Sr Director Pricing & Contracting

Build the pricing and contracting function that will carry a new specialty therapy through launch, and decide how the company does business with payers for years to come.

Our client is a specialty biopharmaceutical company preparing for its first U.S. commercial launch, a therapy for a serious and underserved disease. Its commercial organization is being assembled now, and its market access leadership team is adding a Senior Director, Pricing and Contracting to lead one of its most important functions.

This is a build and run role, not an advisory seat. You will own pricing and contracting decisions across commercial and government channels, stand up the processes, governance, and partnerships behind those decisions, and steer the brand through launch and its first contracting cycles. The role suits a leader who has done most of this work before, who would rather design a function than inherit one, and who can hold firm on the economics while finding solutions that work for internal partners.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

This list represents the major duties of the role and is not all inclusive. The Senior Director may be asked to perform related duties beyond those described here.

Contracting Strategy and Execution

• Set and lead the U.S. contracting strategy across PBMs, GPOs and rebate aggregators, health plans, integrated delivery networks, specialty pharmacies, distributors, and wholesalers.

• Structure and evaluate contract proposals, modeling rebate scenarios, administrative fees, and price protection terms along with their effect on gross to net, net revenue, and government price metrics.

• Work side by side with national account directors on negotiation strategy and deal terms, bringing a clear economic point of view to every proposal.

• Track contract performance against forecast and report results, risks, and recommended actions to commercial leadership.

Pricing Strategy and Governance

• Recommend pricing actions, including list price changes, grounded in payer insight, value evidence, competitive dynamics, and market research.

• Design and run the pricing governance model, including a pricing committee, clear decision rights, and the standard operating procedures that support them.

• Build pricing and access scenarios that anticipate competitor entries, guideline updates, new diagnostics, policy change, and future pipeline products.

Government Pricing and Compliance

• Stand up, in close partnership with finance, the processes behind government price reporting, Medicaid and Medicare obligations, 340B, and VA and DoD contracting.

• Make sure every price change is implemented in line with federal and state requirements, and oversee state price transparency reporting with external vendors.

• Quantify the government pricing impact of commercial pricing and contracting decisions before they are made.

Operations and Cross Functional Leadership

• Establish rebate validation and payment, contract administration, and the supporting systems and vendors together with shared service partners.

• Represent market access with finance, legal, compliance, trade, and commercial teams, building alignment with partners outside your reporting line.

• Hire, lead, and develop the pricing and contracting team.

• Set the standard for sound business conduct and adherence to all applicable laws, regulations, and codes.

Qualifications

The requirements below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this role successfully.

Required

• Bachelor's degree.

• 10 or more years of pharmaceutical or biotech experience in pricing, contracting, managed care, or market access, including substantial hands on contracting strategy experience.

• Direct experience structuring and negotiating PBM and GPO agreements for products covered under the pharmacy benefit.

• Working knowledge of government pricing, including AMP, Best Price, Medicaid rebates, 340B, and the Federal Supply Schedule, and how commercial decisions flow through to each.

• A track record of designing pricing and contracting models that drive gross to net and broader financial results.

• Specialty product launch experience.

• People management experience.

• Strong analytical, communication, and influencing skills, with a collaborative, solution oriented style.

• Ability to work onsite in the Central New Jersey office on a hybrid schedule, approximately three days per week.

Preferred

• Master's degree, such as an MBA, PharmD, or MS.

• Experience building pricing governance, including a pricing committee and supporting procedures.

• Experience leading the full scope of pricing, contracting, and operations rather than a single segment of it.

• Medicare Part D and integrated delivery network contracting experience.

• Hands on experience with government price reporting, rebate operations, or contract management systems.

Nice to Have

• Experience standing up a pricing and contracting function at a company preparing for its first launch.

• Experience launching into a therapeutic class with established competitors.

• Specialty or rare disease therapeutic area experience.

Engagement and Location

• Structure: Full time, direct hire position.

• Location: Hybrid, based in the Central New Jersey office approximately three days per week.

• Travel: Limited domestic travel.

Base Salary: $290,000 to $310,000, plus a 35% target bonus and annual long term incentive eligibility. Compensation will be commensurate with experience, skills, qualifications, and other relevant factors.

About the Search

This search is being managed by Summit Strategic Search on behalf of our client. This is a full time, permanent position where the successful candidate will be hired directly by the end client.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

Summit Strategic Search and our client are equal opportunity partners. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Accommodations and Support

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities during the application and interview process. If you require assistance, please contact us at admin@summitstrategicsearch.com. We maintain a zero tolerance policy for harassment and provide all employees with dedicated reporting channels to ensure a safe, professional work environment.

Selection and Onboarding

As this is a direct hire role within a regulated industry, the end client's standard hiring protocols apply. This includes, but is not limited to, a comprehensive background check and drug screening prior to the start of employment. All hiring decisions are made solely by the end client.