The posting
About the Role
Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, this enterprise leader will shape and execute Tarsus’ market access strategy, expanding patient access and driving sustainable commercial growth across our marketed products and pipeline. With XDEMVY® moving from a successful launch into its next phase of growth, this leader will make market access a competitive advantage and an engine for growth — maximizing appropriate patient access, accelerating new patient starts, minimizing payer friction, optimizing formulary positioning, and protecting brand economics — while building the access infrastructure Tarsus needs for its next wave of products. This role oversees the market access function, including payer strategy and relationships, pricing and contracting, reimbursement, patient services, and distribution channels. As a strategic partner across the organization, this leader will embed access considerations early in product development, inform business development opportunities, and build and lead high-performing teams that translate strategy into measurable results for patients and the business.
Let’s talk about some of the key responsibilities of the role:
Payer Strategy & Access
- Develop, implement, and execute Tarsus’ managed care payer strategy — collaborating both inside and outside the organization to leverage reimbursement, managed care, payer, and healthcare policy developments and establish short- and long-term goals and tactics to drive and maintain broad, profitable access across the product portfolio.
- Lead formulary and reimbursement strategies, partnering with Medical on HEOR evidence generation needs and planning across the portfolio of assets.
- Establish and expand key payer relationships including national and regional payers, insurance/managed care organizations, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), specialty pharmacies, and integrated delivery networks to increase collaboration, support positive coverage policy, improve contracting processes, and enhance reimbursement for supported products.
- Own the access-to-revenue chain and set strategies that minimize payer friction, including reducing prior authorization and step-edit burden, improving approval rates, and lowering patient abandonment.
- Build differentiated payer value propositions — grounded in clinical, economic, and real-world evidence — that change payer behavior and secure optimal formulary positioning across pharmacy and medical benefit designs.
- Lead government programs strategy, including Medicare Part D, Medicaid, and government pricing, in close partnership with Government Affairs and Legal.
- Assess evolving healthcare policy, payer requirements, and competitive dynamics; advise the Executive Team on business implications and recommend timely adjustments to access, pricing, and reimbursement strategies.
- Attend key access-related trade shows, payer meetings, and industry conferences.
Pricing & Contracting
- Develop managed market pricing strategies consistent with customer and market dynamics and the overall portfolio, targeting long-term commercial success.
- Develop and evolve cross-functional pricing committee governance, including SOPs and policies to ensure alignment and oversight, in partnership with Legal, Finance, Compliance, and leadership.
- Oversee contracting strategy, negotiation oversight, contract performance, and partnership with Finance on gross-to-net (GTN) assumptions, forecasts, and net revenue.
- Negotiate strategically — securing differentiated payer and PBM positioning without defaulting to price concessions — and develop innovative contracting models (e.g., value-based, outcomes-based, or portfolio agreements) that protect brand economics.
- Continuously improve gross-to-net economics through disciplined rebate strategy, utilization-management trade-offs, and benefit-design insight, translating access decisions into their financial implications for Finance and the Executive Committee.
Product Strategy, Patient Access & Business Development Support
- Engage early and often in shaping the overall product value proposition and therapeutic product profiles, including positioning and product specifications, to help ensure access from the earliest stages of product development.
- Oversee the development and evolution of patient services, field reimbursement, and distribution channel strategy to drive innovative patient support.
- Partner with Business Development on diligence for potential licensing, acquisition, and partnership opportunities, assessing payer, pricing, reimbursement, and access dynamics to inform deal evaluation and help ensure access and value creation across the product portfolio.
- Lead integrated market access launch plans, readiness milestones, and access strategies for new indications and acquired assets.
Cross-Functional & Team Leadership
- Partner with Marketing, Medical, Clinical Development, Sales, Finance, Legal, Regulatory, Government Affairs, HEOR, the Executive Leadership Team, and other internal departments to develop business strategies that enhance access for company products and increase profitability.
- Scale and lead a best-in-class market access organization, developing high-performing leaders, coaching talent, building capabilities, and strengthening succession depth across the team, ensuring alignment on strategy, negotiation, and pull-through of sales and patient messaging.
- Build an access analytics and insights capability, defining the KPIs that matter (coverage quality, PA approval rates, time-to-fill, first-fill conversion, abandonment, persistence, GTN per prescription) and using data to distinguish signal from noise and drive decisions.
- Foster a team culture of engagement, accountability, collaboration, innovation, and a sense of urgency to serve patient needs and achieve Tarsus’ corporate vision.
- Set functional priorities, allocate resources, and develop and manage functional budgets that effectively achieve measurable results while balancing the financial objectives of the broader organization.
Compliance & Administration
- Comply with corporate policies and procedures as well as all applicable healthcare laws and regulations.
- Observe all Company Health, Safety, and Environmental guidelines.
- Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned; the above is not an exhaustive list.
Skills and Qualifications Required for this Dynamic Leader:
Education & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or other advanced degree a plus.
- 15+ years of progressive pharmaceutical commercial experience, including launch experience, payer expertise, distribution and patient services (GTN oversight), cross-functional collaboration, and leading field-based reimbursement and patient services teams.
- Blockbuster or $1B+ brand experience, including a demonstrated track record of taking a product from launch to $500M–$1B+ in annual revenue.
- Deep specialty pharmaceutical experience, with payer/PBM contracting expertise and hands-on patient access/hub experience.
- Experience scaling an organization through a period of rapid growth, building the teams and infrastructure for the next stage of growth.
- Managed care experience required, with strong national and regional account management expertise and senior-level relationships across both commercial (private) and government (public) payer systems, including PBMs, Medicare, Medicaid, and specialty pharmacy; fluency in formulary strategy, utilization management, benefit design, medical vs. pharmacy benefit, rebates, and gross-to-net economics.
- Experience supporting Business Development due diligence (e.g., licensing, partnerships, or M&A) from a market access, pricing, and reimbursement perspective is highly valued.
Core Competencies & Attributes
- Proven ability to work with a high level of integrity, accuracy, and attention to detail.
- Strong technical, data-driven, and analytical skills to identify and solve problems.
- Self-motivated, assertive, and self-confident, with the ability to act with urgency and passion to meet time-sensitive deadlines.
- Strong organizational skills to maintain a high level of productivity, innovation, and priority-setting, completing assignments on time and on budget.
- Ability to make thoughtful, timely, and meaningful decisions and take corresponding action without waiting for perfect information, using data and analytics to inform judgment.
- Willingness to work collaboratively, incorporating diverse perspectives and appropriately managing relationships to strengthen decision-making; influences without relying on hierarchy.
- Entrepreneurial; able to balance enterprise strategy with hands-on execution in a fast-paced, resource-conscious environment.
Leadership Competencies - This role requires mastery of the Tarsus Leadership Competencies for Leading the Enterprise, including:
- Grows Capacity - Builds organizational capacity by developing talent systems, coaching cultures, and strategic partnerships that grow leadership strength and prepare the next generation of leaders.
- Business Acumen - Demonstrates strong business acumen by anticipating market dynamics and using financial and strategic insight to guide investments, manage risk, and align priorities with long-term organizational value.
- Innovative Mindset and Action - Demonstrates an innovative mindset by championing new ideas, investing in enabling systems and partnerships, and translating innovation into sustainable growth and organizational resilience.
- Effective Communicator - Communicates with clarity and authenticity, providing direction, inviting input, and connecting team efforts to broader organizational goals. Translates access dynamics into financial implications and clear recommendations for executive decision-making.
- Strategic Thinking - Demonstrates strategic thinking by anticipating future scenarios, aligning functional plans with enterprise strategy, and ensuring near-term actions support long-term goals. Sees around corners and anticipates payer, policy, and competitive shifts before they land.
A Few Other Details Worth Mentioning:
- Ideally, the position will be based in our beautiful Irvine office. Remote work may be an option. We provide a hybrid work environment.
- We are passionate about our culture! Our Tarsans live our values of commitment to patients, empowerment to champion innovation, and teamwork to amplify impact!
- This position reports directly to our Chief Commercial Officer. Some travel may be required – up to 20%.
At Tarsus, we understand the importance of attracting and retaining top talent. The expected base pay range for this position is $300,000 - $420,000 plus bonus, stock equity, and comprehensive benefits. The base pay range reflects the target range for this position, but individual pay will be determined by additional factors such as job-related skills, experience and relevant education or training. Our benefits include health, dental and vision insurance benefits to ensure your well-being. We believe in work-life balance and offer generous paid time off, including vacation, holidays, and personal days. For more details regarding Tarsus benefits, please visit: https://eb.alliant.com/26tarsusbenefitssnapshot.
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Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
