General Summary:
Vertex is seeking a strategic and execution-focused Director, Market Transformation to lead the design, evaluation and implementation of direct-to-patient (DTP) capabilities across the patient journey. This leader will help shape how patients move from awareness and activation through care, access, therapy start and adherence.
The Director will assess where DTP models can create meaningful value, define the right strategy by asset and therapy area, and build scalable capabilities that reduce patient friction and improve measurable conversion. This role requires strong cross-functional leadership across marketing, patient services, market access, digital, medical, legal, compliance, operations and analytics.
The ideal candidate brings deep pharmaceutical commercialization experience, strong understanding of patient access and support models, and the ability to translate strategy into operational execution.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Develop Vertex’s direct-to-patient strategy across relevant brands, assets and therapeutic areas to improve diagnosis and treatment access for patients
- Monitor market trends, competitor activity and emerging digital health models to inform Vertex strategy
- Identify and address patient drop-off points across diagnosis, provider referral, reimbursement, prescription routing and therapy initiation
- Evaluate DTP opportunities based on patient drop-off points and therapy-area dynamics
- Design and optimize end-to-end patient pathways spanning awareness, activation, care, conversion, therapy start, and adherence
- Build clear business cases for DTP investments, including patient acquisition costs economics, lifetime value modeling, infrastructure costs, conversion assumptions, and ROI measurement
- Define and implement DTP models such as journey orchestration, access navigation, direct commerce, go-to-market reconfiguration
- Partner cross-functionally to connect fragmented patient touchpoints into a seamless experience
- Establish shared goals, KPIs and governance across brand, access, digital, trade and patient support teams
- Lead the development of modular enterprise capabilities that can scale across the portfolio rather than being built brand by brand
- Oversee external partnerships and vendor strategy for telehealth, pharmacy, fulfillment, diagnostics and digital engagement solutions
- Drive innovation in patient engagement, including symptom-based education, screening, targeting, retargeting and closed-loop optimization
- Ensure all DTP initiatives align with legal, regulatory, privacy, data governance and patient experience standards
- Serve as a thought partner to senior leadership on the future of patient engagement and access transformation
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in business, life sciences, public health, healthcare administration or related field; Advanced degree such as MBA, MPH, MS or other relevant graduate degree preferred
- 8+ years of experience in biopharma, healthcare, digital health or patient services
- 5+ years of leadership experience in one or more of the following - patient access, commercialization, patient support services, digital health, market access, and omnichannel patient engagement
- Demonstrated experience designing or scaling patient-centric programs across multiple stages of the patient journey
- Strong understanding of pharmaceutical commercialization, specialty access models and reimbursement dynamics
- Experience building business cases, operating models and strategic roadmaps for new capabilities or channels
- Proven success leading complex cross-functional initiatives with multiple internal and external stakeholders
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate data into strategic recommendations
- Excellent executive communication and presentation skills
- Experience working in highly regulated environments and navigating legal/compliance requirements
Knowledge and Skills:
- Patient journey mapping and funnel analysis
- DTP and omnichannel engagement strategy
- Access and reimbursement strategy
- Benefits verification and prior authorization workflows
- Telehealth and virtual care partnership models
- Prescription routing and e-prescribing integration
- Patient support and adherence program design
- Digital acquisition channels, including paid media, SEO and content strategy
- Screening, assessment and diagnostic coordination workflows
- CRM and patient engagement platforms
- Data analytics, dashboarding and KPI development
- AI-enabled targeting, triage or documentation tools
- Understanding of EHR, HIE or medical record-enabled workflows
- Vendor management and partnership governance
- Knowledge of legal, privacy and data orchestration considerations across patient-facing programs
Preferred Skills
- Experience launching or managing DTP, direct commerce or digitally enabled patient access models
- Knowledge of specialty therapies, complex treatment pathways or high-friction access environments
- Experience with cash-pay, affordability or alternative payment pathway models
- Familiarity with non-dispensing pharmacy, hub services and specialty distribution models
- Experience integrating digital, medical, market access and commercial strategies into a unified patient pathway
- Strong understanding of patient experience design and service operations
- Comfort working in ambiguous, fast-evolving spaces and building new capabilities from the ground up
Education and Experience:
Bachelor’s degree required
Typically requires 10 years of work experience and 3 years of supervisory/management experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience
