Director, Advanced Cellular Therapies (Payer Strategy)

The Advanced Therapy & Payer Strategy Director is a pivotal leadership role within the oncology ecosystem, responsible for shaping and executing payer strategies that expand access, reimbursement, and longterm sustainability for advanced therapies delivered in the community setting. This includes cellular therapies, gene therapies, and theranostics, where payer alignment and operational readiness are critical to patient access.

This role sits at the intersection of clinical innovation, payer engagement, and practice enablement, ensuring transformative therapies reach patients efficiently, equitably, and at scale. The Director will lead highimpact initiatives that align practice capabilities with payer expectations, mitigate financial and operational barriers, and identify scalable growth opportunities across a rapidly evolving landscape.

Strategic Development

• Assess market dynamics and collaborate with practices and managed care teams to design practicespecific payer strategies.
• Lead the development of scalable models that support communitybased advanced therapy programs, including innovative reimbursement and payment approaches.

Contracting & Negotiation

• Direct payer contracting efforts across both general oncology services and advanced therapies, ensuring sustainable reimbursement models.
• Identify and prioritize opportunities for novel payment arrangements while mentoring team members to build longterm payer strategy and contracting capability.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a strategic liaison between providers, payers, manufacturers, and internal partners.
• Represent the organization in payer strategy forums, advisory councils, and other external engagements to influence access and reimbursement strategy.

Operational Enablement

• Develop practical tools such as playbooks, dashboards, and implementation frameworks that enable practices to operationalize payer strategies effectively.
• Partner closely with finance, pharmacy, legal, and compliance teams to ensure alignment between contracting strategy and operational execution.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required; MBA, MHA, or similar advanced degree preferred
• Typically 10+ years of experience in managed care, community oncology leadership, ambulatory medical centers, or specialty healthcare services
• 5+ years of direct experience supporting cellular therapy or advanced therapy reimbursement and contracting
• Demonstrated success negotiating complex payer contracts and designing innovative payment solutions
• Deep understanding of the healthcare ecosystem, including relationships among manufacturers, providers, payers, and patients
• Strong working knowledge of healthcare regulations, including Medicare, Medicaid, and HIPAA

• Experience working within a payer organization, including building or supporting advanced therapy programs such as CART
• Familiarity with Authorized Treatment Center (ATC) models for cellular therapies, including FACT accreditation requirements and manufacturer certification processes
• Handson exposure to payer authorization pathways and contracting frameworks specific to highcost, highly specialized therapies
• Experience supporting or enabling communitybased delivery of advanced therapies traditionally confined to academic settings

• Exceptional communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence across business units and senior stakeholders
• Strong analytical and problemsolving capabilities related to payer strategy, reimbursement risk, and market access
• Ability to lead through influence in matrixed and remote environments
• Strong prioritization, project management, and execution skills

• 30-40% travel required