Sr. Director/Executive Director, Strategic Accounts

About the role

The Sr. Director or Executive Director, Strategic Accounts is a senior national leader responsible for designing, building, and scaling Achieve Life Science's Strategic Account team.

Responsibilities

• Define the Strategic Accounts function vision, structure, and go-to-market model; determine the optimal number, geography, and specialization of regional Strategic Account Directors to support launch and growth objectives.
• Lead the full-cycle recruitment, hiring, and onboarding of the SADs, in partnership with HR and the Enablement & Training team; establish and maintain a strong hiring bar for institutional account expertise.
• Set clear performance expectations, role-specific KPIs, and accountability standards for each SAD; align metrics to account coverage, access milestones, pull-through activity, and patient-level outcomes.
• Coach, develop, and inspire a collaborative, high-performance team culture built on scientific credibility, customer-centricity, and ethical excellence.
• Conduct regular field rides, joint account calls, and coaching debriefs to assess and develop individual SADs; provide structured, actionable feedback tied to measurable performance improvement.
• Lead regular team business reviews and quarterly performance calibrations; identify high-potential team members and develop accelerated growth plans.
• Partner with the ED, Enablement & Training to develop SAD-specific onboarding, competency frameworks, and ongoing professional development programs.
• Manage individual performance issues proactively and compliantly, in partnership with HR and commercial leadership.
• Develop and communicate the national Strategic Accounts strategy in alignment with Achieve's commercial plan, brand strategy, and market access priorities.
• Guide and coach SADs in the development of robust, data-driven Account Business Plans for each target account, incorporating system-level goals, stakeholder maps, access barriers, pull-through tactics, and defined success metrics.
• Engage C- and D-suite leaders and health system executives on behalf of Achieve, while also orchestrating internal Achieve stakeholders and resources to meet the needs of their customers.
• Identify, prioritize, and pursue health system-level opportunities to expand access to cytisinicline, with particular focus on: formulary and P&T approval, EHR workflow optimization, provider adoption, patient access and support.
• Own the strategic accounts P&L and territory performance against defined revenue, access, and activity targets; deliver regular business reviews to VP, Sales and Enablement and senior commercial leadership.
• Monitor account-level adoption data, call activity, formulary status, and pipeline progress through CRM and sales analytics tools; identify and address performance gaps proactively.
• Analyze account performance trends across the team; develop and share best practices to replicate success and course-correct underperformance.
• Manage the Strategic Accounts operating budget, including T&E, speaker programming, medical education activities, and account-specific investments, in full compliance with PhRMA Code and company policies.
• Establish and maintain a disciplined Quarterly Business Review (QBR) rhythm with top-tier accounts, ensuring Achieve's value proposition is consistently demonstrated, and partnership opportunities are identified and advanced.
• With commercial leadership, serve as a liaison to Market Access on applicable contracting strategy, GPO pull-through planning, and Federal channel access (FSS/CMOP).
• Collaborate with Medical Affairs on scientific exchange programs, medical education initiatives, and clinical champion development within strategic accounts, operating within compliant field engagement frameworks.
• Work closely with the ED, Enablement & Training to ensure SADs are trained and certified on disease state expertise, institutional selling competencies, access tools, and compliance requirements.
• Partner with Market Access and Legal/Regulatory on Federal channel strategy, FSS pricing, TRICARE reimbursement, and VA formulary engagement, ensuring all activity is compliant with applicable laws and regulations (including OIG, Stark, and Anti-Kickback Statute).
• Represent the Strategic Accounts function in commercial leadership team meetings, launch readiness reviews, and Board-level business updates as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA, PharmD, or advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive pharmaceutical or biotech commercial experience, including significant tenure in institutional/health system account management at a specialty pharma company.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing a team of strategic/key account managers or directors, including performance management, coaching, and talent development in a field-based sales organization.
• Direct, hands-on experience engaging IDNs, AMCs, Federal accounts (VA/DoD), or ACOs at senior administrative and clinical levels, with a track record of achieving formulary access and institutional adoption.
• Proven ability to orchestrate internal cross-functional resources (Medical Affairs, Market Access, HEOR, Marketing) in support of complex account strategies.
• Deep understanding of pharmaceutical promotional compliance requirements (PhRMA Code, OIG guidance, Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, FDA promotional regulations); experience engaging Federal channels compliantly (FSS, CMOP, DoD).
• Experience building an account management function or team from the ground up, including account selection/prioritization, playbook development, and KPI design, in a launch or early commercial context.
• Strong CRM proficiency (Veeva or equivalent); ability to use data to diagnose team performance and drive account strategy.
• Exceptional communication, executive presence, and stakeholder influence skills; comfortable presenting to internal senior leadership and external health system C-suite audiences alike.
• Willingness to travel extensively (up to 50–60%) to support field rides, national accounts, conferences, and company meetings.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Experience in respiratory medicine, addiction medicine, smoking cessation, or a primary care-intensive specialty with significant population health relevance.
• Prior launch experience at a small or mid-sized specialty pharma company entering the health system channel for the first time.
• Familiarity with EHRs and ePrescribing.
• Quality measures and value-based healthcare.
• Experience with GPO or direct contracting strategies; IDN/GPO pull-through planning.
• Established network of senior relationships within major health systems, academic medical centers, or Federal pharmacy/clinical leadership.

Preferred Qualifications & Experience

• Experience in respiratory medicine, addiction medicine, smoking cessation, or a primary care-intensive specialty with significant population health relevance.
• Prior launch experience at a small or mid-sized specialty pharma company entering the health system channel for the first time.
• Familiarity with EHRs and ePrescribing.
• Quality measures and value-based healthcare.
• Experience with GPO or direct contracting strategies; IDN/GPO pull-through planning.
• Established network of senior relationships within major health systems, academic medical centers, or Federal pharmacy/clinical leadership.

Benefits

Compensation: The anticipated base salary range for this position is $270,000–$285,000 annually. This range represents a good-faith estimate of what Achieve reasonably expects to pay for this position at the time of hire.