Associate Director - Market Access Operations

Job Description

Associate Director, Market Access Operations, DHH India Capability Hub

Our Digital Human Health (DHH) organization is advancing the future of Market Access by building scalable, technology-enabled capabilities that strengthen access, revenue optimization, compliance and operational excellence across the U.S. market. As Market Access processes become more complex, DevOps teams require deep expertise in U.S. systems, contracting, rebates, chargebacks, Gross-to-Net, data, controls and workflow transformation.

The Associate Director, Market Access Operations (India Hub) will lead Market Access workstreams and capabilities supporting the U.S. business. Working in partnership with Market Access leaders in the U.S. DHH organization, business stakeholders, technology teams and strategic service partners, the role will manage teams and workstreams that align to selected Market Access systems, which may include contract administration, customer contracting, rebate and chargeback operations, reporting, deal modeling, contract performance pull-through, data quality, and continuous improvement.

This is a Market Access Operations role. Market Access Insights, market research and insights generation are managed through separate roles and are outside the primary scope of this position.

The position reports to the Director, Market Access Operations, DHH India Hub Delivery and would be based out of Hyderabad, with international and domestic travel as required by business.

Key responsibilities:

Market Access Operations Delivery

• Lead day-to-day delivery across assigned U.S. Market Access Operations workstreams, ensuring quality, timeliness, control effectiveness, compliance and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Own operational planning, work allocation, service-level performance, issue escalation, root-cause analysis, corrective actions and continuous improvement for assigned projects and systems.
• Partner closely with Market Access leaders in the U.S. DHH organization, Finance, Contracting, Pricing, Revenue Management, Technology and other business stakeholders.

Market Access Systems & Model N

• Build and maintain strong domain and operational expertise across U.S. Market Access systems, with good working knowledge of Model N and its capabilities across contract administration and adjudication, payer and provider management, rebates, chargebacks, government pricing and revenue management.
• For specified systems, lead assigned system operations including user support, access administration, configuration coordination, reference and master data, workflow monitoring, reporting, incident triage, release readiness and documentation.  Lead teams supporting assigned systems for contract setup and maintenance, amendments, eligibility, pricing terms and operational governance.
• Partner with business, technology and product teams to translate business needs into systems, workflows, validations, payments and reporting.  This includes configuration and development activities, testing, deployment and post-release stabilization.
• Perform selected activities associated with data needs including  validation, exception handling, approvals, payment support, reconciliation, dispute management and audit documentation.
• Drive data quality, process integration, controls and automation across connected Market Access platforms.

Partner & Process Leadership

• Collaborate with strategic service partners to improve delivery quality, productivity, controls, knowledge continuity and operational outcomes.
• Lead capability development, knowledge transfer, documentation, process improvement and operational-maturity initiatives in partnership with strategic service providers and internal teams.
• Implement standard operating procedures, controls, metrics, review forums, escalation paths and clear accountability across internal and partner-supported workstreams that are consistent with current ways of working.

Gross-to-Net Operations

• Act as a subject matter expert in U.S. Gross-to-Net operations and the drivers that convert gross sales to net revenue.
• Lead assigned development / operational activities to provide systems supporting commercial and government rebates, chargebacks, administrative and distribution fees, deductions, contract performance, reconciliation and related GTN processes.
• Support accurate and timely GTN reporting, accrual inputs, forecasts, true-ups, balance explanations and variance investigation in partnership with Finance and business teams.
• Identify control gaps, data issues, duplicate or invalid claims, contract leakage and process inefficiencies, and lead cross-functional resolution.

People Leadership & Capability Building

• Recruit, onboard, coach and develop Market Access Operations talent with the right mix of domain, systems, data and operational skills.
• Establish structured learning pathways in U.S. Market Access, GTN, contracting, rebates, chargebacks, systems, controls and process excellence.
• Create a collaborative, inclusive and high-accountability culture across India, U.S. and partner teams.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Required: BA/BS in Business, Finance, Economics, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Information Systems, Operations or a related field. Preferred: Advanced degree such as MBA, PharmD or relevant master’s degree.
• 10+ years of relevant experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, consulting or life-sciences services industry, with strong experience supporting U.S. Market Access IT Development and Operations.
• Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following areas: commercial or government rebates, chargebacks, revenue management, or customer contracting.
• Good working knowledge of Model N and its capabilities, with experience supporting Market Access, contract or revenue-management workflows.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience, with demonstrated success in building and managing delivery and operational teams, and collaboration with multiple teams.   
• Experience leading strategic partner collaboration, knowledge transfer, process improvement, operational-maturity initiatives or capability buildout.
• Experience in IT development tools and methodologies, SDLC, and AI.
• Strong understanding of operational controls, SOPs, audit readiness, data quality, reconciliations, issue management, access governance and change control.
• Ability to interpret contracts and business rules and translate them into system configuration, operating procedures, validations and reporting requirements.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management and problem-solving skills across globally distributed business, technology and partner teams.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

Required Skills:

Biopharmaceutical Industry, Biotechnology, Business Decisions, Business Intelligence (BI), Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), Contract Management, Database Design, Data Engineering, Data Modeling, Data Science, Data Visualization, Digital Analytics, Human Diseases, Machine Learning (ML), Market Access, Market Pricing, Pricing Strategies, Software Development, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Management, Strategic Planning, Waterfall Model

Preferred Skills:

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Secondary Language(s) Job Description:

#MSDHYDIT

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Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

11/7/2026

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