Rare Disease Account Specialist - San Diego, CA

Merck • Montgomery Township, PA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for dynamic individuals who thrive in a team environment and are driven to succeed. The Rare Disease Account Specialist serves as a key point of contact to customer accounts for our Company’s Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) business. This role will be critical in establishing our presence in PAH and our commitment to supporting the efforts of PAH healthcare providers in improving patient health outcomes. This role will generate demand for our Company products, build and maintain a strong rapport with providers and office staff, engage and support account executives who help secure formulary access, and design account strategies to meet local customer needs.
Primary Activities & Responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:
Account Management:
Responsible for the overall customer experience of all stakeholders within target accounts; builds relationships with providers and staff, as appropriate, and acts as cross-functional point of contact
Develops deep understanding of account objectives, strategies, unique challenges, and stakeholder influence networks to generate strategic insights
Plans & conducts quarterly strategic planning sessions for key accounts with our Company's relevant stakeholders to create shared understanding of market context, account, & stakeholder needs and refine account strategy, including objectives, strategic imperatives, and tactics
Our Company's relevant stakeholders includes both customer-facing and HQ roles
Coordinates the execution of account strategies, tracks progress against objectives, and refines plans as needed to deliver on goals
Proactively solicits feedback from account stakeholders to better understand needs and become a trusted resource
Care Team Engagement:
Provides approved disease and product information and resources to approved members of the patient care team, including MDs, NPs, PAs, and other provider roles
Shares information on target profiles to support the identification of appropriate patients for therapy
Supports the education of and responds to questions from approved providers on the care team on the appropriate administration of our Company products
Provides information and education to appropriate providers using approved resources on our Company’s patient support program to help address patient access and coverage issues
Acts as the primary point of contact for all care team stakeholders and coordinates with our Company's other customer-facing roles to ensure customer needs are met in a compliant, orchestrated fashion
Demonstrates commitment to compliance through understanding of regulations, industry codes, and policies that govern customer interactions and consistent focus on ensuring compliance with them
Ecosystem Management:
Partners with internal colleagues to plan and host medical education events within designated territory
Attends and supports our Company's presence at national & local congress/society events
Proactively creates connections across care teams within designated territory to build appropriate provider-provider relationships
Partners with HQ role(s) to plan and execute events with key thought leaders practicing within a designated territory
Key capabilities & competencies:
Scientific/Clinical Proficiency:
Deep understanding of clinical and scientific aspects of PAH, competitor products, and our Company products:
Disease state knowledge
Standards of care and emerging clinical trends
Relevant diagnostics and testing
Patient demographics
Ecosystem Understanding:
Deep understanding of regional and local health care networks: stakeholders and their relative level of influence, referral dynamics, payer controls, patient demographics, specialty pharmacy activity, etc.
Understanding of access & insurance coverage processes in PAH, specifically those of payers most active in designated territory
Business Acumen:
Ability to understand and define customer business models and infer strategic objectives
Ability to create account strategies that deliver on both our Company and customer objectives
Understanding of customer business operations and PAH practice management standards
Collaboration:
Ability to effectively and efficiently partner with our Company's appropriate cross-functional stakeholders to develop and execute customer strategies & tactics
Ability to lead without authority across individuals in different reporting structures to ensure execution against objectives
Ability to partner with other Rare Disease Account Specialists to share best practices, peer-coach new team members, and create an environment of continual learning

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with 6 years sales experience OR a minimum of high school diploma with at least 10 years of equivalent experience.
• Equivalent experience can be: Professional sales experience, work experience in the healthcare/scientific field (including pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical devices) that is not sales related, professional marketing experience, or military experience.
• Minimum of 6 years’ experience in healthcare industry
• Keen interpersonal skills, including abilities to interact with individuals from a variety of backgrounds and to influence senior levels of management, key thought leaders, and customers
• Strong presentation and communication skills, including the ability to understand, distill, and convey complex scientific and public health-related concepts to diverse audiences
• Strong prioritization skills and ability contextualize decisions into broader corporate strategies
• Technologically proficient (e.g., MS Office Suite, iPad)
• Valid Driving License: Yes

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (e.g., MBA, PharmD)
• Minimum of 2 years current/recent experience in the PAH market
• Minimum of 2 years current/recent experience with rare disease products
• 2+ years of account management experience in the healthcare industry

Responsibilities

• Responsible for the overall customer experience of all stakeholders within target accounts; builds relationships with providers and staff, as appropriate, and acts as cross-functional point of contact
• Develops deep understanding of account objectives, strategies, unique challenges, and stakeholder influence networks to generate strategic insights
• Plans & conducts quarterly strategic planning sessions for key accounts with our Company's relevant stakeholders to create shared understanding of market context, account, & stakeholder needs and refine account strategy, including objectives, strategic imperatives, and tactics
• Coordinates the execution of account strategies, tracks progress against objectives, and refines plans as needed to deliver on goals
• Proactively solicits feedback from account stakeholders to better understand needs and become a trusted resource
• Provides approved disease and product information and resources to approved members of the patient care team, including MDs, NPs, PAs, and other provider roles
• Shares information on target profiles to support the identification of appropriate patients for therapy
• Supports the education of and responds to questions from approved providers on the care team on the appropriate administration of our Company products
• Provides information and education to appropriate providers using approved resources on our Company’s patient support program to help address patient access and coverage issues
• Acts as the primary point of contact for all care team stakeholders and coordinates with our Company's other customer-facing roles to ensure customer needs are met in a compliant, orchestrated fashion
• Demonstrates commitment to compliance through understanding of regulations, industry codes, and policies that govern customer interactions and consistent focus on ensuring compliance with them
• Partners with internal colleagues to plan and host medical education events within designated territory
• Attends and supports our Company's presence at national & local congress/society events
• Proactively creates connections across care teams within designated territory to build appropriate provider-provider relationships
• Partners with HQ role(s) to plan and execute events with key thought leaders practicing within a designated territory

Benefits

• The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days.
• More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level