Associate Director, US Marketing Ophthalmology, Patient Support Program Access and Affordability Lead

Job Description

Associate Director, US Marketing Ophthalmology, Patient Support Program Access and Affordability Lead

Job Description:

Our US Ophthalmology team is dedicated to improving the lives of patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) through a pipeline of two investigational therapies. We pursue this mission through patient focus, innovation, expanded access to transformative treatments, and collaboration with healthcare systems, governments, and payers. Grounded in scientific rigor and flawless execution, we aim to bring breakthrough therapies to the patients who need them most.

Position Summary:

Reporting to the US Ophthalmology Patient Support Strategy lead, the Associate Director, Access & Affordability Programming is responsible for the strategic design, implementation, optimization, and ongoing management of access, reimbursement, and affordability programs that support patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and retina practices across the US Ophthalmology portfolio.

This individual will be responsible for translating ophthalmology-specific patient, provider, and business needs into differentiated access and affordability solutions.  Specifically, this role will lead the development of patient support capabilities that reduce barriers to therapy initiation and continuity, including hub services, reimbursement support, benefit verification, prior authorization support, copay programs and other financial assistance solutions.

The role provides strategic direction and oversight for access and affordability initiatives while leveraging cross-functional capabilities, operational expertise, and vendor partnerships for execution. The individual in this role will partner closely with the Patient Engagement COE, US Hubs/Patient Services Operations, Field Reimbursement, Data & Analytics, Compliance, Legal, Privacy, Finance, and external vendors to deliver a seamless and integrated patient support experience.

The successful candidate will combine strategic thinking, patient support expertise and cross-functional leadership to translate patient, practice, and business needs into scalable solutions that improve access and enhance the overall patient experience.

Key Responsibilities:

- Affordability & Access Strategy

- Lead the development of the access and affordability vision and strategy for the US Ophthalmology portfolio.
- Identify patient, caregiver, provider, and account-level barriers that may impact treatment access, initiation, adherence, and persistence.
- Translate ophthalmology market insights into patient support strategies that support brand objectives and optimize the treatment experience.
- Serve as the primary brand representative for access and affordability strategy within cross-functional planning and launch teams.
- Ensure patient support priorities are integrated into annual brand planning and long-range portfolio strategy.

- Program and Design Leadership

- Own execution of affordability- and adherence-related strategic decisions and lead end-to-end process mapping and cross-functional coordination to ensure seamless go-to-market implementation, disciplined post-launch follow-through, and continuous optimization of all program components.
- Translate brand priorities into program requirements, business rules, patient experience objectives, and success metrics.
- Collaborate with the Patient Engagement CoE to identify opportunities to enhance patient support capabilities and incorporate innovative industry best practices.
- Act as the key ophthalmology subject matter expert within patient support program development efforts.

- Data Measurement and Performance Management:

- Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to define and oversee measurement frameworks; establish affordability and access KPIs, data requirements, and performance dashboards that enable consistent reporting, performance tracking, and data-driven decision making.
- Integrate internal and external data sources and synthesize and translate insights including patient experience, operational, and vendor performance data, to identify drivers, risks, barriers, and opportunities that improve affordability and access programming.
- Use data-driven insights to optimize customer experience strategy, optimize patient touchpoints and channels, improve launch readiness and PSP evolution, and generate actionable recommendations for continuous program improvement.

- Launch Planning and Readiness:

- Lead patient support strategy development for new product launches and major indication expansions.
- Ensure access and affordability strategies are aligned with payer, provider, contracting, reimbursement, and field engagement strategies.
- Partner with Marketing, Market Access, Field Reimbursement, Provider Strategy, and the CoE to ensure launch readiness.
- Support development of patient support positioning, messaging, training, and field-facing materials related to access and affordability programs.

- Governance, Compliance, and Risk Management:

- Ensure Affordability- and Access-related programs’ strategy and execution are compliant with applicable requirements (e.g., FDA promotional regulations, privacy/HIPAA considerations, OIG guidance, state laws, AE/product complaint reporting), and partner with Legal/Compliance for approvals and monitoring.
- Embed governance and guardrails into the program’s operating rhythm to enable speed without compromising compliance.

- Patient and Provider Experience:

- Maintain deep understanding of retina practice workflows, patient journeys, reimbursement challenges, and treatment access barriers.
- Identify friction points impacting therapy initiation and continuity.
- Champion customer-centric program enhancements that simplify access and improve the overall patient and provider experience.
- Ensure support solutions are designed to help practices confidently navigate buy-and-bill reimbursement environments.

This is a hybrid role based on Upper Gwynedd, PA, with an expectation of working on-site three days per week.

Education Requirement:

- Bachelor's degree or equivalent (BA/BS). MBA or equivalent preferred.

Required Qualifications:

- 5+ years designing, scaling, or optimizing patient affordability and/or access programs and/or high volume buy-and-bill patient support models with measurable outcomes.
- Knowledge of buy-and-bill access dynamics, medical benefit reimbursement pathways, and distribution ecosystem.
- Strong understanding of patient support program models and Hub services.
- Awareness and understanding of US commercial and regulatory requirements.
- Demonstrated strategic thinking, problem solving, analytical, and planning skills.
- Experience creating and maintaining program documentation, playbooks, and implementation plans.
- Ability to plan, prioritize, execute, anticipate challenges, and iterate with a growth mindset.
- Strong cross-functional leadership and the ability to influence without direct authority across complex or matrixed enterprise teams.
- Strong collaboration skills and business agility; adaptability and comfort with change.
- Demonstrated ability to leverage data analytics, customer insights, and market intelligence to guide business decisions and measure program outcomes.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience in strategy communications, direct customer engagement, and executive presentations.
- Demonstrates high degree of integrity and ethics.
- Strong attention to detail and documentation discipline.
- Resilient and adaptable; growth mindset.

Preferred Experience & Skills:

- Ophthalmology, retina, specialty biologic, or specialty care experience.
- Product launch experience.

- Experience working with Field Reimbursement Managers (FRMs), reimbursement support vendors, or related provider-facing support capabilities.

Required Skills:
Communication Sciences, Cross-Functional Leadership, Customer Insights, Data-Driven Decision Making, Digital Consumer Engagement, Influencing Without Authority, Ophthalmology, Patient Engagement, Patient Support, Product Launches, Retinal Examination, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

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As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

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The primary location for this posting is:
USA - Pennsylvania - North Wales (Upper Gwynedd)

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:
$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs. The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits .

Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

San Francisco Residents Only:  We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only:  We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status:
Regular

Relocation:
No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:
No

Travel Requirements:
10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:
Hybrid

Shift:
Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:
No

Hazardous Material(s):
n/a

Job Posting End Date:
11/14/2026
*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE  the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.