Associate Director - PAP Program Management

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.

Patients, their providers, and a broad array of stakeholders recognize Lilly’s patient assistance programs (PAP) strike a unique and noteworthy balance of philanthropic duty and business reality that reinforces the superiority of private sector administered healthcare solutions and act as a catalyst for comprehensive coverage among Americans who lack access. The Lilly patient assistance programs office serves to assist these patients in need.

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The Associate Director – PAP Program Management plays a critical role in ensuring the successful delivery of Lilly charitable medication donations to eligible patients through effective program management and operational oversight. This role involves:

- Coordinating with various internal and external stakeholders: Ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, managing contracts/change orders, and driving continuous improvement initiatives
- Maintaining a line of sight across the operational process: With a clear multi-year roadmap, managing the prioritized portfolio and contributing to efficient PAP program operations
- Evaluating capacity and coordinating resources: Handling issues and identifying cross-project improvement opportunities
- Implementing the vendor strategy: Owning vendor documentation, compliance/TPET, resolving issues/deviations, and monitoring performance to inform decision-making
- Governing vendor use of AI and emerging technology: Serving as one of the PAP team’s central points of contact for AI-related submissions and coordinating the governance, privacy, legal, quality, and cybersecurity reviews required before a vendor uses AI or new technology in PAP operations
- Leading vendor transitions: Coordinating planning, kickoff, project charters, role clarity, training, and information sharing so that moving PAP products between vendors causes no gap in patient care

Key Objectives/Deliverables

1. Programmatic Changes and Improvements

- Design and lead programmatic changes and improvements by utilizing monitoring data, industry best practices, and unique requirements of PAP program
- Develop and maintain a PAP project roadmap that provides line-of-sight across all ongoing and upcoming PAP projects, alignment to multi-year strategic plan, and tracking progress/outcomes. Ensure a healthy portfolio of projects through proactive detection, escalation, and resolution of operational issues

2. Project Management and Supervision

- Supervise project managers roles and quality delivery of project outcomes. Lead assignment of projects and resources. Provide best practices to promote consistency within the PAP program and project management deliverables and outcomes
- Lead efforts to investigate cross-project/stakeholder improvements, including cost-benefit analysis, due diligence activities, and formulated recommendations

3. Coordination and Execution

- Oversee the coordination and execution of key tasks and responsibilities as outlined in the PAP Program RACI matrix and maintain a current RACI for PAP team (quarterly updates)
- Own/contribute to PAP Playbook and incorporate any task changes for smooth submission and approval of patient and HCP communications (Veeva marketing tactic approval process), including vendor-facing disclosure language, such as AI-disclosure language in IVR scripts, routed through Medical-Legal-Regulatory review
- Ensure collaboration between various internal departments, including marketing, IT, and TLAC for seamless integration. Oversee the management of forums for collaboration and information sharing with Tax, Privacy, Legal, Cybersecurity, and Quality
- Conduct periodic benchmarking activities and participate in relevant patient assistance topic conferences to monitor external environment and share information to inform strategies. Develop and maintain knowledge and relationships of best practices concerning PAPs

4. Compliance and Documentation

- Partner with CIQ Quality to maintain change control compliance and close actions. Support audits and resolve action plans
- Create and maintain vendor documentation (MSAs, WOs, COs, RFP support, testing and training, project charters, transition plans, role-clarity materials, AI and cybersecurity approval records). Work with vendors to improve administrative and reporting efficiency
- Monitor vendor delivery, financial performance, and site visits. Serve as SME on operational metrics and own quarterly KPI forecasts and corrective actions
- Lead QBRs, leadership meetings, weekly PMO reviews, and transition sessions, and publish notes and actions with owners and due dates. Manage issue tracking and escalation through resolution, keeping PAP leadership informed

5. Vendor AI and Technology Governance

- Serve as the central point of contact for vendor AI submissions, tracking each use case through the Lilly AI submission and registry process and its privacy, legal, quality, and cybersecurity reviews
- Establish standards and maintain the PAP vendor AI governance process and charter with Quality, Legal, Privacy, and IT. Prepare submission packages, facilitate joint review sessions, and communicate approval conditions to vendors in writing
- Coordinate cybersecurity review of vendor technology (24x7 SOC coverage, HIPAA documentation, security questionnaires) and complete related compliance deliverables, including privacy binders and Medical-Legal-Regulatory review of AI-disclosure language
- Verify that vendors maintain approved security and compliance baselines, and include results in performance reviews

6. Vendor Transition Strategy and Roadmap

- Lead transition kickoff and coordination among incoming and outgoing vendors and internal teams, including the project charter, role-clarity materials, and vendor training
- Establish secure processes with vendors so patient care has no gap during transition, and maintain oversight of the incoming and outgoing vendor through weekly PMO reviews, QBRs, and leadership forums

Minimum Experience/Personal Skill Requirements

- Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of related job experience in operations management, including project management and vendor management experience within pharma, healthcare, biotech or academia
- Experience working with U.S. patient assistance programs or patient affordability systems in the US
- Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT,J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Additional Preferences

- MBA or degree in project management
- Knowledge of Lilly’s Medical-Legal-Regulatory processes and associated systems
- Knowledge of AI governance, data privacy (including HIPAA), and cybersecurity review processes for third-party technology
- Six sigma experience (Black Belt or Green Belt)
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills: Crucial for effective collaboration across functions and organizational levels
- Strong problem-solving skills: Ability to anticipate and recognize systemic problems, diagnose root causes, develop contingency plans, and influence corrective actions
- Demonstrated organizational and administrative skills and ability to independently manage workload, set priorities, and adjust as needed
- Role model of strong interpersonal and teambuilding skills and ability to create a shared vision, manage conflict, and deliver effective coaching and feedback
- Experience leading vendor onboarding, transition, or implementation projects

Other Information

Travel required: Limited travel to vendors and industry conferences is required (U.S.)

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form ( https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation ) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is
$132,000 - $193,600

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Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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