Senior Patient Access Director

SUMMARY/JOB PURPOSE (Basic purpose of the job):

The Senior Patient Access Director provides strategic leadership and oversight of patient access and reimbursement initiatives across Exelixis. Acting as a subject matter expert, this role manages complex escalations, develops and refines patient assistance program criteria, and ensures operational excellence in collaboration with Hub service providers. The Senior Patient Access Director partners closely with Field Teams and cross-functional stakeholders to design and implement scalable access strategies, deliver advanced training, and monitor evolving payer trends. By integrating insights across Commercial Operations, Legal, Compliance, and Market Access, the Senior Access Patient Director ensures that Exelixis patients receive timely, compliant, and sustainable access to therapies.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Establish and refine enterprise PAP eligibility criteria and access frameworks; set standards for case triage, turnaround, and quality.
• Oversee Patient Access Hub operations and vendor management ensuring high service quality and compliance.
• Provide senior guidance and oversight for complex compassionate use and sample program cases, ensuring alignment with medical, legal, and compliance leadership and shaping policies to manage risk and support ethical patient access.
• Contribute to modification of support services to enhance access and affordability initiatives
• Drive continuous improvement in patient access programs.
• Provide input to creation of new SOPs and governance for patient access.
• Create new content for patient access resource materials and promotional content.
• Develop training and provide recommendations for new training
• Provide competitive intelligence and strategic insights to senior leadership.
• Drive cross‑functional alignment by partnering with senior leadership across Commercial, Medical, Market Access, and Compliance to shape enterprise patient access strategy and ensure integration with long‑range commercial objectives.
• Participate in discussions with payers, specialty pharmacies, and advocacy groups to foster relations with payers, specialty pharmacies, and advocacy groups.
• Serve as the senior patient access representative and strategic advisor on enterprise-wide cross‑functional initiatives, steering committees, and executive advisory boards; shape strategic direction and ensure alignment on complex access priorities.
• Participate in strategic discussions with payers, specialty pharmacies, and advocacy groups to foster relationships and inform access strategies.
• Lead cross-functional workshops and taskforces to address emerging access challenges and portfolio launches.
• Represent patient access on cross-functional teams and advisory boards; serve as senior SME in executive forums.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• No supervisory responsibilities

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

Education:

• BS/BA degree in related discipline and 15 years of related experience; or,
• MS/MBA degree in related discipline and 13 years of related experience; or,
• Equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry, or experience with a Hub service provider or specialty pharmacy.
• Proven track record of success managing national patient access/reimbursement operations, patient assistance programs, and external vendors
• Experience leading medium-scale product launches and strategic access initiatives across multiple therapeutic areas

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to provide reliable budgets, forecasts, and resource planning at the executive level
• Through understanding  of compliance regulations and guidance for co-pay and patient assistance programs
• Subject matter expertise in Medicare Part D and payer benefit interpretation
• Demonstrated success in launching new products or indications, with emphasis on specialty disease areas (oncology/orphan preferred)
• Recognized thought leader with deep knowledge of the biotech oncology business and ability to shape industry perspectives
• Exceptional interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills with executive presence
• Advanced analytical, strategic thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills with proven impact on business outcomes
• Proficiency in Excel, Access, and database tools, with ability to leverage data for strategic decision-making
• Strong leadership capabilities with ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders
• Experti