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

About this role

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 provider access marketing, payer and value marketing, new product and launch planning, 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 providers, 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 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. Kite is relocating its primary office from Santa Monica, CA to new Southern California offices in Thousand Oaks, CA and El Segundo, CA at the end of 2026. This is a hybrid position with three days per week in office; current eligible office locations are Santa Monica, CA; Foster City, CA; Parsippany, NJ. Thousand Oaks, CA and El Segundo, CA will replace Santa Monica, CA as options at the beginning of 2027.

Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership • Lead the US Payer, Value, and Access Strategy organization, including Provider Access Marketing, 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 provider access, 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 and provider 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

Provider, Payer, and Value Strategy Integration • Oversee the development of integrated provider access and payer value strategies for Kite’s portfolio

• Ensure consistency across provider-facing and payer-facing market access narratives, tools, resources, and strategic priorities

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

• Ensure that payer, provider, 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, provider, 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 readin

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