Senior Manager/Director, Health Policy Analysis, Research & Writing

Senior Manager / Director, Health Policy Analysis, Research & Writing

Location: Washington, DC; RTP, NC

Type: Full-time

Penn Quarter Partners is looking for a sharp, intellectually curious health policy data analyst, researcher and writer to join our life sciences and innovation practice at the senior manager or director level. In this role, you will lead projects that examine how health policy shapes the environment for biomedical innovation and what that means downstream for patient access, coverage and affordability, and outcomes; health care costs; and biomedical innovation. You will help develop and lead health policy research projects that capture not just what policies say, but what they do: how they change incentives for drug and device development, influence what treatments reach patients and at what cost, and affect how those treatments are covered and paid for across public and private payers.

You will be expected to work collaboratively and independently, lead junior staff, and produce high quality work on tight timelines. Note that research projects will be used to influence policy changes and at times may include submission for peer-reviewed publication.

Key Responsibilities

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

• Design and lead research projects examining how federal and state policies, particularly relating to coverage, pricing, access, and reimbursement affect the real-world availability of treatments for patients, including impacts on specific conditions, health disparities, and incentives for biomedical innovation.
• Use datasets to develop and complete studies that assess how coverage decisions by Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers impact patient-level access, out-of-pocket costs and health outcomes to identify and support opportunities for reforms.
• Synthesize evidence from peer-reviewed literature, government data, regulatory filings, and industry sources into clear, policy-relevant findings.
• Design and execute mixed-methods research, combining quantitative analysis with qualitative approaches such as structured stakeholder interviews, surveys, expert roundtables, and/or systematic literature reviews.
• Analyze the downstream effects of major health-related legislative and regulatory developments, such as Medicare Drug Price Negotiation, 340B expansion, and vaccine policy changes, on health outcomes and costs, patient access, product availability, and R&D investment decisions.
• Use AI-assisted research tools and emerging technology platforms to accelerate literature synthesis, data gathering, and early-stage analysis, while applying rigorous judgment to validate outputs and ensure analytical integrity.

WRITING & COMMUNICATIONS

• Write and edit high-quality deliverables, including research reports, policy briefs, white papers, and issue briefs, that make the case for how policy design choices create tradeoffs and identify where reforms are needed.
• Translate complex legislative, regulatory, and economic concepts into clear language for audiences ranging from Capitol Hill staff and patient advocates to business executives and policy leaders.

PROJECT & CLIENT LEADERSHIP

• Serve as day-to-day project lead on client engagements, managing timelines, budgets, and deliverables.
• Build and maintain relationships with clients and external partners including biopharmaceutical companies, trade associations, patient advocacy groups, government agencies, and think tanks.
• Mentor and provide substantive feedback to junior researchers and writers.
• Contribute to business development by supporting proposals and identifying opportunities to expand the practice.

Qualifications

REQUIRED

• Graduate degree in health policy, public health, health economics, public policy, or a related field (master's or doctoral level preferred).
• 6–10 years of relevant experience in health policy research and analysis, with meaningful exposure to or demonstrated interest in life sciences, pharmaceutical policy, or biomedical innovation.
• Background in quantitative data analysis using tools such as Stata, R, SAS, or Python, including experience working with claims data or other large health datasets.
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality written work for policy audiences on deadline.
• Proficiency with database research tools and online policy repositories such as CMS rulemaking databases, ClinicalTrials.gov, FDA databases, and legislative tracking platforms.
• Comfort using AI-assisted tools and large language models as part of a research workflow, with the critical judgment to verify, interrogate, and appropriately scope their outputs.
• Experience working in a team environment, including collaboration on research design and written products that result.

PREFERRED

• Direct experience with or in-depth knowledge of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) drug pricing provisions, with particular attention to how Medicare Drug Price Negotiation affects manufacturer incentives, launch strategies, and patient access.
• Solid grounding in how drugs and devices are developed, approved, covered, and paid for in the U.S. health system and the implications of policy changes at the federal and state level on access, affordability, and innovation.
• Familiarity with nationalized health systems, use of HTA frameworks, access, coverage, and comparative health outcomes.

This job is a strong fit for someone who enjoys exploring the many tradeoffs in health policy, writing about it with clarity and nuance, and influencing decision-making related to them. You are as comfortable running down a primary source as you are synthesizing a body of literature, and you know how to make a complicated policy question land for someone who has thirty seconds to read a one-pager. Position level dependent on experience.

If interested, please email your resume to careers@pqpdc.com with “Policy Opening” in the subject line.

About PQP

Penn Quarter Partners (PQP) is a public affairs and strategic advisory services firm with deep expertise in helping healthcare innovators navigate complex regulatory, political, and business challenges. Our core competencies span marketing planning, analytics, communications, and advocacy, with a particular focus on public policy issues that directly affect the biopharmaceutical industry. For decades, we have consistently delivered results driving influential campaigns aimed at advancing, neutralizing, or stopping legislation. We have a proven track record on issues impacting patient access, coverage, and affordability of medicines, while protecting the future of medical innovation.

Our team has longstanding relationships with key stakeholders and opinion leaders across the healthcare spectrum, including patient advocacy groups, providers, employers, unions, faith-based organizations, rural and minority communities, seniors, and progressive and conservative think tanks. We regularly collaborate with these groups to amplify their voices in the legislative and regulatory arenas, leveraging surround-sound strategies at both the federal and state levels. With our extensive 50-state network and strong ties to Congress, the Administration, and state governments, PQP offers in-depth advocacy engagements and real-time intelligence gathering on the ground. Please visit www.pennquarterpartners.com for more information.