Vice President, Novartis Patient Support (NPS) Patient Support Center (PSC)

Job Description Summary

Job Description

The Vice President of the Novartis Patient Support Center (PSC) holds ultimate responsibility for overseeing two critical functions: Program Management and Business Operations, which includes 450+ personnel across five global locations, a $MM+ annual budget, and operational oversight for patient support programs for 35+ approved medications. This role drives the seamless integration and collaboration of these functions to deliver comprehensive patient support across the end-to-end journey, from intake and case management to reimbursement and adherence. This role is also accountable for scaling operations, optimizing processes, and fostering a culture of high performance to meet SLAs, KPIs, and productivity metrics while maintaining a positive customer experience.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership and Vision

• Set and champion a clear vision and measurable goals for operational excellence across NPS patient support programs and interactions.
• Drive organizational transformation by helping to modernize the workforce through near-shore and off-shore augmentation, ensuring scalability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
• Lead efforts to shift the organization from highly manual processes to self-service and digital-first operational models, empowering patients and providers with faster speed to therapy and preference-driven solutions.
• Foster innovation and agility in operational design and execution, ensuring that systems and workflows are equipped to meet evolving healthcare and patient needs.

Operational Management and Delivery

• Design, build, and maintain physical and digital infrastructure for contact center operations supporting the NPS service model.
• Develop scalable systems, processes, and workflows for patient intake, enrollment, adherence, co-pay assistance, and other services.
• Ensure the delivery of outstanding customer experiences by monitoring and optimizing performance, speed, reliability, and responsiveness of services.
• Apply robust process improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma) to enhance patient experience touchpoints and customer journeys.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead and manage staffing, workforce planning, and the development of 450+ customer support personnel with expertise in key patient service functions.
• Build a high-performing team by recruiting, training, and mentoring Executive Directors, Directors, and Managers.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence, collaboration, and professional growth across all levels.

Vendor and Stakeholder Collaboration

• Collaborate with NPS therapeutic area teams and centers of excellence to ensure alignment with cross-functional goals.
• Partner with vendor management teams to establish high-performance standards and operational metrics for strategic service providers.
• Engage key internal stakeholders (e.g., finance, analytics, commercial sales, marketing) to ensure effective execution of programs and deliver actionable insights.

Financial and Analytical Oversight

• Manage the department's ~$100M budget while adhering to financial goals and ensuring responsible resource allocation.
• Leverage analytics to identify strategic opportunities, efficiency gaps, and solutions that enhance program value and patient impact.
• Deliver regular performance updates to senior leadership, ensuring transparency and accountability.

Essential Requirements:

Education: Bachelor's Degree required; advanced degree preferred (e.g., MHA, MBA)

Travel requirements: Role is office-based in East Hanover, NJ with occasional travel between offices (anticipating 25%)

Hybrid Working Requirements: Ability to work on-site (East Hanover, NJ) 3 days per week

Required Experience:

• Leadership & Management: 10+ years of progressive experience in program or operations management showcasing increasing responsibility and accountability, with 7+ years of management experience-ideally within a matrixed or second-line leadership role. Proven ability to coach, develop, inspire, and motivate teams while building a high-performing, collaborative culture.
• Operational Expertise: Experience designing, implementing, and launching patient support systems or programs, including central operations in customer service environments such as intake, case management, reimbursement, and adherence services. Skilled in managing multi-million-dollar budgets and/or P&L while delivering measurable results against SLAs, KPIs, and productivity metrics.
• Patient Support & Reimbursement: Advanced expertise in patient reimbursement processes, including prior authorization, benefit investigation/verification, appeals, and an understanding of payer policies and procedures. Knowledge of commercial copay programs, patient assistance programs, foundation support, and specialty pharmacies.
• Strategic Thinking & Execution: Ability to lead and execute strategic initiatives, including scaling operations, process optimization, and cost-containment measures, while maintaining customer and provider satisfaction. Experience driving organizational transformation, including transitioning manual processes to self-service, digital-first models.
• Cross-functional & Collaborative Leadership: Demonstrated success in partnering with cross-functional teams (e.g., Commercial Operations, finance, analytics, IT, vendor management) to drive alignment and implement integrated processes.
• Regulatory Compliance: Deep knowledge of HIPAA regulations, patient privacy requirements, and other patient-related healthcare/legal policies. Awareness of broader regulatory compliance (e.g., FDA or CMS guidelines as it relates to patient support operations).
• Change Management: Expertise in leading organizational change, especially scaling operations and adopting new systems or workflows, fostering a culture of innovation and agility while meeting evolving business needs.
• People Development & Cultural Leadership: Proven ability to cultivate an environment of accountability, operational excellence, and high performance, ensuring associates' growth and engagement.

Desirable Requirements:

• Healthcare/Pharma Expertise: 5+ years of progressive leadership in customer service management roles within biotechnology or pharmaceuticals, especially patient-facing or customer-facing environments.
• Digital Transformation: Experience driving digital innovation, such as implementing automation tools and self-service capabilities to improve patient and provider experience.
• Operational Collaboration: Significant experience working in multidisciplinary team environments, successfully partnering across Commercial Operations and other departments to address strategic goals.
• Measurable Impact: Demonstrated ability to improve operational processes and outcomes, including speed-to-therapy, adherence rates, and cost optimization.

EEO Statement:

The Novartis Group of Companies are Equal Opportunity Employers. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Accessibility and reasonable accommodations

The Novartis Group of Companies are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to us.reasonableaccommodations@novartis.com or call +1(877)395-2339 and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.

Salary Range

Skills Desired