Sr Director, Head of US Payer, Value, and Access Strategy

We’re here for one reason and one reason only – to cure cancer. Every moment is dedicated to developing treatments and every action moves us one step closer to our goal. We’ve made incredible scientific breakthroughs and our pioneering personalized CAR T-cell therapies have changed the paradigm. But we're not finished yet.

Join Kite, as we make even bigger advances in cancer therapies, and help shape where our business and medical science goes next.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Kite and help create more tomorrows.

Job Description

The Sr Director, Head of US Payer, Value, and Access Strategy reports to the Head of US Market Access and is responsible for leading a newly formed strategic vertical within Kite’s US Market Access organization. This leader will oversee the integrated portfolio-level strategy across payer and value marketing, new product and launch planning, policy shaping in partnership with internal colleagues, and ecosystem strategy and market development for Kite’s US cell therapy portfolio. This role is accountable for ensuring US Market Access has a clear, integrated, and future-focused strategy across key access stakeholders, including, payers, employers, advocacy organizations, government and policy partners, treatment centers, accreditation bodies, and other external stakeholders critical to enabling appropriate patient access to CAR T and future cell therapies. The individual in this role will lead a team of Directors and be responsible for translating complex market dynamics into actionable strategies, resources, and organizational priorities that support in-line brands, launch assets, and long-range portfolio growth.

The Head of US Payer, Value, and Access Strategy will serve as a key member of the US Market Access Leadership Team and will partner closely with Provider Access, Trade, Pricing & Contracting, Customer Experience & Patient Services, Field Market Access, Brand Marketing, Medical Affairs, HEOR, Government Affairs, Public Affairs, Advocacy, Legal, Regulatory, Compliance, Global Market Access, and other stakeholders to ensure clear strategic alignment and coordinated execution across the enterprise. This is a hybrid position with three days per week in one of our four main offices: Thousand Oaks, CA; El Segundo, CA, Foster City, CA, or Parsippany, NJ.

• Key Responsibilities
• Strategic Leadership

Lead the US Payer, Value, and Access Strategy organization, including Payer & Value Marketing, New Product & Launch Planning, and Ecosystem Strategy & Market Development

Partner with the Head of US Market Access and US Market Access Leadership Team to define and execute the overall US Market Access strategy and annual tactical priorities

Ensure Kite has a clear portfolio-level strategy for payer and employer engagement, evidence translation, launch readiness, stakeholder education, and external market shaping

Serve as a strategic advisor to US Market Access and executive leadership on emerging access risks, stakeholder dynamics, launch readiness, payer barriers, policy considerations, and long-range market development opportunities

Ensure that portfolio-level strategies are translated into high-quality, compliant, customer-relevant tactics and resources by the appropriate teams

Organizational Leadership and Team Development

Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Directors and functional experts across payer, provider, launch, and ecosystem strategy disciplines

Build a culture of strategic thinking, accountability, collaboration, enterprise partnership, and disciplined execution

Ensure clear roles, responsibilities, decision rights, and operating models across the new vertical and with adjacent Market Access functions

Provide leadership, guidance, and mentorship to direct reports while supporting strong succession planning and talent development across the broader US Market Access organization

Represent the US Payer, Value, and Access Strategy team with credibility, executive presence, and strong partnership across internal and external settings

Payer and Value Strategy Integration

Oversee the development of integrated payer and external stakeholder value strategies for Kite’s portfolio

Ensure consistency across provider-facing and payer-facing market access narratives, tools, resources, and strategic priorities, in partnership with the Sr Director, Provider Access

Partner with HEOR, Medical Affairs, Brand, Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance to ensure appropriate evidence translation and value communication across stakeholder audiences

Ensure that payer, employer, and access stakeholder insights inform portfolio strategy, launch planning, evidence priorities, and lifecycle planning

Partner with Field Market Access and Strategic Account Management teams to support strong pull-through of national strategies and customer-facing resources

Launch & Portfolio Readiness

Oversee US Market Access new product and launch planning activities for current and future pipeline assets

Ensure US payer, employer, reimbursement, policy, and access considerations are incorporated early into global development, launch planning, evidence generation, and commercialization discussions

Partner with Global Market Access, Global Commercial, US Brand, HEOR, Pricing & Contracting, Trade, Patient Services, Medical Affairs, and other functions to ensure integrated launch readiness

Provide senior leadership oversight of access launch readiness plans, milestone tracking, and executive updates

Ensure the organization anticipates and mitigates launch-related access risks before approval and during early launch execution

Ecosystem Strategy & Market Development

Oversee long-range market development strategies designed to improve patient access to CAR T and future cell therapies

Ensure Kite has a clear and coordinated strategy across employers, advocacy, public affairs, government affairs, FACT, accreditation-related considerations, treatment ecosystem readiness, and external access stakeholders

Partner with Government Affairs and Public Affairs to ensure Market Access perspectives inform policy priorities, external engagement, and market shaping efforts

Ensure external stakeholder strategies are aligned with Kite’s broader commercial, medical, policy, advocacy, and corporate objectives

Identify structural barriers to CAR T access and prioritize initiatives that can improve long-term ecosystem readiness and patient access

Cross-functional Collaboration & Governance

Establish operating routines, governance processes, and decision-making forums to ensure strategic alignment across the new vertical and adjacent teams

Partner with Portfolio & Strategic Planning to ensure Payer, Value, and Access Strategy priorities are integrated into broader US Market Access planning

Collaborate with CIAO, analytics, and insights partners to ensure robust market insights inform strategy, tactics, KPIs, and performance measurement

Oversee agency, vendor, and budget management across the function, ensuring resources are deployed appropriately and efficiently

Ensure all work is conducted in accordance with Kite and Gilead legal, regulatory, compliance, and promotional review standards

Leadership & Representation

Be a key member of the US Market Access Leadership Team and represent the team with dignity, class, and outstanding partnership in all settings both inside and outside of Kite

Basic Qualifications

Advanced scientific degree (i.e., MD, PharmD, PhD) and 10+ years of experience OR

Master's Degree and 12+ years of experience OR

Bachelor's Degree an