Associate Director, Value & Access Strategic Analytics - Rare Disease

The businesses of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany•Boston, MA

12h•Remote

About The Position

The Associate Director, Value & Access Strategic Analytics – Rare Disease Lead will serve as the analytical lead for a growing rare disease portfolio. This role is responsible for generating insights that inform market access strategy, optimize payer and GPO performance, and enable cross-functional decision-making. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in payer, GPO, health system analytics and a strong understanding of rare disease market dynamics, and the ability to translate complex data into clear, actionable recommendations. Sitting within the Market Access Strategic Analytics team, this role collaborates closely with Market Access Strategy, Account Directors, Brand teams, Patient Support, Trade & Distribution, IT, Finance, and other analytics organizations. The role requires a strong blend of analytical rigor, business acumen, and the ability to translate complex data into clear, actionable recommendations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field (e.g., Healthcare, Economics, Statistics, Data Science, Public Health, Business) or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
5+ years’ experience in market access analytics, payer analytics, commercial analytics, or related fields within the pharmaceutical/biotech industry.
Strong knowledge of US payer landscape, reimbursement pathways, and policy influences—preferably with rare disease exposure.
Hands-on expertise working with payer data, claims, hub/SP data, distribution/channel datasets, and market access policy data sources.
Proven experience in financial modeling, contract analytics, and GTN-related analyses.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree (MBA, MS Analytics, MPH, etc.).
Rare Disease experience a plus.
Launch experience preferred.
GPO, PBM, Payer, IDN contracting experience.
Consulting Experience preferred.
Familiarity with payer policy tools, formulary databases, specialty pharmacy data, and GTN forecasting methodology.
Ability to translate analytics needs into data infrastructure requirements and scalable solutions.
Comfort working in fast-moving, ambiguous environments and shaping new processes.

Responsibilities

Lead development of strategic analytics that inform payer, GPO, and health system access planning for rare disease products.
Evaluate the access landscape to identify trends, risks, and opportunities across policy, reimbursement, utilization management, and site-of-care dynamics.
Provide scenario analysis and market sizing to support launch planning, lifecycle management, and strategic decision-making.
Develops access performance dashboards and metrics to track market access segments, payer coverage, payer behavior, GPO and contract performance
Diagnose drivers of access performance and partner with Market Access Strategy to prioritize tactical interventions.
Monitor competitor coverage, access changes, and policy shifts that influence portfolio performance.
Utilize financial models to evaluate contract economics, rebate scenarios, GPO agreements, and the tradeoffs of contracting for access.
Support contracting strategy with data-driven analysis of payer mix, utilization patterns, and ROI.
Collaborate with Finance to forecast gross-to-net (GTN) impacts and scenario-test contracting decisions.
Shape the market access data strategy, helping determine the right mix of internal and external data assets (e.g., claims, hub, SP, payer policy, GPO data).
Identify data gaps and partner with analytics teams to implement scalable infrastructure, governance, and integration solutions.
Ensure high-quality, repeatable analytics by building standardized pipelines, tools, and reporting frameworks.
Serve as the analytical partner to Market Access Strategy, Finance, Channel Analytics, Commercial Insights, Contract Operations, and Field Market Access teams.
Present insights and recommendations to senior leadership in clear and compelling formats.
Influence decision-making by synthesizing insights across multiple data sources and functional inputs.