National Account Director, Express Scripts/Cigna

The National Account Director – Commercial Payers will play a critical leadership role in shaping and executing our U.S. market access strategy with national and large regional commercial payers in preparation for our first gene editing therapy launch. This is a high-impact, field-based position responsible for building relationships with key payer stakeholders, communicating product value, and securing favorable coverage and reimbursement pathways.

This is a highly strategic, hands-on role that is ideal for an experienced national account professional who thrives in fast-paced, build-from-scratch environments and understands the complexity of launching innovative, high-value therapies.

Duties/Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead strategic engagement with UnitedHealthcare, Optum, Emisar, Humana, large Independent Blues Plans, etc.).
• Build and manage relationships with key decision-makers across payer organizations
• Analyze the competitive landscape and coverage policies to anticipate payer needs and barriers
• Develop and execute early account engagement plans in anticipation of launch, educating payer stakeholders on gene editing science, disease burden, and anticipated value proposition.
• Partner with internal teams (Market Access Strategy, Contracts and Pricing, HEOR, Medical Affairs, Clinical, Regulatory) to develop and tailor payer-facing materials, including early scientific exchange, evidence dossiers, PIE presentations, and budget impact models.
• Drive payer insight generation to inform pricing strategy, contracting models, and patient access programs in pre-launch and launch phases.
• Collaborate with internal launch team to support pull-through planning, distribution strategy, and affordability/access solutions.
• If required, identify, shape, and lead negotiation of value-based or outcomes-based contracting opportunities aligned with Intellia, product profile, and payer priorities.
• Monitor and influence payer policy development relevant to gene editing and high-cost cell & gene therapies.
• Serve as the internal voice of the payer and provide strategic guidance to senior leadership on coverage risks, opportunities, and commercial landscape dynamics.
• Ensure all engagements and materials are fully compliant with legal, regulatory, and corporate standards.

Cross-Functional Integration & Collaboration

• Serve as a key commercial liaison across internal stakeholders, including Market Access Leadership, Medical Affairs, Marketing, Patient Services, Finance, and Regulatory, to ensure alignment on strategic initiatives and execution plans that support national account objectives.
• Partner closely with Field Market Access, Trade, and Channel teams to co-develop and deliver integrated account strategies that enhance access, affordability, and distribution of gene therapy products across national payers, PBMs, IDNs, and specialty pharmacies
• Lead cross-functional account planning sessions to synthesize market insights, anticipate customer needs, and develop tailored engagement models that drive optimal therapeutic adoption and long-term value creation.
• Collaborate with clinical and HEOR teams to translate complex scientific and economic value propositions into compelling narratives for diverse payer stakeholders.
• Facilitate seamless internal coordination and communication to ensure the delivery of compliant, consistent messaging and solutions that reflect both the scientific innovation and commercial strategy of the organization.
• Drive organizational readiness and pull-through efforts across functional teams pre- and post-launch to ensure market access success in a highly regulated and evolving gene therapy landscape.

Success Metrics

• Achievement of targeted payer coverage milestones and KPIs
• Breadth and depth of payer access across account
• Execution of value-based contracting, if required
• Internal alignment and readiness to support access and alignment efforts

Supervisory Responsibilities

☐ N/A

Requirements

Skills/Abilities

• Proven track record of managing national commercial payer accounts, including pre-launch and launch readiness for specialty or rare disease products.
• Experience with innovative reimbursement models, especially value-based or indication-based contracting.
• Strong grasp of payer decision-making processes, formulary management, medical policy development, and specialty pharmacy dynamics.
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in early-stage or launch environments, operating with agility and strategic foresight.
• Excellent communicator who can convey complex scientific and economic data to non-scientific audiences.
• Strong project management and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Excellent negotiation skills and analytical capabilities.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity with a strong bias for action and accountability.

Education / Certifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or other graduate degree preferred.

Experience

• 10+ years of pharmaceutical or biotech market access experience, payer account management, or managed markets strategy.

Physical Requirements

Travel:
Up to 50%, including partner meetings, conferences, and internal cross-functional workshops.

EEOC Statement: Intellia believes in a diverse environment, and is committed to equal employment opportunity for all its employees and qualified applicants. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Intellia will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and will continue to be accepted until the position is filled at which point the position will be taken down.

The base salary for this position is expected to range between $243,000.00 - $297,000.00 USD per year.

The salary offered is determined based on a range of factors including, but not limited to, relevant education and training, overall related experience, specialized, rare or in-demand skill sets, internal comparators and other business needs. Upon joining Intellia, your salary will be reviewed periodically and additional factors such as time in role and performance will be considered. Intellia may change the published salary range based on company and market factors.

Additional compensation includes a performance-based annual cash bonus, a new hire equity grant, and eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards the value of which are determined annually at the Company’s discretion.

For more information about Intellia’s benefits, please click here.