Associate Director, Patient Support – Vendor Management

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day and strategic oversight of vendors supporting patient support programs.
• Develop and maintain strong vendor governance models, including business reviews, performance scorecards, escalation pathways, and service-level expectations.
• Ensure vendors are operating in alignment with contractual obligations, business requirements, quality standards, and compliance expectations.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to evaluate vendor capabilities and support vendor selection, onboarding, and transition activities.
• Define, monitor, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs), service-level agreements (SLAs), and operational metrics.
• Identify performance gaps, risks, and process inefficiencies, and lead corrective and preventive action plans with vendors.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance patient experience, operational efficiency, and program effectiveness.
• Conduct regular business reviews and present vendor performance insights and recommendations to leadership.
• Serve as a primary liaison between internal teams and external vendors to ensure alignment on program objectives, timelines, and deliverables.
• Collaborate with Patient Services, Market Access, Commercial, Legal, Compliance, Privacy, Procurement, and Finance to support vendor-related initiatives.
• Translate business needs into clear vendor requirements and operational expectations.
• Support implementation of new programs, enhancements, and process changes impacting vendor operations.
• Partner with Procurement, Legal, and Finance to support contract development, amendments, renewals, and statement-of-work management.
• Monitor vendor budgets, invoices, and financial performance to ensure accurate forecasting and cost control.
• Assess vendor proposals and business cases to support investment decisions and operational planning.
• Lead cross-functional projects related to vendor operations, patient support program enhancements, and new service implementations.
• Develop project plans, timelines, milestones, and stakeholder communication plans to ensure successful execution.
• Coordinate internal and external stakeholders to manage deliverables, dependencies, risks, and issue resolution.
• Track project progress against scope, timeline, and budget, and provide regular status updates to leadership.
• Support change management activities associated with vendor transitions, new program launches, and process improvements.
• Ensure vendor activities comply with all applicable healthcare, privacy, legal, and regulatory requirements, as well as company policies and procedures.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, healthcare administration, life sciences, or related field
• 8+ years of experience in vendor management, patient services, market access, specialty pharmacy, reimbursement support, or related healthcare/pharmaceutical operations
• Experience with vendor transitions, program launches, and operational transformation initiatives
• 3+ years of experience in project leadership, or cross-functional leadership role
• Demonstrated experience managing third-party vendors in a regulated healthcare or pharmaceutical environment
• Strong knowledge of patient support program operations, including hub services, reimbursement support, access services, and patient engagement models
• Experience developing and monitoring KPIs, SLAs, and vendor performance scorecards
• Strong communication, negotiation, and relationship management skills
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.