including Medicare Part D and Managed Medicaid) channel with payors, stakeholders and influencers to gain and maintain access for Ascendis products.  This role is responsible for the implementation of short- and long-term business plans that will optimize appropriate coverage, payment of and patient access to Ascendis products. This individual will assess sales implications of short- and long-term actions with each assigned GPO, PBM and target downstream customers and take action to move decisions in a direction that continues to open patient access to care aligned with the respective package inserts. There will also be internally focused responsibilities of market access education and executing pull-through as needed to optimize coverage. 

The Commercial National Account Director is expected to work with minimal supervision and demonstrate strategic independent thought. This individual will work closely with Pricing & Contracting, HEOR, Advocacy, Patient Services, Marketing, Finance, Operations and Sales Leadership, to ensure consistent exchange of important coverage information, marketplace dynamics, and messages that should be consistently communicated. The ideal candidate will have established relationships within the Ascent Health Services and Express Scripts (ESI) organization and experience obtaining coverage for rare disease products covered by pharmacy benefit.  This role will provide 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.

The position is remotely based. Travel > 50%

Key Responsibilities:

• Influence the development of strategies and solutions to address marketplace opportunities and barriers while proactively considering future market events (ie competitor launch)
• Independently seek analysis to support negotiations as a backbone for fact-based decision making in partnership with Pricing & Contracting, business analytics and medical affairs (HEOR) and lead contract pricing committee discussions regarding approvals for contracting requests for targeted accounts
• Provide customer insights and expertise in combination with analytics for support of key business decisions and strategies.
• Support business development opportunity assessments for market access considerations.
• Inform strategies and tactics to support appropriate formulary placement, reimbursement (coverage, coding, payment and patient access) and utilization management across payer customers
• Negotiate cost effective contracts that allow access to all Ascendis products for providers and their patients
• Create clear messages for dissemination to field based clinical specialists and reimbursement managers on important payer trends, changes, and billing requirements that will affect product utilization
• Work with the Ascendis Patient Services Field Reimbursement Managers to assure accurate coverage determinations are rendered and resolve customer issues.

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's/advanced degree preferred; Minimum 10 years field-based pharmaceutical/biotech Market Access, Sales and/or Marketing experience, with at least 5 years of direct managed care experience in the Commercial, Medicare Part D and Managed Medicaid channels.
• Demonstrated knowledge of payer decision-making for formulary processes, coverage, utilization management and patient access to self-injectables under pharmacy benefit through specialty pharmacies; therapeutic experience in rare disease, specifically endocrine conditions preferred.
• Extensive relationships and contracting experience with payers, health systems and organized customers at the national and regional level. Develops & nurtures key external relationships with payers, KOLs and business partners; established and current relationships with key executives at assigned accounts preferred
• Exceptional communication & influencing skills that include verbal, written and presentation abilities.
• Demonstrated problem-solving capabilities in overcoming complex market and stakeholder relationships;
• Develops and sustains highly collaborative and effective cross-functional working relationships
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple competing priorities and tasks at once.
• Ability to skillfully negotiate in tough/complex situations with both internal and external groups.
• Understanding of organizational behavior, corporate culture and able to flourish in a complex and rapidly evolving entrepreneurial workplace.
• This role is field based and will require up to 50-65% travel.

The estimated salary range for this position is $240k - $265k.  Actual salary determination is dependent on a variety of factors some of which include: experience, qualifications, and geographic location.  This position may be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus or an incentive compensation plan (eligibility varies based on role and position level), discretionary stock-based long-term incentives, paid time off, and a comprehensive benefits package.

• 401(k) plan with company match
• Medical, dental, and vision plans
• Company-offered Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance
• Company-provided short and long-term disability benefits
• Unique offerings of Pet Insurance and Legal Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee Discounts
• Professional Development
• Health Saving Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Various incentive compensation plans
• Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity Insurance  
• Mental Health resources
• Paid leave benefits for new parents

Ascendis Pharma is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

A note to recruiters:

We do not allow external search party solicitation.  Presentation of candidates without written permission from the Ascendis Pharma Inc Human Resources team (specifically from: Talent Acquisition Partner or Human Resources Director) is not allowed.  If this occurs your ownership of these candidates will not be acknowledged.